Harmonious Gentlemen

This episode is a bit different. Recently, the Gents were asked by their friends at Red Hart Brewing to host their famously-fun quiz night. This sounds like a lot of fun, and it was, but it’s difficult as well. With the pressure mounting, the Gents got together to go through their trivia questions in preparation for the great event. They don’t discuss much, and aren’t challenged to be harmonious, but they ask a lot of medium-to-hard questions about people and their accomplishments! If you like trivia, this episode is for you - it’s designed for you to play along. If this isn’t for you, go back 100 episodes or so and find something that piques your interest. There’s gotta be something decent back there!

As miscellanea means, in the usual sense, “a miscellaneous collection of different things”, a single miscellaneum is logically impossible because variety and diversity (in their usual senses) are attributes of groups of things, not of individual things; for example, a populace can be varied and diverse, but a person cannot be various or diverse. Nevertheless, this is an episode about a miscellaneous collection of different things.

To put it simply, we’ve been going through some stuff lately, and hope, whatever it is, has been difficult to find. Where does hope come from? What happens when it runs out? How can we turn things around? Can hope exist without a little bit of despair?

Want to win a prize pack? Become a subscriber to our Substack and fill out this short (2 minutes) form about hope. It’s the one Chris sent to Tyler and Graham in preparation for the episode.

Wiebo Ludwig was a fiercely committed anti-oil and gas activist who moved his family to Trickle Creek in northwestern Alberta to live simply and resist what he saw as the destruction of the land. In the 1990s, his confrontation with the oil industry escalated into a series of controversial events that divided Canadians. Was he a defender of the environment or a dangerous extremist? His story forces us to wrestle with uncomfortable questions: How far should protest go in the face of perceived injustice? When does conviction cross the line into violence? And what do we risk, or gain, when we act on absolute belief? Big thanks to Bailey, who joins the gents to provide personal context and insight throughout the conversation. And shout out to Birdy Coffee for hosting us for the recording and for the wondrous cappuccino.

Here are some resources used in the planning of this episode. Check them out to learn more:

Wiebo’s War by Canadian Director David York

Saboteures: Wiebo Ludwig’s War Against Big Oil (Book)

https://www.amazon.ca/Saboteurs-Wiebo-Ludwigs-War-Against/dp/1551990539

Short Documentary, CBC Big Life with Daniel Richler

Edmonton Journal Article

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/who-is-wiebo-ludgwig-part-1

Edmonton Sun Articles

https://edmontonsun.com/2013/08/17/weibo-ludwigs-family-admits-to-nothing-apologizes-for-nothing-but-says-acts-of-sabotage-in-alberta-were-justified

https://edmontonsun.com/2012/04/09/dead-at-the-age-of-70

CBC Articles

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/wiebo-ludwig-the-making-of-an-eco-warrior-1.1240294

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/convicted-bomber-ludwig-arrested-in-b-c-pipeline-blasts-1.906851

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ludwig-says-whole-community-to-blame-for-shooting-1.181531

Miscellaneous

https://www.pembina.org/reports/beyond-ecoterrorism.pdf

https://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/4396.html

https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ludwig-found-guilty

https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ludwig-farm-shooting

https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/04/11/Wiebo-Ludwig-Obituary/

The internet has changed the world in so many ways: Politically, socially, and economically. Our lives are very much “online” these days, and there isn’t really anything we can do about it. The internet is extremely powerful, but is it moving civilization forward in a positive way? Is the technology we use every day getting better, providing a more efficient service, or improving our lives? Does the internet open doors or does it have us trapped? It seems like a topic we’ve touched on over the years, but this time we’re diving in a bit deeper - thanks to Cory Doctorow’s concept of “Enshittification”, Yanis Varoufakis’ arguement for “Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism”, and the case study of Charlie Kirk’s killing and the roller coaster of response in the days that followed. It’s not our most cheerful episode, but we’re glad we had the conversation. Let us know what you think using the good ol’ interweb.

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Thanks as always to our rad sponsors: Blindman Brewing, Cilantro and Chive, The King’s University, and Birdy Coffee Co.

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See our first real attempt at doing the podcast as a video:

Check out the full version of Aesop Rock’s song and music video, Mindful Solutionism: Aesop Rock - Mindful Solutionism (Official Video)

Learn more about Cory Doctorow’s Enshittification: How the internet got so bad - YouTube

Listen to Yanis Varoufakis explain what a Cloudalist is: Yanis Varoufakis: The new ruling class are not ‘capitalists’ - YouTube

We (Graham and Tyler) got together to chat about the ongoing teacher strike in Alberta. The intent of this episode is to shed light on current events from the perspective of local educators, ourselves included, and to provide some context for our non-teacher listeners. The topic hits close to home for us, and challenges our ability to remain harmonious, but we try. Our desire is to be honest, transparent, and hopeful throughout - this last part being the most difficult - and we hope the episode is helpful. Thanks to our colleagues who shared their thoughts on short notice.Note: The views expressed in this episode are those of Graham, Tyler, and a handful of other local educators. Their comments are their own and are not a representation of the Alberta Teachers Association, their schools, or their employer.

This episode is about slowing down, reflecting on the past, and looking to the future. We’re on the edge of a new Harmonious season, and, before we dive in, we feel like we need to figure a few things out. Why are we doing the things we are doing? What’s the point? Are we living up to our own expectations? We talk about the podcast, of course, but extend the conversation to relationships, careers, and pursuits beyond this silly hobby we have.

If you could hang out with anyone for one hour, who would you choose? Is there anyone you would refuse to spend one hour with? What's the most harmonious response to these questions?

Thanks to our sponsors: Blindman Brewing (blindmanbrewing.com), Cilantro and Chive (cilantroandchive.ca), and the King's University in Edmonton (kingsu.ca) for being the best.

In this episode, the gents discuss anger. From mild annoyance to volcanic rage, how do we harness the potential of these emotional responses and use them harmoniously. Are we too quick to express our displeasure or do we bottle up our feelings and burn up inside? Is anger something we should avoid or embrace?

Let us know what you think about this episode. How angry did it make you? What can we do better? What are we doing well? What should we talk about next?

Photo by Nik on Unsplash

Big thanks to Blindman Brewing, Cilantro and Chive, and the King’s University in Edmonton, for the support.