Dave and Reese spiral over streaming services, the “Google box,” and why watching football now feels like a hostage negotiation. Along the way, they rave about Dexter: Resurrection, debate dumb bands versus genius bands, mourn Catherine O’Hara, and wander into a big question about art, meaning, and whether everyone already lives in their own version of reality. Expect pop culture, philosophy, and a reminder that life is a group project.
[00:00:00]
Reese: But i'm not gonna argue with you because...
Dave: No, but it doesn't, it matter that you're arguing with me.
Let me finish the point. The point is then you and I can't have a discussion about it because we're not looking at the same thing. We're looking at different things.
Reese: Oh, we do this. Every single day. This is why people fight with each other. I feel like it would probably be,
Dave: You know, why people fucking fight with you?
Reese: You know, fucking, fucking Google box. Stick it up your Google box.
Intro Music: This is Dave. This is Reese, and this is Manic Joy, a podcast about life, love, and, and uncertainty.
Dave: Let's start.
Reese: Look at the face. What is it? Look at these eyes. What does he say?
Dave: I don't know. Lots of things.
Reese: Look at that. Look at this face.
Dave: Uh, let's, uh,
Reese: Cheers.
Dave: Yes. Start with that.[00:01:00]
Reese: Ooh, delightful.
Dave: Oh, that is so good.
Reese: That's crisp.
Dave: Sometimes I'm like, is this gonna be good? And then it's like amazing.
Reese: It's always good.
When I make my concoction, everybody hates it and I like it.
Dave: 'cause I see what you do and I'm like, I watched you the other day. You had the Lillet Blanc, vodka, and vermouth.
Reese: No.
Dave: And I just watched you.
Reese: No gin.
Dave: You didn't have gin. I watched you. You brought in three bottles. You had vodka, Lillet Blanc, and the vermouth. And I was like, have a good time.
Reese: I thought it was gin.
Dave: Yeah, you would think that.
Reese: Well, I mean, you drink enough of it. It doesn't matter. It's, I could put rubbing alcohol in there. I'm gonna be like this,
Dave: Listen Kitty Kitty Dukakis. I'm making a a way back. A way back reference.
Reese: Why did Kitty Dukakis drink rubbing alcohol?
Dave: I think so. Yeah. Wasn't that a thing? That was a thing. We'll have to look that up. Somebody fact check that.
Reese: I know, I know. Like
Dave: I believe [00:02:00] that was a thing.
Reese: Yeah, let's not get sued.
Dave: Yeah. Kitty's gonna be
Reese: Allegedly
Dave: fucking pissed. Allegedly she drank rubbing alcohol
Reese: I mean her name is Kitty. So. I think anything goes
Dave: Anything's possible.
Reese: I wish that I had like a little cute nickname like that, you know, like
Dave: Reese is a cute nickname.
Reese: No, but I mean like, like a posh waspy, you know, like a, like a Kitty or like a Missy or one of those kinda,
Dave: Yeah. You think
Reese: I would, I'd make a, a cute little waspy. Too dark though.
Dave: Wow.
Reese: It was the Arab.
Dave: We're starting this one off with a bang. So listen, let's,
Reese: Speaking of Arabs,
I'm an Arab. I can make the joke. Okay.
Dave: I get, I get the reference now. Yeah. So let me start by saying this. We just finished. Dexter.
Reese: Mm-hmm.
Dave: Resurrection.
Reese: Mm-hmm.
Dave: Okay. Let's, before I get there, let's get to how we got there, because it's gonna be a, it's a gripe. One of Dave's gripes [00:03:00] right now.
Reese: Yes. Well, I'm gonna, we're on, we're simpatico with the gripe.
Dave: So last weekend we go to watch the Patriots game. On CBS and for whatever fucking reason, the week before it started with the game was on, Fox couldn't watch it on Fox because there's something going on with Verizon. And I think on the limited amount of research that I did, because I'm, I'm not, I don't even wanna bother because I don't care what the reason is.
I'm fucking paying you for these shows. Fucking show me the shows. The only reason I'm paying you is to watch football.
Reese: Wasn't the excuse something like the providers are
Dave: Well, yeah.
Reese: Asking for more money.
Dave: Right. So,
Reese: and we don't wanna put that on the
Dave: Right,
Reese: blah blah.
Dave: So fucking figure it out.
Reese: Whatever.
Dave: Yeah.
So here's the deal. I think What ha happened is that Verizon has switched us over to this like Google box to like. TV now, and that Google box, I think they can, I like to say it. Google Box. The Google Box.[00:04:00]
Try to say it. Say it.
Reese: I'm like an eighth grader.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: I'm like 6 7, 6 7.
Dave: Yeah. Yeah. Google Box.
Reese: Google Box.
Dave: The Google box.
Right?
Reese: Why don't, why don't you go stick that in your Google box.
Dave: Hey, you got one of them. Their Google boxes.
Reese: Put it on. Why don't you shove it up your Google box.
Dave: Oh, hey, talk about a deep search.
Oh.
Reese: Too far.
Dave: Alright. Just you literally Too far.
Reese: Too far.
Dave: So I think what's happening is now the providers or whatever consider that streaming and not like regular cable. And so that's why they're asking for more money.
Reese: Oh, they found a loophole.
Dave: Yeah. So it's all this bullshit. And so then, so. Two weeks ago, we couldn't watch the game.
I had to find it on another thing to watch it. I found it. Cool. This week. Now CBS, same situation, and I'm like, are you fucking kidding me? I figured out a way to, now if we watch it in the bedroom, 'cause we're not [00:05:00] connected to the Google box in the bedroom, we can watch it.
Reese: I know, but I don't wanna watch the Super Bowl in the bedroom.
Dave: I, I understand. Heyo.
Reese: Heyo.
Dave: Oh, we have our own Super Bowl going.
Reese: That's a different type of Google box.
Dave: We're in a different championship in there. If you, what?
Reese: Wow, you are really
Dave: I am.
Reese: You're no Drake Maye man.
Dave: Whoa. Woho
Reese: Woho.
Dave: I said,
Reese: What is happening?
Dave: I don't know. I'm it's way past my bedtime.
Reese: Me too.
Dave: It's late on a Saturday. And so then, so what had, what had happened again?
Reese: What had happened, you were saying
Dave: ...was that I had, I just like, all right, fuck it. I'm paying for Paramount Plus so we can watch CBS and watch the game. So I did that. And now we have that for a month. 'cause I'm like, okay, I'm gonna use this for a month, but I'm not fucking paying for, I'm not paying for yet another fucking thing.
Reese: Ooh, what else is on Paramount Plus that we could take advantage of it.
Dave: Well, this is what I said to you fucking last week that you didn't pay attention to where I said, let's watch some things because this is your [00:06:00] time.
Reese: Mm.
Dave: This is your time to shine.
Reese: Time to shine.
Dave: So what we did do though. Was so real quick.
We don't, let's not talk about it now. We'll talk about it next week. Okay. Before the big game.
Reese: Mm.
Dave: But go Pats.
Reese: Go. Pats
Dave: Super Bowl. Holy crap.
Reese: Geez.
Dave: Patriots, Seattle again
Reese: It happened.
Dave: This is crazy.
Reese: I know, it's gonna be crazy.
Dave: So good for them. Super excited. Gonna be fun.
Reese: Yeah.
Dave: All right, moving on to what we did start watching though, because Showtime is on Paramount Plus.
We started watching by the way, we could watch South Park. We could watch the new South Parks. That would be fun.
Reese: That would be fun.
Dave: Maybe we should do that tonight after we're done here.
Reese: Okay.
Dave: But
Reese: I'm in,
Dave: Yes, I like it. So
we started to watch Dexter: Resurrection. Holy shit.
Reese: Five out of five. Highly recommend.
Dave: So good. So good. If you're into Dexter, this is
Reese: Like a spinoff.
Dave: This is, yeah. I mean, it's like they did, they did a few of them, they did the regular Dexter series. Then they did the Dexter: New Blood, which was him and [00:07:00] his son,
Reese: Which...
Dave: Then they did...
Reese: When we watched that, I remember thinking,
Dave: That was good.
Reese: That made up for the shitty ending.
Dave: That was also good
Reese: ...of the series. That was really good.
Dave: Then they did another one after that.
Reese: Yeah. What was that?
Dave: Well, just before this one came out, I think they did Dexter: Original Sin which goes back in time.
Reese: Oh, that was the prequel
Dave: When he was young. First starting out
Reese: ...with him and Deb.
Dave: And so I watched a couple of those on the plane.
It's fine. We're gonna do that next. But we did Dex Dexter: Resurrection, which is him. And his son
Reese: Peak...
Dave: Again. So good. We absolutely, we watched it with Emily.
Reese: The writing...
Dave: Absolutely loved it. The writing...
Reese: The acting they brought back,
Dave: Oh, it was so good.
Reese: It was, if you know the series well,
Dave: Such a good series.
Reese: There was a ton of little Easter eggs in there. They brought back some of your favorite people, super smart writing and, and really good with setting it up. Then bringing the thing back.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: And making it work. And I just, I was impressed. I was entertained. We were on [00:08:00] the edge of our seat. The cliffhangers...
Dave: Loved it.
Reese: Emily was like, oh my God, these cliffhangers are so good.
Dave: And we did it. We did an like an episode at night. And then, was it yesterday? Yesterday we just finished it. We had like two episodes.
Reese: There's nothing like having quality time with your child. Yeah. And watching, um,
Dave: Serial killers
Reese: Mass murderers. So it's fun.
Dave: But the, it was a great concept.
The way they brought it all together, everything just worked really well
Reese: And all the favorite people...
Dave: Everybody, was in it...
Reese: All the favorite actors were on it too. Like, that was great. But don't say anything else. So
Dave: I won't.
Reese: We don't spoil it.
Dave: Highly recommend if you're into the Dexter series Resurrection, if you haven't seen it.
Great. Really, really good.
Reese: Let's also recommend, we also went back, we've been watching some movies 'cause you're not a repeat. Movie person.
Dave: Not a movie...
Reese: You're not a...
Dave: I'm like a more of a repeat show person, not a movie person.
Reese: You a repeat show, but not like a movie person.
Dave: Although we did watch whatcha ma call it today, and I
Reese: Well, that's what I'm saying.
Dave: Oh, okay. Yeah.
Reese: We, we rewatched well for the first time we watched Prisoners, we never watched that...
Dave: That is true.
Reese: With Jake [00:09:00] Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman...
Dave: Also good.
Reese: Highly recommended by Jonnie who watched it when she was like...
Dave: And she's been trying to get us to watch this thing for like years I feel like.
Reese: So family movie night, we watch this. On the edge of our seat. Great movie.
Dave: Yeah, it was good.
Reese: And then we're, I think we're on like a Hugh Jackman kick. Like we find someone and then we end up watching like all their, movies on, you know? And then today we watched The Prestige.
Dave: Well, Jonnie, Jonnie and her boyfriend were looking for a movie today.
And as they were scrolling through things, I was like, oh, that one, that one, that one. And then we came to The Prestige, and then Jonnie was like, yeah, I don't really even, I would watch that. And then he was like, he had JP had never seen it. And so I was like, I would watch that. And then I came, I was like, Hey, we're gonna watch this if you wanna come.
And you're like, yeah.
Reese: Oh yeah.
Dave: So
Reese: I was gonna go right back to sleep, but I was like, you know what...
Dave: Also, that's a Christopher Nolan.
Reese: Yes.
Dave: If you like Christopher Nolan movies, if you like Christian Bale, if you like, uh, what's his name? What's his name?
Reese: Hugh Jackman?
Dave: The old guy? Hugh Jackman.
Reese: Oh. Oh. And um,
Dave: Oh, why am I forgetting his name?
Reese: I know from Batman.
Dave: Yeah. The old guy.
Reese: Yeah...
Dave: The old English guy.
Reese: Come on. He's the best.
Dave: I know. He's good.
Reese: He's so [00:10:00] good. I literally can watch him in.
Dave: Well, I know why I can't remember his name 'cause I'm old.
Reese: Also that. I literally can watch anything. 'cause I love the way he talks.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: He does not open his mouth and he's so British.
Wait, let's look that up. 'cause that we should give him the credit that he deserves.
Dave: Let's see if I can get it before you get it.
Reese: Okay.
Dave: I'm not gonna
Reese: Oh, why? Why do you play games with me?
Michael Caine, Jesus. How dare we?
Dave: Jesus Christ. What's wrong with us?
Reese: How dare we, Michael Caine?
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: I think we should also acknowledge a recent celebrity death, which is kind of
Reese and Dave: Catherine O'Hara.
Dave: Yeah, that's bummer.
Reese: That stung and completely outta nowhere. Apparently she had some sort of like congenital heart issue.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: But they're still like weird with the information. That sucks.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: And so for myself, I'm probably, which is so weird again, the simulation. I really need to get a tinfoil hat.
Dave: Oh, I wanted to tell you about...
Reese: I need a tinfoil hat.
Dave: A simulation thing. Finish [00:11:00] your thought.
Reese: Okay.
Dave: Cause I,
Reese: Okay. Don't forget it. 'cause I definitely wanna hear that.
Dave: I definitely forgot it. But, go ahead.
Reese: We've been singing Home Alone.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: From the Jonas Brothers Home Alone. Home alone. Home Alone. What was the big movie that she was in?
Dave: Home Alone?
Reese: Home Alone.
Dave: Yep.
Reese: And someone posted a meme and it's her in the,
Dave: Oh, remember it was.
Reese: With John Candy and he's got his, you know, when he, in the movie, he was in the Polka Polka Polka. Yeah. That was his. And so they have a picture of him with his instrument, whatever, and they were like, this is how he's greeting her in heaven.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: And I was like, I. Can't, and I know everybody loved her from Schitt's Creek.
Dave: Everything, everything.
Reese: But every...
Dave: She's always good.
Reese: Best In Show.
Dave: Yeah. All those things.
Reese: A Mighty Wind.
Dave: Guffman.
Reese: Guffman, she. To me as far as...
Dave: Hilarious.
Reese: Improv and comedy.
Dave: Hilarious.
Reese: That's a role model for me.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: I could never do what she did.
Dave: Okay. You ready for the...
Reese: I'm so ready.
Dave: You ready for the simulation?
Reese: I'm so ready.
Dave: What we were supposed to do tonight [00:12:00] was as you may have known, if you've listened to previous episodes that I got Reese a subscription to the History By Mail. That she gets a replication, a replica of a letter, some type of historic event, and it gives a little bit of detail on it and, you know, tells you, so what we were gonna do today, because we hadn't gone back to this in a while.
And I was like, Reese, you know, you've been getting letters. What the hell's been going on? Have you not been paying attention to history? What's wrong with you? And you were gonna put together a little something and we were gonna look at some of the letters that you got. So that's what the plan was for this evening.
At some point during the day, you went in for a nap. I watched the latest edition of Shark Tank.
Reese: Mm-hmm.
Dave: As I do when I've out by myself.
Reese: Tell me those guy,
Dave: They did a, well, this is where I found out about it. And so they did the recap, what's happening with History By Mail. I was like, fuck. So these guys came on and they're doing a collaboration with, what's his name?
[00:13:00] David Copperfield. They're gonna do a thing, they're gonna send a, you should. We should get it at some point, or you should get it at some point about a letter from Harry Houdini and some information about he made an elephant disappear, and I guess David Copperfield is gonna make you ready. Here's the simulation some more.
Reese: I'm ready. I'm ready.
Dave: He's gonna make the moon disappear.
Reese: He's been talking about that for a while, by the way.
Dave: Well, I guess this is the big moment. He's really putting the push on now.
Reese: Wow.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: Simulation.
Dave: I was like, holy shit. So, so would've been really cool, but Reese shit the bed.
Reese: Well...
Dave: She didn't do it
Reese: Right. So, listen, I,
I do wanna say this probably one of the best gifts you ever got me because I'm a sucker for history. I love history, I love learning about random topics, and I loved. I love when I get them. 'cause I, you never know what it's gonna be. And I definitely get that from my, my grandfather.
It was like big boo. He taught me a lot of things just like [00:14:00] random, his historical things and, to be honest, my brain is broken.
Dave: She's had a rough week folks.
Reese: I've had a, I, I have, like, it has been, which is probably why I've been napping so hard lately too. But I had auditions, I had been learning a monologue, which I never got to do.
So now I know a random monologue for no reason. Uh,
Dave: Say the word.
Reese: Say the word.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: What do you mean?
Dave: Oh, come on. The word from the monologue.
Reese: Oh God. Well actually, and I'm so ha, I'm kind of,
Dave: Do you wanna do the monologue?
Reese: I'm kind since you I'm happy. I mean, I would do it, but um, 'cause you know what it is about murder mysteries?
No, wait, listen. I think the reason why people like murder mysteries is because in murder mysteries, everything is significant. And the people in the murder mysteries live in a significant world, a world where everything happens for a reason. I'll [00:15:00] stop. The word pretty good is. OB obfuscation,
Dave: Uh, it was close. Obfuscation,
Reese: Obfuscation.
Dave: Obfuscation.
Reese: Sometimes it like, I ibuprofen.
Dave: You've been having a, you've been having a hard ibuprofen.
Reese: I have a hard time saying words, but wait.
Dave: Oh, there's more.
Reese: Yes. So then I had the auditions and which I got a part that I'm very excited about. It's first time in a long time I auditioned for something that I wanted a part, a specific one and I got it. So cheers to me. I'm kind of
Dave: Cheers to you.
Reese: I'm excited about that. And then I've been working since November to, we're moving from at the college Blackboard to Brightspace and anybody that does anything in the college realm, it's just a 24 7 app that the students and teachers use so that the content of the course is on there all the time and everybody has access to it.
Whatever. And so I had to create my own hybrid [00:16:00] course 'cause it was a special situation, whatever. So since November I've been working with this wonderful person in IT, Brian, giving you a shout out who's been trying to get me to transfer it over into Brightspace. But Brightspace is, you have to be a hundred percent, have a hundred percent accessibility.
And since I created all the content myself. A good portion of me being on the low end of accessibility is because I did not like this. I have to have like the alt text I have to have, headers all these things on there that, you know, I make these like silly, very visually stimulated.
Dave: Visually.
Reese: Yes, I'm a visual learner, so I like to put a lot of like visual content in there. Not a lot of wording and so. It took since November to get this to be at a hundred percent, accessibility. And finally, yesterday after like almost like a two hour zoom call [00:17:00] that I was taking a nap, forgot to hit the one hour alarm.
So the, the zoom is at three 15. I woke up at three 19. I never set the alarm. I was like, oh my God. I get on the thing, I look, I'm like, raggedy. I'm like a mess. I'm like, let's just get this done. And this guy is also so tired of doing this with me and we got it done. I got to a full hundred percent so my brain and doing
Dave: Way to go,
Reese: doing research and writing things up.
I'm sorry I'm kind of like. No. Right now, next time I will definitely do something with that. So that's my excuse and my brain is broken.
Dave: Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do, we're going back to Chuck Kostermans HYPERtheticals. We've got three options. We're gonna start Reese, I'm gonna tell you what they are.
Reese: Okay.
Dave: Number one, Vampire Weekend.
Reese: Oh, my favorite band,
Dave: Number two. Artistic Telekinesis. Number three, The Industry Standard. [00:18:00] Which one would you like to start with?
Reese: I gotta go with Vampire Weekend cause I like vampires and I like the band, so...
Dave: Here we go.
Reese: All right.
Dave: Vampire Weekend.
It's the evening before your wedding. Remember that day?
Reese: Yeah, I do.
Dave: Everything is going as planned.
Reese: I got my period.
Dave: Oh Jesus. You're spending the afternoon with your period and a few old friends. You're spending the afternoon with a few old friends chatting casually about old times. Suddenly your spouse to be bursts into the room.
Totally hysterical. Imagine picture me.
Reese: I could. I've seen it.
Dave: Your spouse seen to be insists that he has just, I'm saying he or she. If you're playing along at home, he or she has just seen a vampire. When you ask what this means, he or she says, I was looking out the window of my hotel room and I could see into the apartment building across the street.
That's when I saw the vampire. I [00:19:00] saw a man in a black cape bite a woman's neck and drink her blood. I know this must sound crazy, but I am that certain what I saw is real. Your prospective and sober spouse is in a state of panic, and pleads with you to believe his or her story. You can tell that this is really, really important to him or her.
Now knowing the fragility of the situation and the intensity of the timing, do you tell your potential spouse that you do, in fact completely believe that he or she saw a vampire across the street? All of your old friends are watching this conversation.
Reese: I feel like...
Dave: What was that noise? Was that me or you?
Reese: I don't know.
Dave: What was that noise?
Reese: I don't know.
Dave: It might be the vampire.
What? Did that come from me. I don't know.
Reese: I, IO [00:20:00] went to go open my mouth. Then the sound came out and I was like,
Dave: and it felt like I felt something, but I didn't do anything. That's so weird.
Reese: That was. It's the Vampire
Dave: Vampire.
Reese: Wow. I feel like you should have that question towards me.
Dave: Well, I will answer it as well, but you're starting.
Reese: I'm just saying because if you fucking said that, I'd be like, bitch, let's go. My first question would be, why are you at a hotel?
Dave: What? Why would that be your first? We're getting married.
Reese: Yeah, but why are you in a hotel?
Dave: Because we went someplace to get married.
Reese: I don't know...
Dave: Why is this...
Reese: That seems fishy.
Dave: Why? Why is that? Why is that fishy?
Reese: 'cause I need to know all the information before I can make a judgment.
Dave: Oh my god.
Reese: No, I'm just kidding.
Dave: This, yeah. This is where we...
Reese: I would 100% believe you and the people that I were, that I'm old friends, would obviously be like, yeah, obviously she's gonna believe that. I 100%.
Dave: For you, yeah. I feel like this is very easy for you.
Reese: Yes, a hundred percent. I'd be like, cool, let's [00:21:00] go. Let's...
Dave: So I feel like I would probably be at first,
Reese: First I would say, this fucking guy, if you know, you know what that's from.
Dave: If you know, you know.
Reese: Yeah.
Dave: So I think at first I would probably be like, come on. I'd be like, relax, get yourself together.
Reese: Yep.
Dave: But then if you were insistent and you were like, no, this is like if you were like.
This is legit. I know. I'm usually fucking crazy and unhinged and off the fucking handle.
Reese: Yep.
Dave: But this is for real, then I'd believe you.
Reese: That's a hundred percent something that I would say...
Dave: Yes.
Reese: And you would need to hear me say.
Dave: Right. You, you would need to give me a, this is not me being me. This is me being for real.
Reese: I wouldn't have my tinfoil hat on. It would just be my regular hair.
Dave: You would say, watch me take this off.
Reese: Yes.
Dave: You, and then you would do a whole thing.
Reese: Yes, a hundred percent.
Dave: Yeah. And then I...
Reese: so that's a no brainer.
Dave: Then I would believe you.
Reese: Yeah. That's a no-brainer.
Dave: Yeah, man. Fucking vampires.
Reese: Fucking vampires
Dave: Ruining everything.
Reese: I really do think that they do exist. So do werewolves.
Dave: Uh, where are...
Reese: And there are wolves.
Dave: There they are.
Reese: Yeah.
Dave: Okay. Artistic [00:22:00] Telekinesis or The Industry Standard?
Reese: Industry standard.
Dave: The Industry Standard. Oh boy. This is, I have to hold it out here. This is how I read down.
Reese: Or tilt your glasses all the way down like you do.
Dave: No, no. You are inside a very peculiar rock club. Ooh, so far this tracks,
Reese: This is...
Dave: For whatever reason...
Reese: The accuracy...
Dave: The manager of the club demands that all his musical acts must take an extensive IQ test.
Reese: Alright, so far, I'm disappointed in this question 'cause I thought it was an actual club with people who collect rocks.
Dave: You're an idiot. Before he will allow them to perform. He has his acts taken extensive I two IQ test.
Reese: Wow.
Dave: I've been drinking. Before he will allow them to perform. Obfuscate.
Reese: Yep.
Dave: Tonight there will be two acts on the bill and they coincidentally share the same band name.
The Industry Standard. Both bands are alleged to be awesome. Sadly, [00:23:00] you only have one hour to spend at the club due to another obligation. And the intermission between the two acts is very long, so you really can't watch both. You ask the manager, which version of The Industry Standard you should watch. He says, "I have no idea."
He says, "but I will tell you this, the first band had the highest test scores I've ever seen anywhere. Each member of the band is technically a genius. One guy scored higher than Marilyn Vaughn Savant. Conversely, the band playing second at some of the worst scores ever recorded. One member might actually be illiterate.
However, I halfway suspect they were all drunk and mocking the entire process. I couldn't tell for sure." I wonder what his IQ is. Which version of the industry standard do you decide to see?[00:24:00]
Reese: Obviously the dumb dumbs.
Dave: I feel like the dumb dumbs is the answer too.
Reese: Yeah, the dumb dumbs,
Dave: Although I gotta say I don't, I see this would piss me off that I can't see them both.
Reese: I would figure out a way to be like,
Dave: This is really rough.
Reese: If someone else was gonna be there, I'd be like, can you record this for me?
Mm. So I can, you know, so logically I would try to figure that out. But...
Dave: That's a, that's a tough one, because I would wanna see them both really bad, I think because there are bands that are super smart that are in, so like, let's take for example, let's say like Radiohead, right? Radiohead are very like musically smart, like their music is very complex,
Reese: Cerebral.
Dave: Then there are bands that are very, not that, that are just very passionate and emotional, that are also very awesome.
Reese: Right.
Dave: So both have potential to be very, very, very, very, very cool.
Reese: Right.
Dave: And I think I would want to find out exactly what is the industry standard.
Reese: I [00:25:00] feel like if I'm gonna be entertained.
Dave: Are you not entertained?
Reese: Are you not entertained?
Dave: We should watch that. I would watch that.
Reese: I will watch that all day, every day.
Dave: I know.
Reese: Gladiator is, is. Phenomenal.
Dave: The second one. Not so good, huh?
Reese: I'm gonna say no. Second one was not good.
Dave: Yeah, I didn't see it.
Reese: Um, not good at all. I was disappointed. Um...
Dave: All right. What are you gonna say?
Reese: Yeah, the second d dumb band. I would just choose to like, roll the dice and see
Dave: Now...
Reese: What that was about.
Dave: Now...
Reese: That's more interesting to me.
Dave: If we could divide and conquer this. I would definitely do that where, hey, listen, we gotta go to a thing, but I can go to that or you can go to that.
Reese: You stay, and watch this...
Dave: You watch this one, and I'll watch that one.
Reese: Yes.
Dave: Or vice versa.
Reese: Right?
Dave: Cool.
Reese: We're good like that.
Dave: Yeah, we would, do that.
Reese: We would be like...
Dave: Because we're like, look, here's the situation...
Reese: Because we like music.
Dave: This is what we're gonna do. But if it was just us on our own, I guess I would choose the dumb, dumb band too.
Reese: I would, because I feel like to me, I am a, I'm a big fan of the [00:26:00] Wabi-sabi. Like I like things that are. Broken and not perfect.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: And disjointed and, and messy.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: I like chaos.
Dave: I feel like there's, on the cerebral...
Reese: That's interesting to me.
Dave: Side of things, the smarty pants, I feel like there's potential for that to be too cerebral.
Reese: Yeah.
Dave: And it would obfuscate my good time. Okay, last one.
Reese: Okay.
Dave: Artistic Telekinesis. There it is. Look at it. Okay. Looks like there's a remote control involved.
Reese: Oh.
Dave: All right. Let's assume that you have the ability to telekinetically change culture while you actively experience it, so your mind can now dictate what you see and hear.
For example. Just in case. I know you look a little perplexed.
Reese: I am perplexed
Dave: For example, if you were listening to Pearl Jam's Yield and you wanted the music to be [00:27:00] heavier, it would immediately sound as though Mike McCready's guitar had tuned differently in the studio
Reese: Simulation.
Dave: Here we go...
Reese: For a second. Hold on.
Dave: Wait. It's getting better.
Reese: Yep.
Dave: If you were watching The Office...
Reese: Mm-hmm.
Dave: On NBC and decided that Jim should marry Pam or Karen or both. You could make it happen. All you would need to do is think about that specific desire. You could stare at an oil painting and unconsciously change the color contrasts.
If a PG 13 romantic comedy grew dull, you could force it to evolve to an eroticized NC 17 thriller. You could essentially write books as you read them, eliminating certain characters and redirecting plot points as they occurred in the text. However, such changes would only apply to your experience. You could kill off Han Solo at the end of Return of a Jedi, but that would not change the [00:28:00] movie for anyone else.
Reese: I would definitely not do that.
Dave: All other people would possess the same personal psychic powers as you.
Reese: So everybody would have their own psychic ability to...
Dave: So everything
Reese: Change things...
Dave: Would be a different experience for everybody. So the question is, would you want this ability, and if this became reality, would art retain any meaning whatsoever?
Reese: Yeah. I fucking love that question. I love that one.
Dave: Right. Well, what's your answer?
Reese: Well, I feel like there's a lot to. Unpack here.
Dave: Oh, let's start.
Reese: Okay. Starting with number one. I feel that...
Dave: Good place to start.
Reese: Yeah. I feel that. Or we could start it.
Dave: Number seven.
Reese: Number fuck you. Um, I feel like perception is your reality and I feel like everybody sees things the way that they wanna see it, the way they perceive it.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: From their lived experience.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: So I feel like we already do that. In, [00:29:00] in, in a way like you're,
Dave: So yes, we all, but we usually do that in relation to some type of context.
Reese: Mm-hmm.
Dave: And so now if the context is gone, you don't really have a way to actually have a conversation about it because it's, because there's no. Factual thing to discuss because everything is different.
Reese: So I'm gonna give you an example. I hear what you're saying.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: So the ending of Lost.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: Every time I watch it, I cry.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: I see that last episode. As a beautiful tribute to the characters, the series, I connect it with my own lived experience of.
What a beautiful concept of death.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: Like you get to, everybody dies at their own time, but then they all have this [00:30:00] special place that they gather together and wait for each other.
Dave: Right.
Reese: Like that, that idea And Jack having closure with this father, like realizing like, okay, we're both dead. Look, I'm already, I have goosebumps.
Like he, he realizes like, if I'm seeing you. I'm dead. Like this is it. Like to me, and I love it. Other people's perception is that's the worst fucking people put it up there as the worst ending of a show of all time.
Dave: Sure.
Reese: And I let people have that. 'cause you can, that's fine. That means that that series wasn't as meaningful to you as it was to me.
Dave: Right.
Reese: Okay. Now, if you, if I was given the ability to. Change things in my mind, you know what I mean? To, to change colors or endings or whatever. You know, I would put Benedict Cumberbatch in every, in everything.
Dave: Okay. Yeah.
Reese: You know what I mean? Like if I could do that thing, there's two sides to it. There is the opportunity [00:31:00] for people to come together and say.
Tell me about what you created, and I'm gonna tell you what I created.
Dave: Okay.
Reese: And then you can have a wonderful discussion. There's an opportunity for wonderful discussion and conversation.
Dave: So hear me out. This would end up being then like everything starts as like the ultimate prompt,
Reese: Right?
Dave: And then you then decide where you wanna take it.
Reese: Right.
Dave: Now on the flip side of that though. So I, I, I hear what you're saying. I like that idea. 'cause I was thinking of it as okay, but now, like, so your Lost example, everybody would be having a different moment and so you actually couldn't have a discussion about,
Reese: No, I would love to know...
Dave: What people did...
Reese: But I would love to know what, so how would you change it?
Dave: But, but, but here's the deal. If you watch the whole season, the whole thing could be different. And so you might not even get to that place. You see what I'm saying?
Reese: I guess so.
Dave: 'cause [00:32:00] then that, and that I think is the second part of the, the question is, would art retain any meaning whatsoever? Because it's no longer a, it's no longer somebody's vision.
Reese: Yeah. But art...
Dave: of what they're sharing with you, it's a vision of you taking the idea of what they started with and then changing it and not even watching the artists interpretation.
Reese: But it's also understanding. The two modes of subjective and objective.
Dave: But that doesn't exist anymore.
Reese: But it still can be because we would be so used to that in life that we would adapt to, to that, and then be able to have the conversation.
It would be, you know what I mean? Like, listen, even when you, you look at art and you look at a painting. Everybody sees different things anyway. You see what you wanna see,
Dave: But yes, yes. But you are all still looking at the same thing. [00:33:00] And this is where it would be different, is that it wouldn't be the same thing.
So like take for example, that here's that picture of the octopus behind you.
Reese: Right.
Dave: So let's say I said, you know what? I want that to be blue.
Reese: I knew you were gonna say blue.
Dave: I want it to have different things. And so now what I'm looking at is actually not what you're looking at.
Reese: But i'm not gonna argue with you because...
Dave: No, but it doesn't, it matter that you're arguing with me.
Let me finish the point. The point is then you and I can't have a discussion about it because we're not looking at the same thing. We're looking at different things.
Reese: Oh, we do this. Every single day. This is why people fight with each other. I feel like it would probably be,
Dave: You know, why people fucking fight with you?
Reese: You know, fucking, fucking Google box. Stick it up your Google box. Um, I feel like, and I knew you were gonna say blue because,
Dave: Oh, now you fucking know me.
Reese: Now I'm a genius.
Dave: You think you [00:34:00] know me?
Reese: I'm a genius. No.
Dave: You don't know shit.
Reese: I feel like if that were the case, then we would all be aware of. People have, can morph and change things.
And I think there'd be so many more interesting conversations. 'cause then, then the next question would be like why did you change that? Why did you, 'cause it wouldn't be like
Dave: So, but I feel like the first question would be, so what did you do to it?
Reese: So what you do to it.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: And then, and then you can have the conversation about,
Dave: Well, why did you do that?
Reese: Right. Then.
Dave: But so, so let's think of it like this. Right? Let's use,
Reese: I don't think it would be a bad thing.
Dave: We just watched. I mean, it'd be different, but I'm just saying it would be a weird conversation to have. And then it would get to the point, would art retain any meaning whatsoever? Because like. You're not really being able to experience the art as the artist who created it wanted you to, you'd be an artist as well, which I think is a different thing, which is fine, but it's just different.
And so like, let's use Mother as an example.
Reese: Oh.
Dave: [00:35:00] Okay. So think about this. Yes. Right. So the, the kids watched Mother the other day, and then we watched it after they watched it and they hated it. And then we watched it and we're like, oh.
Reese: And then what did Jonnie's boyfriend say after they watched it?
Dave: I don't know. They hated it.
Reese: Your mother is gonna love this movie.
Dave: So, because I didn't, I didn't have a, I didn't have a deep enough opinion to, other than I, I,
Reese: It doesn't matter.
Dave: I liked it and I got it. I didn't wanna hear conversation with it.
Reese: The point they watched it, they hated it.
Dave: Right. So...
Reese: Jonnie's boyfriend
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: Said...
Dave: Said that you would like it.
Reese: Your mother's gonna love it.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: Knowing that they hated it.
Dave: Yeah. So now here's my point though, is that if they started watching that. They were like, I hate this. Here's what I would change. And then they changed it. It's interesting,
Reese: And here's where I'd go with this,
Dave: I'm trying to think of what the discussion would be.
Reese: This, here's where I would go with this. My personality, the way that my brain works. I would be like, I'm gonna watch it as the director. And writer. And [00:36:00] writer of it.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: It's what his face?
Dave: Intended it to be.
Reese: What's his face?
Dave: Darren Aronofsky.
Reese: Darren and I love most of Aronofsky's.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: Movies because they are meant to be uncomfortable. They're meant to.
Dave: Sure. Yeah.
Reese: This is, and this is the conversation that I had afterwards with her boyfriend about it. 'cause he was like, all right let's go, let's talk about it.
And I explained to him that because of my theater background, I learned about Bert Albrecht. Brecht wrote plays like Three Penny Opera and he, the music it music, they were musicals. And that's where you get Mack The Knife.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: The song. And he did. The music was dis disjointed, uncomfortable. When the performances would happen, you would see the costume changes.
You would see the scene changes. There was no illusion, there was no willing suspension of disbelief. The. Every play that he wrote had a message and he didn't want you to get lost in the world. He wanted you to receive the [00:37:00] message.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: By being uncomfortable and knowing this is a play.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: This is the message that I'm sending and blah, blah, blah.
Dave: So what, what if never got the message?
Reese: And I feel like Aronofsky's does that. 'Cause it's up to you to get it, but it
Dave: No, but what I'm saying is
Reese: Time out. Time out. Let me finish.
Dave: Go ahead.
Reese: When I watched Mother immediately into it, I'm like, this is a metaphor.
Dave: Sure.
Reese: It's a metaphor.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: And this is not reality. So now whatever I am about to watch for the amount of time that I'm watching it, there's a message here.
So I'm just looking for symbolism and then right away I am like, okay, this is biblical. This is about the Bible.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: So I'm not gonna lie, I went and I, I looked up. Who wrote it and what, and I was like, oh, he wrote this. And then my thought was, this is a metaphor, and it said it in the thing. And I'm like, all right.
That confirmed it. And then there's a, it's about the Bible. It's stories of the Bible and things about the Bible and about God and Mother Earth and all this stuff. And things kept [00:38:00] popping up. So as we're going, I'm Googling and I'm, I'm looking at, I'm going in the Google box and I'm looking up like all these like, 'cause listen, I went to Catholic school so I have a, a, some idea
Dave: You were deep, in the Google box.
Reese: I really was. But there was like some things I was like, I don't understand this reference. I'm, look at it. My brain was like bursting. I loved. Everything about it. I do feel like maybe not Jennifer Lawrence in that role. I, I think she's, I think
Dave: Ya, she was fine.
Reese: A good actress, but I feel like, I dunno, I would've, if someone else was in that role, I feel like it might've been better.
It might've been like more, um,
Dave: Poignant.
Reese: Poignant,
Dave: yeah.
Reese: But I think she did a great job. I wouldn't never be able to recover from. From it. And their thing was, it was so violent, there was so much violence, like, did we need to see this thing and that thing? And it was so, I was like, yes, you need to see it and you need to see what [00:39:00] happened.
I'm not gonna give it away. I'm also not gonna recommend it because I don't wanna hear somebody telling me why didn't make me matches, I didn't make you do nothing.
Dave: If you're into that type of thing,
Reese: If you don't have an open mind and, and, and you can't see the artistry of how he. It's the same thing as when people do Shakespeare and they modernize it.
Shit. If you, shit,
Dave: if you want a movie where you think, and you have to, you see the symbolism and you,
Reese: yes.
Dave: It's like it's, it's not about,
Reese: and you can appreciate the modernization of
Dave: It's weird,
Reese: the biblical stories,
Dave: it's whatever. Then cool. But if you're not into that,
Reese: it's hard watch. There's some things towards the end too that are like really deeply difficult.
But anyway, if they decided we're gonna watch this and we can change things, I would love to sit down and be like, what did you change? Because what I would do with this power is. Allow the artist to ha like see it in its original form. And then watch it again.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: And allow myself to make the corrections or things that I think I would like it to be.
Dave: So, I feel as though you would [00:40:00] need to have a club.
Reese: Mm-hmm.
Dave: Like an art club where
Reese: Sure.
Dave: The agreement was we're gonna watch things pure.
Reese: Yep.
Dave: That actually would be pretty cool.
Reese: That'd be amazing.
Dave: Here's, here's, I think the solution. We're gonna watch things pure and. We're gonna talk about what changes we would make and then we
Reese: Yep.
Dave: Then you could watch those versions or
Reese: Yep.
Dave: The collective version that you would create.
Reese: Yep.
Dave: That's how I would do it. That would be cool.
Reese: But that's what we do with any
Dave: Well without the outcome though. Without the it's almost like you get the it's like the George Lucas effect, right? Where Star Wars, I'm not done with Star Wars.
Oh, now I have new technology. I'm gonna add stupid shit in here that ruins it.
Reese: Oh, like Han Solo stepping on,
Dave: Right? Yeah.
Reese: Uh, Jabba the Hut,
Dave: Jabba the Hut's tail. Stupid,
Reese: fucking
Dave: right. But,
Reese: but dumb.
Dave: But this is essentially what it could be, right?
Reese: And some people thought that that was clever and funny. Oh my God, I found it in poor taste and tacky.
Dave: Yeah. '
Reese: cause you're ruining it. But think of
Dave: Pataki,
Reese: but [00:41:00] Yep. Yep. But think of how we modernize classic pieces. So I'm gonna go back to Shakespeare, right? How many versions of Shakespeare's plays of Hamlet? Mm-hmm. Or Macbeth or Romeo and Ju it's a trope and people take that, they modernize it and do things.
There's so many versions of Hamlet. I think there's like four or five. And one of my favorite ones is the Mel Gibson, which is true to form Mel Gibson's a little bit old to be playing Hamlet at that time, but I ignored that.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: And I thought it was really well done. But then there's the most modern version with Ethan Hawk. Who I love.
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Reese: But I hated it because it was so tacky. It was so like nineties grunge tacky. Did not like it. But give me the Romeo and Juliette with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
It's beautiful.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: [00:42:00] Visually stunning.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: Everything about it. And what they did was take this classic that everybody knows everything about it. And they just aesthetically made it. They didn't change the dialogue, they didn't modernize the text. They just made it beautiful. I'm gonna say this, remember the, we just started watching Mad Men..
And in the middle I had an epiphany. I was like,
i'm gonna create Mad Men with the same aesthetic, but the dialogue is gonna be modern. What I'm trying to say is in my mind, I'm already rebranding it and refurbishing it in the way that I think would be amazing. You know what I mean? So I feel like we already kind of do this,
Dave: but its, it's almost like,
Reese: but I also think it would be so great if everybody had that imagination and then we can find a place
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: Where we can have, but again, humans fucking suck and we'd be arguing about it, so
Dave: Just like we could continue to do.
Reese: I know.
Dave: So let's close [00:43:00] it there.
Reese: I like that.
Dave: That was an interesting, this was a great discuss
Reese: conversation.
Dave: Yeah.
Reese: I liked it. Nice
Dave: job. Well, I hope you enjoyed the conversation
friends, remember this . Life is a group project. Be kind to each other. We'll see you next time.
