AVDP EP56 | Solocast, Christmas Rant, Privilege, Scheherazade, Matrix

The post AVDP EP56 | Solocast, Christmas Rant, Privilege, Scheherazade, Matrix appeared first on AGREEorDIE.

Listen
WatchSubscribe

In this Episode of AVDP

Christmas Sucks

As you can tell by the above rant, I have hated Christmas for a long time now. The holiday just keeps on getting worse, more difficult, more stressful and more expensive. You no longer require gifts to get the toys you want like you did when you are a kid, which means you probably already purchased all of your wanted toys. So what can anyone get you? A bunch of junk. I also tell some interesting anecdotes about my parents.

Food Network Avoids Veganism

I am fully aware that only about 5% of the population is vegan and regular people are afraid of veganism. However it is also a fact that meat consumption is one of the worst things for our planet from every perspective: environmental, economic, health and ethical. Food Network is the authority on food and they should absolutely be encouraging people to at least consider a vegan lifestyle. In the short term it might not be the best for ratings and that is certainly a consideration, but I think it is their responsibility to get the word out.

First-World Privilege

I coined this term “first-world privilege” after the podcast and I wish I said it on the air. But basically what I am saying is compared to third world citizens, everyone in American who gets to eat out at Taco Bell and has a Facebook account is incredibly privileged, even if they are relatively (by American standards) poor, and worked hard all their lives.

Secondly, I think the concept of “hard work” is thrown around a lot by people, and I have a news flash for most of them. You don’t know what hard work is. Granted working 12-16 hour days, or doing hard labor, or working in the heat is certainly hard work. However at least in America you are compensated for that work in a reasonable way. Compare that to hard work in Mexico, Thailand or Zimbabwe and your perspective should change. Not only is slavery a real thing in other parts of the world, but having no actual options other than working in some slum fishery for $2 a week with no hope of ever “making it” no matter how hard you work… That is a form of hard work that Americans cannot possible understand. So before anyone tells refugees to “stop being lazy” please check yourself. No everyone had the same starting line.

The Story of Scheherazade

I explain the meaning of the Magic the Gathering card Shahrazad (Scheherazade) and how the history of the character supports the effect of the card. Long story short, a Sultan marries a new wife every night, and beheads her the next morning so she doesn’t have the opportunity to cheat on him. Scheherazade comes up with a plan to begin telling the Sultan a thrilling story the night, and not finish it. The Sultan is so excited to hear how it ends he does not kill her. Then she finishes the story and begins a new one. Hence the name of the book 1001 Arabian Nights.

The card text reads:

Players must leave game in progress as it is and use the cards left in their libraries as decks with which to play a subgame of Magic. When subgame is over, players shuffle these cards, return them to libraries, and resume game in progress, with any loser of subgame halving his or her remaining life points, rounding down. Effects that prevent damage may not be used to counter this loss of life. The subgame has no ante; using less than forty cards may be necessary.

The Matrix Sucks?

A fatal flaw in the Matrix’s plot: why does there need to be a matrix at all? Why not engineer a dreamless sleep? Why not simply go with putting all of the humans into a coma and not have to worry about crafting the perfect world for them to dream about?

Picks of the Week
Dead or Alive Xtreme 3

Creed

Circle

Sniper Elite III

The post AVDP EP56 | Solocast, Christmas Rant, Privilege, Scheherazade, Matrix appeared first on AGREEorDIE.