Caged Bearcats 2: Self-Reliance

“Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!” ―  Winston Zeddmore, Ghostbusters (1984)

“We have time to grow old. The air is full of our cries. But habit is a great deadener.”― Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

Social distancing, teleworking, beans and rice/rice and beans, TP shortages, virtual happy hours, and forgetting to hit mute—is Ralph Waldo Emerson the person we need to transcend all this?  This week the Red Taped lost boys try to grow up and become self-reliant (although we would prefer not to).  This quasi-normal episode gets a little off topic and explores: tiny mammal things (friend, foe, or delicious?); virtual train travel for cool guys; less than horrible elevator music; cider virginity stories; hot and bothered bats; and the erotic lives of America’s nonagenarian intelligentsia.   If you want to skip us catching up and get straight to the book forward to 17:50.

Read your Emerson and keep listening!

(Production note: please hang in with us and we work on improving the quality of the remote recording.) 

Book: “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Drinks: a moral imperative at this point

Next episode: “Compensation” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Attributes and References:

Go for a train ride:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw9qiV7XlFs

Background music for work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuBCIwEzBBI

American Philosophy: A Love Story by John Kaag (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28116747-american-philosophy)

Ethics by Baruch Spinoza https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205218.Ethics?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=jCFmYrXPgq&rank=1 )

Hot Bats?

https://massivesci.com/articles/bat-immune-systems-ncov-sars-nipah-mers-ebola-coronavirus/

Opening:

Charles Ives “Symphony No 1” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM5e9fjFRHg&t=89s 

Reading of “Self-Reliance”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pEhC3345JE

Closing:

“Bartelby the Scrivener” (short film): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUBA_KR-VNU&t=1307s