Youtube clips

Hacker and Lauren: https://youtu.be/awTnX-nGlUw?si=pR6jt6amc4puwvlr

Blind Date Fart https://youtu.be/QG7VHX64oaM?si=6nO-z6taNZelHYyE

McScuse me Carla https://youtu.be/IrSsjdzlUSw?si=1wdKgotZL6TrUlx7

Send us your favorite clips to react to on the show at [email protected]

In this episode:

• What if your parents were gay?
• The Stonewall riots, hidden family secrets, and domestic violence
• ADHD medications and heart health in rural communities
• Deep dives into YouTube culture and internet rabbit holes
• Why TikTok creators are going to theaters (Iron Lung, The Backrooms)
• Naming your pets weird things (Tiffany the Tarantula, Brisket the cat)
• Black Appalachia and Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s legacy
• Affrilachia, Frank X Walker, and reclaiming Appalachian narratives
• Family game night, Trivial Pursuit, and how queer history sneaks into your living room

00:00 Intro & Growing Up Queer in Appalachia

00:49 Family Stories & Domestic Violence

04:08 TV, Streaming & Pop Culture Critique

13:35 YouTube Culture & Creators

21:38 Personal Health & ADHD Medications

22:09 ADHD, Heart Health & Medical Reality

23:28 ‌

32:18 Pet Stories & Naming Animals

44:50 Appalachian Scholars & Black Appalachia

50:15 ‌

51:37 Social Media & Academic Research

01:00:19 Outro & Call to Action

Send us mail at [email protected]

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram at @Queernecks

Subscribe to out newsletter for the Queernecks ramble expansion pack: https://substack.com/@queernecks

And join our discord by joining our Ko-Fi for $2 a month: https://ko-fi.com/queernecks

Welcome to Queernecks, the podcast that puts the yehaw in y'all means all.

2

I'm your host, Beck,

3

Dash: and I'm your host.

4

Dash.

5

Welcome to today's episode.

6

What do you think it would've been like

growing up with gay parents as you are?

7

Beck: Trying to imagine

either of my parents as a gay

8

person is just mind-blowing.

9

I can't even fathom that.

10

So I can't imagine what

it would've been like.

11

The gender roles were real in my family

12

Dash: Yeah And it, it's hard to ans-

it's hard to even try to think about

13

a question like that without…

14

You have to, because what you have to work

with is the parents that you grew up with.

15

And so then you're like, "No."

16

Beck: Yeah.

17

There were rumors that my biological

father dabbled in the gay arts but

18

Dash: Queer arts.

19

Beck: Yes.

20

But, uh, I don't know anything confirmed.

21

Mom said that she found out

he was going to the Stonewall,

22

which was my first gay bar.

23

And then that's when she decided that she

was done and she was gonna divorce him.

24

Dash: Oh

25

Beck: But that's all I know, is

that he was going to the gay bar.

26

I don't know…

27

I never wanted to ask

28

Dash: yeah, which it could have been

true, but it also, going to a gay bar

29

doesn't make a person gay necessarily.

30

But also I think sometimes when

people are already checked out

31

of a relationship, they're just

looking for that one little thing

32

Beck: Yeah, well my dad

was a serial cheater

33

too, so.

34

Dash: Which that's funny because

that wasn't enough for her.

35

It had to be that he was gay.

36

Beck: Yeah.

37

Like, 'cause that's what the way

that it was done in the '60s,

38

Dash: people, oh my God, they are not okay

39

Beck: Yeah, domestic violence was

a thing that was just kept under

40

the rug 'cause my dad was a very

violent man on top of that, you know?

41

And my mom stayed with him for 17

years, and, uh, apparently he got

42

a lot better in his last years.

43

His wife told me that he hadn't hit her

in probably a decade when he passed.

44

So he had, I guess, found

Jesus or however that works

45

Dash: Right.

46

I remember there was a f- a family

that we, the family that had the

47

farm that we spent a lot of time on.

48

They were…

49

Oh, man, it was a fight every…

50

Well, every time we were

there, it was a fight.

51

And he was brutal.

52

They weren't even a- they weren't

even trying to h- he wasn't even

53

trying to hide it from the kids.

54

And so she was just like, "First of

all, you're gonna kill me one day."

55

Like, he knocked out her teeth.

56

She was so small.

57

He was, like, 6'5", and he did

drywall for a living, so he was

58

just built like a brick shit house

59

Beck: Yeah, my dad was a

construction guy himself,

60

ironwork

61

Dash: the danger that he was

gonna literally kill her one day.

62

Beck: my dad hid in the trunk one time

when my mom was trying to leave him with a

63

shotgun and said he was gonna kill us all.

64

Like, it was, my dad was

real, like a real crazy dude

65

Dash: Yeah.

66

This guy was too.

67

And so after that, I didn't see

him anymore until David's funeral.

68

And for some reason, he cornered me at

David's funeral and told me how he had got

69

sober, and he didn't beat his new wife.

70

And I was like, "What is this?

71

Is it, it's part confession,

part excuse, and why here?

72

Why now?

73

Why me?

74

Why do you care what I think of you?"

75

Beck: Right?

76

Dash: why.

77

I don't know.

78

Oh, this, uh…

79

Brisket locked himself in the

bedroom and he's, like, howling.

80

Hang on.

81

Oh, it was Ziggy the window is open

and so it blew the door closed on her

82

Beck: Hey, that's a good idea.

83

Hang on, let me crack my window.

84

Dash: Did you get your tickets?

85

Beck: My tick- what tickets?

86

Dash: To the gun show?

87

Beck: Front row, baby

88

Dash: I've always wanted to do that joke.

89

Oh, man.

90

And that's from The Office.

91

Well, I don't think they invented

it, but that's what made me

92

remember that joke was The Office.

93

Did you ever watch that show?

94

Beck: No, I tried.

95

It just, I just didn't get the humor

96

Dash: It, uh, I didn't

watch it either, Freely.

97

Uh, but I, it was, it's always on some- it

was always on somewhere for a time there.

98

And I have a friend who's, or two

friends who are obsessed with it.

99

Like, they watch it over and over again.

100

And I, anytime I see it I'll, like,

chuckle 'cause they'll have it

101

on sometimes when I'm over there,

and I'll chuckle at it, and then

102

they're like, "Well, if you find

it funny, why don't you like it?"

103

And I was like, "That is a,

that's a valid question."

104

It's because I don't care what happens.

105

I don't care what happens to these people.

106

I never watch a frame of it that makes me

go, "I wonder what's gonna happen next?"

107

Like, this isn't for me

because nothing happens.

108

And sim- similar to Seinfeld.

109

I can't fucking stand Seinfeld

110

Beck: Yeah, me too

111

Dash: I much preferred like Parks and

Rec over Office, and people will often

112

like juxtapose the two because Parks and

Rec is loaded with character and story

113

and even commentary on institutions and

power dynamics and politics and stuff.

114

But anyway, the person who makes

that joke in The Office is, uh,

115

Rainn Wilson's character, Dwight.

116

And, uh, recently, Rainn Wilson said

that h- you know, The Office wouldn't

117

be able to be made in this current

climate of political correctness

118

and every- and everybody's roasted

him for it, which is good, uh,

119

because that's so fucking stupid.

120

The Office was the most

nothing burger of a show.

121

does he think they were doing like

edge lord humor on The Office?

122

Beck: They just came out with, I

think it a- got canceled already.

123

There was a show called The Paper that

was supposed to be the new Office,

124

but it was set in Toledo, Ohio.

125

There was a local newspaper.

126

I watched an episode of it 'cause

it was set in Toledo, and it was bad

127

Dash: The Paper, it does look like

they're really trying to be Office-like.

128

Beck: Yehaw

129

Dash: It's got Oscar Nunez in it,

who was, uh, was on The Office.

130

Oh, it's a s- It's a spin-off.

131

Okay So it is, it's part

of that whole universe.

132

Beck: Right

133

Dash: Well, it hasn't been "was-ed"

yet on the Wikipedia page, so

134

maybe it hasn't been canceled yet

135

Beck: Maybe.

136

Nobody I know is watching it

137

Dash: I mean, maybe they're just banking

on The Office folks to wanna see it.

138

Beck: Yeah.

139

Have you noticed how many

shows get set in Toledo?

140

Dash: Uh, a lot of shows

get set in Ohio in general

141

Beck: Yehaw

142

Dash: because the, so they'll be

set in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana,

143

and it's because that is the

Middle American sort of zeitgeist.

144

There's jokes about it.

145

So that one of my favorite jokes in

Futurama was about the television

146

industry, and there's some robots that

are, uh, like giving input on whether a

147

show will be successful, and one of them

goes, " But will it play in Peoria?"

148

And that's, that's kinda

what they were talking about.

149

Like Glee is set in Lima, Ohio

150

Beck: Yeah, I know.

151

That's up here too.

152

Dash: But, the joke about that show was

that it was a stereotype of America.

153

Like, even when we try to do

diversity in television, we're

154

tokenizing, we're stereotyping.

155

I'm not a Glee stan or even really a

Glee defender, but I do get irritated

156

when people critique the show

because all of the characters are

157

stereotypes, and it's like, correct.

158

Yeah that's, that's the point.

159

They're all stereotypes because it's kind

of a commentary on how we do television.

160

Beck: I use it often in class to

talk about the social homophobia,

161

like the idea of being gay but not

wanting to be caught, about how the

162

football player beat up on the gay kid,

and how thou dost protest too much.

163

We talk about that in class.

164

Sometimes the people who are most

anti-gay are the queerest ones out there,

165

Dash: Do you give them

the studies on it too?

166

Beck: No, I didn't know there were studies

167

Dash: Oh yeah there's literally proof.

168

There is science about how homophobia,

extreme homophobia to the point that it

169

becomes your personality, just being an

expression of self-loathing homosexuality

170

Beck: We do talk, about the Kinsey scale

and how all of, we brought sex into

171

the laboratory and things like that.

172

and I always say, "So if you're

not gay, you still have some time."

173

Dash: H- That's right.

174

I saw, there's a TikTok video of a

mom talking to her little girl, and

175

her little girl's like, "What's gay?"

176

Uh, and she's, I would guess

maybe five, four or five.

177

And the mom's like, "Oh okay.

178

So it's when a boy loves another

boy and a girl loves another girl."

179

And you know, she, she did great

I think, especially for the way

180

a kid will just pop that on you.

181

Beck: Right?

182

Dash: And then the kid's

like, "Are you gay?"

183

And she said, "I unfortunately am not gay.

184

I'm married to your dad."

185

Uh, and the g- little girl got

sad, and she goes, "Ah, that

186

means I'm probably not gay."

187

And her mom was like, "Well, you could be.

188

We don't know."

189

It was so funny,

190

Beck: I think I saw that video.

191

Now that I hear what you're, that,

that part of it, I believe I saw that

192

Dash: so endearing to see her

go like, "How do I do this?

193

Okay."

194

Like, that's how you do it,

195

you know?

196

I

197

mean, it's like a kid saying

like, "Well, I guess I'll

198

never be a fighter jet pilot."

199

It's like, well, not with that attitude

200

Same goes for being gay.

201

Beck: If you work hard and

202

Dash: You'll be rewarded.

203

Beck: become one of God's special

chosen children I always say, why

204

would he have made us so cute and

adorable if he didn't like us, you know?

205

Dash: Why is gay a synonym for happy?

206

Beck: Exactly.

207

I know why it's a synonym

for awkward 'cause of me.

208

Dash: Um,

209

You know how it says in the Bible

that you're not allowed to take

210

more than one trip to bring in

all the groceries from the car?

211

Beck: I am aware of that passage, yes.

212

Dash: Uh, I believe it's

efficiencies 11, 12.

213

Beck: First efficiencies

214

Dash: I was thinking that is a

way to, uh, describe my particular

215

brand of OCD because my whole…

216

That applies to my entire life.

217

Everything I do has to follow that

scripture, Every little thing, like the…

218

I don't know.

219

Uh, I don't wanna get

too in, in the weeds.

220

However, it's becoming a challenge with,

as I get older and have to take more and

221

more fucking medications because I have

to take them all in one, and it's a pile.

222

It's a palmful of pills.

223

And so every morning, this morning

I caught myself, I was like,

224

and it, like I throw them in and

it's like a mouthful of pills.

225

It's so…

226

it's getting disturbing

227

Beck: Do you ever swallow one, uh, or

swallow and there's one left behind?

228

And then you have to s-

hurry and take a second drink

229

Dash: Oh, yeah.

230

Beck: Especially the tiny ones.

231

They get stuck in there

232

Dash: After I got sort of struck

by lightning my ear, the tissue

233

in my ear was really damaged, I

had to take prednisone, I guess.

234

It was steroids.

235

And they were these, like, fast

dissolve and the most disgusting thing.

236

I can still remember the

fucking taste of those pills.

237

And I was young, you know, and so

not used to taking pills, and I

238

remember it was such a struggle.

239

Like, I would be, like,

gagging, couldn't get it down.

240

My mom did the thing where she,

like, crushed it up, mixed it

241

with water and sugar in a spoon,

and I tried to do it that way.

242

That wasn't enough.

243

That was brutal

244

Beck: The worst medicine I ever had

to take I'm allergic to contrast

245

dye, so if you get an MRI or whatever

with contrast dye I nearly die.

246

That's how we learned I was

allergic to it, 'cause we did it.

247

And so when you're

allergic to that, it's…

248

When you have to have something

like that done, they give you an

249

alternative, and the flavor they

had, I had- Apple yogurt Blegh.

250

It was gross, but I got my test done, so

251

Dash: Why would they choose those flavors?

252

Beck: I don't know.

253

That I don't know.

254

But that's what I remember about it

is how disgusting apple yogurt was.

255

It's a drink, uh, 'cause

it was in a bottle.

256

It wasn't like yogurt,

257

Dash: When mom was in the hospital I f-

for whatever reason, like they were…

258

She couldn't eat and they, they

were having trouble getting,

259

you know, calories in her.

260

And so they were giving her those Boosts

or Ensure's or something, like a shake.

261

And she, all she could talk about

was how disgusting they were.

262

I was like, m- well, and I don't

doubt it, especially because she

263

was like, "It's room temperature.

264

Why would you give me this?

265

It's like pretending to be some

sort of like milkshake and you

266

give it to me room temperature.

267

What are you doing?"

268

Beck: Shana and I laughed till we

almost cried a little while ago.

269

Like, literally tears were

coming out of our eyes.

270

And it was so stupid.

271

We were just talking we were talking

about how it would be funny to have

272

a wiener dog and name it Peter, and

then have another one called Willy.

273

And then I suggested the last name Long,

while she said it should be Johnson.

274

So we were like, "All right,

so we got Peter Long Johnson

275

and Willy Long Johnson, our

276

Dash: I was just about to

say Long is the middle name.

277

Beck: Yeah.

278

It struck us so funny we cried.

279

We were laughing so hard.

280

That's why we're still good together,

because we can sit on the couch and laugh

281

like that, you know, 23 years later, we're

still belly laughing over dick jokes.

282

Dash: Which is just proof that

dick jokes are only funny to

283

the person who makes them.

284

I actually, I laughed until I cried.

285

I was wheezing and coughing this

morning as well, but I live alone, so…

286

Uh, but it was because

I was watching YouTube.

287

There was a guy…

288

It's like the, this genre of YouTube

video called Let's Play, where they

289

are just playing games, kind of giving

commentary on the experience, and the

290

screen shows us the game they're playing.

291

And some of them are, like,

serious gamers and whatever.

292

I don't care about those.

293

And I don't even know who this

guy was, but he was pl- and,

294

or what game he was playing.

295

It was called The Professional, is

what it said in the description, and

296

it's a burglar heist game where…

297

And I don't know anything else about

the rest of the game because I only

298

watched this, like, five-minute segment

of him trying to apparently manipulate

299

every single joint on this person's

body to get through some lasers in

300

a museum, you know, like, to steal

a, the Hope Diamond or something.

301

And so literally he had to, like, position

fingers, hand, wrist, knees ankles, head

302

with, like, click and drag, and then do

something that caused it to try to move.

303

And it was just him, like, putting

this thing in ridiculous positions,

304

trying to get it to, like, flop

over the, across the, the lasers,

305

and he just couldn't do it.

306

For five straight minutes, he

couldn't get this thing to move.

307

And the way it was flopping, it

reminded me of that QWOPing game.

308

Do you remember QWOPing?

309

Beck: No, I don't remember that

310

Dash: Uh, it's Q-W-O-P, and it's

called that because the two, the

311

Q-W-O-P letters are on, you know, the

top outside of the keyboard, and you

312

use those to try to control a running

pace for a little person on a track.

313

And it was, like, each of their feet,

their legs or, and hands and stuff

314

like that and nobody could do it.

315

It w- it took…

316

I would say the internet, this

was probably 15 years ago.

317

Let me Google this.

318

Let me see if we can still play QWOP.

319

2008 ragdoll-based browser video game.

320

So there's a name for this.

321

Okay, there's a website.

322

I'm just gonna give myself a vir-

Oh my God, I'm playing it right now.

323

Okay.

324

I wonder…

325

Oh, didn't we find out we can't

share screen in this fucking-

326

Beck: That's so dumb

327

Dash: I know.

328

I don't know about this

software, but whatever.

329

Anyway, we, so we landed on the wheel of

what-have-you told us we needed to bring

330

some YouTube things that made us laugh.

331

The YouTube landscape is vast.

332

I love the two to three-hour

deep dives on shit.

333

Like, the, I'll put one of those on

and sit and watch about something

334

and a lot of times it's something

that I don't give a shit about.

335

It's really interesting that I will

do that on YouTube and nowhere else.

336

I take the decision of what to watch very

seriously on every app except for YouTube,

337

where I'm like, "I don't give a fuck

338

Beck: Yeah.

339

I watch some crazy stuff on YouTube.

340

Like there's this one channel, there's

this one channel called Visual Venture.

341

He's trying to get to two and

a half million subscribers, so

342

maybe we'll help him do that.

343

But he has like the darkest channels

he does deep dives on different

344

inter- slices of internet history,

and I find it really interesting.

345

Dash: Cool

346

Beck: I watch a lot of That Chapter.

347

I don't know if you've

ever heard of That Chapter.

348

He's a guy who is either

Irish or Scottish.

349

I've never deciphered which he is.

350

But he does American crime stories,

351

Dash: Ah, yep.

352

I know who you're talking about.

353

Beck: yeah.

354

Dash: he has kind of a sense of humor too.

355

Beck: Yeah, his name's Mike

356

Dash: he's not a comedy channel,

but, like, he's not dry about it.

357

And I like…

358

The dry ones are fine.

359

Like, I watch Dreading

and Explore With Us.

360

The funny thing about, you know how

Netflix has really gotten into true crime

361

documentaries and shit lately because

they realize they go viral on TikTok?

362

They're just straight going

through those channels and pulling

363

from the cases that they cover.

364

So, like, I saw the case

of this Taylor woman that,

365

Beck: With a car crash?

366

Dash: No, that's K- Mackenzie Shirilla.

367

I saw her.

368

That, but her case is more recent.

369

But the woman m- in Maternal Instinct

is the name of the documentary

370

Beck: We watched that one too.

371

Yeah, I knew I knew the name.

372

We watched it too

373

Dash: Mm-hmm.

374

And so I saw her…

375

That happened in like 2021 and

I saw that on Explore With Us

376

back when I lived in Kentucky.

377

so I started like looking through their

true crime things, and it's all stuff

378

that they're just, that has already

been covered by the YouTubers And now

379

YouTube is going to the box office.

380

We've had at least two m- box

office releases from YouTubers

381

this year, just this year.

382

Beck: I didn't know that

383

Dash: Yeah, Markiplier released a,

He's a, he's another one who does

384

the, uh, let's play type of thing, and

apparently he's, like, popular with,

385

uh, with younger people, like teens

and stuff, and, like, non-problematic.

386

I don't know anything

else about him, right?

387

But apparently he's, like, somebody

you can leave your kids with.

388

He's got a podcast or whatever.

389

But he played a game called Iron

Lung that a lot of people loved,

390

and it, it was a cool concept.

391

I don't know shit about games.

392

But he self-financed and produced

and s- wrote, directed, starred in

393

this adaptation of the video game.

394

And it's good.

395

It's pretty good.

396

He- you can tell he pays attention.

397

You can tell he knows things

about, production or whatever.

398

Super small cast.

399

It was…

400

He's the only person that's

ever fully on camera.

401

There's two people we see through a

little, like, portal because he's in

402

a, he's in a underwater craft, and then

there's some voice actors over the radio.

403

And they, he made, they made bank

basically, and then when it came time to

404

release it, he released it independently.

405

Didn't go through any of

the streaming services.

406

And I'm like, "That is, that's important.

407

That could really change things,"

because the streaming services have

408

had a fucking chokehold on creativity.

409

I'm not gonna be a boomer about it

and say they've, they're, they've

410

killed the movie industry or

anything, cause that's not accurate.

411

A lot of things are

killing the movie industry.

412

and I love a lot of

the streaming services.

413

I love long-form television.

414

That's one of my favorite

things in the world is long-form

415

television and mini-series.

416

Anyway, and the other one is The Backrooms

Both horror movies, interestingly

417

Beck: Gotcha.

418

We were gonna go see that at

the drive-in, but we decided

419

to watch something else instead

420

Dash: It's gonna scare you, The Backrooms.

421

I haven't seen it, but the story of it…

422

And it's a, it's one very specific

interpretation of The Backrooms.

423

The interesting thing about The

Backrooms is that it's an internet meme.

424

Goes back to the mid-2000s.

425

It's, uh, from 4chan.

426

And it was somebody just posted a picture.

427

, On a board where they were - a

thread where they were talking

428

about liminal spaces, like liminal

aesthetic, and somebody posted a

429

picture of this, like, very mid-'80s

aesthetic blank office space.

430

Yellow, you know, walls and stuff,

and they were just like you're in

431

here, and you hear something in the

distance," or something like that.

432

And it's…

433

That's where The Backrooms comes from.

434

Then they started to create all this lore

about the different levels and what is

435

in the backrooms, and then there's a wiki

now, and people added levels and things.

436

And there's even purists who

are like, "No, there aren't

437

monsters in the backrooms.

438

It's just a liminal s- thing.

439

That's what's scary about it."

440

It's interesting.

441

Beck: It really is

442

We're gonna go see Supergirl this

Tuesday 'cause it's half price

443

and I can't,

444

Dash: Man, I should go see a movie.

445

I've been leaving the house more.

446

Now that I have my meds

back, I might be better.

447

They didn't have my ADHD meds though.

448

Can you tell?

449

Beck: Yeah, they're out of mine as well.

450

I'm on Adderall.

451

Uh, there's no secret about that.

452

Yeah, and that…

453

'Cause I take two different ones.

454

I take the extended release, and

then I take the non-extended release.

455

I take one

456

first thing in the morning and, yeah.

457

And they're out of both of them.

458

So luckily I have enough for this week.

459

But we'll see how it goes

460

Dash: No, not me.

461

I'm just raw dogging ADHD

462

Beck: I'm also on Pristiq.

463

I don't know if you've

heard of that one before

464

Dash: No.

465

Something does need to be done

though, because they don't want

466

to increase my Adderall dose

because I have a heart defect.

467

They found the same heart

defect that's killing mom.

468

I'll probably cut this out.

469

But while they were trying to figure

out what, what was making me sick,

470

they were like, "Oh, you have…

471

It's called leaky aorta."

472

yeah.

473

It's…

474

A- and he was like, "You know,

you're not gonna die of it tomorrow,

475

but yeah, eventually you'll

have congestive heart failure."

476

Beck: I'm sorry, dude

477

Dash: I mean, there's…

478

They can treat it.

479

You can try to be a healthier

version of yourself while you're

480

younger, which is really the best

course of action for something like

481

that 'cause my mom did not do that.

482

But also, like, something's

gonna kill all of us

483

Beck: None of my aunts made it past

50, the 50s, so I'm hoping that

484

I just make it to 60 is all I'm

hoping, so I can beat all of them,

485

'cause it's competition at this point

486

Dash: maybe.

487

And my, that generation of, you know, my

mom and her siblings, many of them have

488

lived longer than their parents did.

489

So, like, the hope is that we are c-

once this nightmare of an administration

490

is over, we go back to trying to learn

about science and health and stuff.

491

the other thing we would need

to do is democratize medicine

492

Beck: You know, The United States

is the only country participating

493

in the World Cup that doesn't

have, uh, socialized medicine

494

Dash: I saw that, yeah.

495

Beck: We're also one of three

industrialized nations, the other

496

two being Swaziland and Papua

New Guinea, that don't offer, uh,

497

government-funded maternity leave

498

Dash: I was listening…

499

Remember when we were

talking about Super El Niño?

500

And I was, uh, listening to a

climatologist talk about it this

501

morning and know a little bit

more about it, and I'm t- I want

502

to go back to precedented times,

503

Beck: Right?

504

Dash: precedented.

505

I'm getting fatigued with all of

these things, 'cause it's gonna cause,

506

like, a famine basically next year

507

Beck: Have you heard that LA,

the fault that they're on is like

508

at 1,000 year high or something?

509

Dash: Yeah.

510

It is, it's gonna go.

511

Like, and a lot of people, at this point,

people who live in California, they always

512

kinda talk about the big one and joke

about the big one, and man, is it overdue.

513

Beck: Yeah.

514

Dash: Damn.

515

Do you know that Kentucky, like,

h- per, I don't know what you

516

would call it, per square foot

has more faults than California?

517

Beck: I did not know that

518

Dash: It's full of them I think because

it's at the foothills of the Appalachias

519

and because of it being it has so

many caves and rivers and underwear-

520

underwater- underground water systems

521

Beck: You said underwear

522

Dash: I did.

523

Oh, uh, I s- I put the link to the

YouTube teleparty in the Slack And

524

Beck: put my link, the first

one that I wanna start with

525

Dash: okay

526

Beck: Yehaw.

527

Oh Join the party

528

Dash: There you are so this came, uh, Eric

sent me this and he found it on Twitter.

529

There's an account that just tweets this

over and over again and I don't know why,

530

What are they doing?

531

We're just innocent men.

532

And there's, like, people have asked them

about the clip, the, t- the performers in

533

that, and they were like, "I don't know."

534

Like, the guy who was doing the puppet,

he goes, "I just did this thing.

535

I asked her to get down real close."

536

And listeners, if you haven't seen

that clip, and I'll put a link to

537

it in the episode description it's a

puppet and a human woman, and she…

538

The clip opens with them nose-to-nose.

539

She's bent down to be nose-to-nose to him.

540

And so he was like, "Yeah, I just told

her to get real close to the puppet, and

541

then I said that, and she died laughing."

542

And that was what he wanted,

was to just crack her up.

543

I think what's funny to me

about it is the way she breaks.

544

She wasn't expecting it, and this

little snort when she laughs, I

545

was like, "He really got her."

546

I love seeing somebody

really get somebody.

547

Beck: Yehaw

548

Dash: that is a good joke right there

when you can just get them like that,

549

and on TV.

550

Beck: I agree

551

Dash: Okay, let me get I can't

remember if we were on the air or not

552

or if we were recording yet when you

explained this clip, so, you wanna

553

tell us why you picked this one?

554

Beck: So this clip was, it was my mom's,

like, favorite video for a long time.

555

It was the first video that I remember,

like, kinda going viral in my family.

556

It's like the first

YouTube video I ever saw.

557

And it had…

558

it pops up every now and again,

not so much now that my mom died.

559

But it would just make the

family rounds sometimes.

560

And again, it was my kinda

first introduction to YouTube,

561

Dash: Oh, man.

562

Beck: Okay, so it is very sophomore

humor, but I mean, it, my mom

563

like cried laughing over it,

564

Dash: and what's incredible about this

too is that it is also a real commercial.

565

Beck: Exactly

566

Dash: Oh my God, I haven't seen that one.

567

All right.

568

This is the one I was telling

you that I picked because I

569

want-- I think you'll like it.

570

Beck: This sounds like

people from Bingo, I swear

571

Dash: Well, and so that video

is from 10 years ago now.

572

It's been and from a comedian named

Libby Higgins, but that was early in

573

her career kind of the first time…

574

She was active on Vine.

575

She was one of those people

who was really funny on Vine.

576

But the number of people who

thought that was real, right?

577

They didn't know that was a

character was kinda surprising to me.

578

She has a podcast too called Trailer

Tales with a couple of other comedians.

579

Th- they're very funny.

580

There's rumors that one or more of

them is MAGA, but I in my limited

581

efforts, haven't been able to verify

that because they don't really talk

582

about serious things on their podcast.

583

It's only jokes about being white trash.

584

Beck: Right?

585

Dash: But anyway I, I

enjoy her shit Excuse me?

586

Beck: Excuse me.

587

She reminds me of my old

neighbor, Suzanne, but she was…

588

Suzanne thought she was high shit.

589

She was a gym teacher.

590

She was the lady, I've told you

about her before, when we moved

591

to Bowling Green, the first thing

she said to me was, "Honey, we

592

gotta get that weight off of you."

593

Dash: Oh, right, right

594

Beck: I saw you posted you were

200 days smoke-free, by the way.

595

Congratulations.

596

Dash: Yehaw,

597

Beck: I'm so proud of you

598

Dash: Pretty crazy.

599

That's, it's more than ha-

it's more than half a year

600

Beck: Yeah, that's fantastic.

601

If you can make it a couple of

years, you're gonna be scot-free.

602

You know what I mean?

603

'Cause you're still gonna have

a lot of cravings and stuff

604

where you're at right now.

605

But are you to where it smells awful?

606

Have you gotten through that

607

Dash: Yeah I walked past somebody that

was puffing away and I was like, "Ugh."

608

It kind of burnt the

609

inside of my nose, you know?

610

Beck: Yeah.

611

That goes away.

612

Thankfully, that goes

613

away.

614

It's not as bad after a couple years,

so, because now it just reminds me of

615

my mom, and I kinda like how it smells

616

Dash: Yehaw.

617

Maybe I'll just…

618

But I want you to be able to see

it, and we can't share screen.

619

You know, w- maybe we'll do s- memes and

social media and stuff on another episode.

620

And use software we can

actually share screens.

621

Yeah.

622

Yeah let's…

623

'Cause th- there is social media

on the wheel of what have you

624

also, so that would work for that.

625

But yeah.

626

Well, uh, I would be interested in

hearing y- y'all's favorite YouTube stuff.

627

Is there a channel you like?

628

Is there a compilation you like?

629

I like to watch things about spiders.

630

Beck: Ugh

631

Dash: I don't know why.

632

I'm just f- fascinated by them.

633

They're just really cool.

634

I don't know.

635

It's weird.

636

I would

637

Beck: I've n-

638

Dash: one

639

Beck: my best friend hates spiders,

and then her her son came home

640

with a like a giant tarantula.

641

And when he moved out, he left the

spider, and Tracy ended up taking care

642

of it, and its name what was its name?

643

Tiffany.

644

The spider's name was Tiffany.

645

Dash: That is not what I

was expecting you to say.

646

Beck: And it just passed

away like a month ago.

647

Dash: Aw RIP Tiffany

648

Tarantula

649

Beck: Tiffany.

650

Dash: I had a coworker that

had a cat named Chicken, and I

651

thought that was really funny.

652

Beck: Yeah, I had a cat named Ted, damn it

653

Dash: yeah.

654

I don't know if I've really had too many.

655

That…

656

I was about to say something

so stupid, that I haven't had

657

weird pet names for my cats.

658

Beck: Yeah, you have a brisket?

659

Dash: Brisket, Beef.

660

Beck: I had one named Trance.

661

We called him Trance in your pants

662

Dash: I think it's that like

it, when you name an animal,

663

it's no longer weird to you.

664

It's, it might be weird to other

people, but like it never sound, Brisket

665

never sounds weird to me until I have

to tell somebody his name's Brisket.

666

And then I'm like, "Oh, okay.

667

Yeah, this is odd."

668

And Beef he w- he reminded

me of a cow and was fat, so

669

Beck: I get it.

670

Dash: Yehaw

671

Beck: I've been calling

Rue, uh, Rufus this week.

672

I've not settled on her nickname yet.

673

Or if she has like a full name, it's

gonna be Rue Dabega, D-A-B-E-G-A.

674

Rue

675

Dash: yeah

676

Beck: But Rufus has stuck this week, so

677

Dash: I'll either name it whatever

word pops into my head, which is what

678

happened with Brisket, or they'll be

named after some book or TV show or movie.

679

So Oscar and Felix are named after…

680

Oscar is named after a book,

a character in Extremely Loud

681

and Incredibly Close, the

682

narrator.

683

Beck: Yeah

684

Dash: Felix is named Felix

because Oscar was named Oscar,

685

and they're the odd couple

686

Beck: Got ya.

687

We, I always let my

animals name themselves.

688

I keep 'em for a while and then

they tell me what their name is.

689

Like Ted, we named him

because of TED Talks.

690

That cat never shut up, so his name

was TED Talks Damn It, was his name.

691

. Today was, uh, Does That

Dog Have Eyebrows Day

692

Dash: Do you want me to post

that on the Queerneck story?

693

Yeah.

694

The original post let's hear

from this week's sponsor

695

Beck: Okay

696

Dash: So, uh, first wanna recognize

that this is not a universal experience.

697

There are probably many folks who

didn't have this experience growing

698

up for various reasons, and maybe

this experience is gone entirely

699

for some of our younger viewers.

700

I don't know.

701

You'll have to let us know.

702

But we are, uh, sponsored today by,

uh, Family Game Night, the highly

703

competitive tournament breeding mild

resentment held right at the kitchen

704

table on a rainy Friday night.

705

This holler tradition of pulling a stack

of taped up cardboard boxes out of the

706

hall closet and trying to construct an

evening of it out of sheer chaos was

707

likely born out of the need to keep the

youngins out of trouble of a weekend.

708

The inventory is always

a complete disaster.

709

You've got several ancient sets of

nearly complete card decks, so you

710

can play poker, but no one has ever

seen the point in buying chips when

711

there are so many different kinds

of dried pasta in the cupboard.

712

If somebody wants to play checkers, the

board is missing half the set, so you're

713

kinging milk jug caps with old washers.

714

But the highlight of the night is

715

You just don't know the glory of

playing a 20 years out of date trivia

716

game that nobody stands a chance

in hell of knowing anything about.

717

There is little funnier than asking a

teenager to identify the Secretary of

718

State under the Reagan administration

or name a Czech tennis player who

719

retired before they were born just

to get a little plastic wedge.

720

The pop culture category is

basically just a list of people

721

who died of old age 20 years ago.

722

But every now and then, that 1987 box

will absolutely throw you for a loop.

723

You'll be sitting there under the

fluorescent kitchen light picking a

724

history card, expecting a question about

the construction of the Hoover Dam or

725

some shit, and suddenly you get hit with

a question about the Stonewall riots.

726

Right there between questions about

Iran-Contra, and the birthstone for

727

October, the game drops a piece of

queer liberation history on a family

728

that hasn't even processed the fact

that their uncle's roommate has been

729

living there for a real long time.

730

It is a beautiful, deeply awkward five

seconds of absolute silence while your

731

papaw tries to figure out if Stonewall

has something to do with Jackson.

732

By hour three, the dog has eaten the

green wedges, your cousin has gone all

733

in on a pair of jacks with a bowl of

uncooked penne, and everybody is too

734

tired to argue anymore, which is really

the entire purpose of family game night.

735

So Family Game Night, teaching country

kids how to navigate high stakes gambling

736

and unexpected social history long before

we had to deal with the real world.

737

And now back to Queernecks where

our pasta is still uncooked

738

Beck: See, we had a real, uh, a

real life slot machine in my house.

739

Um, my dad tracked down the first

one my mom ever played and bought

740

it, and it sat right outside my room

741

Dash: Oh yeah, you told me that.

742

That is cool.

743

Did you have to use money to play it?

744

Beck: Quarters, yeah.

745

You put quarters in it.

746

Mom had a bucket of quarters that stayed

in it, and you could play all you wanted.

747

I had a cousin who was delayed and he

would sit there for hours and play that,

748

and he'd hit the jackpot and he'd love it.

749

But yeah, it was a lot of fun.

750

the whore that moved into my mom's

house, some- they did something with it.

751

It was not there when I moved back in

752

Dash: Oh man, that sucks.

753

You might be able to track it

754

down on like eBay or something

755

Beck: Maybe.

756

I couldn't prove that it was mine.

757

There were no, like,

papers or anything, you

758

Dash: Right

759

You know, we, mom had a giant…

760

She had these, well, tons of mason jars

and Ball jars and things everywhere,

761

and one of them was full of pennies.

762

And it was like a, I don't know if it was

a gallon, but it was one of those ones

763

that was like a, you know, a foot tall.

764

Beck: Yehaw

765

Dash: Which you're not supposed to keep

pennies in that, in those because they

766

can explode, but, you know, whatever.

767

And so we would play poker with those.

768

But some- I don't know why, but

sometimes we would also actually play

769

with pasta, like different kinds of

uncooked pasta that she kept in various

770

Beck: My family would…

771

By the time I was old enough to, 'cause

I was the youngest, so by the time I was

772

old enough to be playing games, I remember

playing Pictionary with my brother-in-law

773

one time, and I didn't know what a goatee

was, and he got mad and quit playing.

774

So

775

Dash: I think that I don't know,

but really lucky to grow up

776

having that experience, and some

of my favorite memories are…

777

'Cause we really did, it was regular,

778

Beck: Well, we had card nights.

779

My grandparents used to come over

and play cards with my mom and dad

780

every night when I was a kid, but I

didn't get to play in those games.

781

But then once in a while

we'd have a whole family.

782

We played this game called Oh

Shit which was kind of like an

783

early predecessor to Phase 10.

784

It was the same idea as Phase

10 with different rounds.

785

And we used to play that as a family,

so there, there was some card.

786

And euchre, they used to play euchre.

787

Ooh, did they had a trophy for

their euchre tournaments that

788

they would pass back and forth.

789

So that was our version, I guess.

790

you know how to play euchre?

791

Dash: Uh, no.

792

Beck: It's very easy to learn

793

Dash: I mean, I would like to.

794

I like card games.

795

Uh, we used to play those a lot too on

family game night, especially as we got

796

old enough to, like, do more complex math.

797

Around the time I was probably…

798

It was, we still lived in the trailer

park, so I would've been, like, under 10,

799

under 11 And probably quite a bit younger

than that, we started playing poker.

800

And poker is like the intro,

especially like five card draw,

801

that's easy to learn the basic

mechanics of how a card game works.

802

And but then as we got a little

bit older, we played a lot of Rook,

803

which uses a proprietary deck.

804

You don't use a standard

card deck for Rook.

805

there's a, a game similar to Rook that

does use a standard card deck called

806

Setback, and the grownups would play that.

807

I don't know why, because

they're the same game basically.

808

But the grownups played Setback, but when

they were with the kids, we played Rook

809

I love Rook.

810

I haven't played it

811

w-

812

Beck: never played that one

813

Dash: like 20 years.

814

It's, I, it's so good.

815

This, it's such high-level

strategy and reading people,

816

but the thing about the

Stonewall, that's real.

817

That's how I learned about Stonewall, was

from our out-of-date Trivial Pursuit game

818

Beck: Oh, I didn't learn until like

I got to like almost grad school.

819

Dash: obviously I'm not learning

about it from the game, but that's

820

the first time I heard about it.

821

And even just the way the question

was phrased, like, you know, it was

822

asking about, like, what kind of…

823

You know, what was the riot or

action about, you know, gay rights

824

that took place, yada, yada.

825

Uh, and so that was the first time

as a kid I actually even thought that

826

such a thing might happen, that gay

rights were a thing, that k- that

827

places gay people hung out were a thing

828

Beck: Right?

829

I just didn't think about gay stuff

until I got out of high school.

830

Like, I knew I knew deep in my heart

'cause I had feelings for particular

831

people that I knew my other friends

weren't having the same kinds of feelings.

832

But I wouldn't let myself come

to grips with that because it was

833

so scary in high school back then

834

Dash: You know.

835

Man, I had such intense crushes.

836

Beck: Yeah, me too.

837

Dash: But I, the girl that I wound up,

like, actually kind of dating in high

838

school was the only person that I…

839

Not the only person I dated.

840

I had boyfriends.

841

But she was a straight girl,

and she ruined my senior year.

842

It was…

843

I can't say that I wish we, I

hadn't dated her because I learned

844

a lot about stuff, I guess.

845

But my God, did she ruin my life.

846

'Cause she wound up dating my best friend.

847

And

848

Beck: no

849

Dash: turn- yeah, so my best friend Ben,

like, she left me for him on prom night.

850

It was like a fucking teen movie

851

Beck: Yeah, I didn't know early

enough, uh, to go to the prom with…

852

Though I did go to prom with

gay people, just gay men

853

Dash: Yehaw

854

Beck: fuck

855

Dash: What'd you do?

856

Beck: Just ripped off half my fingernail

857

Dash: What?

858

Beck: Yehaw

859

Dash: Are you a fingernail biter?

860

Beck: So I was for a long time and

then after my mom died, I just quit

861

for, you know, whatever reason.

862

And so I've got eight perfectly

good nails, like I have to trim

863

them to keep them short now.

864

And then I've got these two that I've

been fucking with, and then this one,

865

I don't know if you can see it, but I

866

tore the whole n-

867

Dash: Oh.

868

Oh.

869

I can feel that.

870

Stop touching it.

871

I can see you picking at it right now.

872

Put your hands in your pockets.

873

Sit on your hands.

874

I- I've never been a nail biter

because my nails are indestructible.

875

I would break a tooth trying to…

876

Beck: Yeah.

877

Dash: I have to cut them every other day

878

Beck: I cut mine about twice a week

usually, 'cause they grow out so fast now.

879

Used to I didn't think my nails grew at

all 'cause I just would tear them off.

880

'Cause I was a biter first and then

I became a picker, and picking was

881

worse because you like rip off.

882

Like that is gone.

883

Like that, like I

884

Dash: Yeah.

885

Oh, man.

886

Beck: nail left on that.

887

Dash: You were like, "Why

don't my nails grow?"

888

Beck: that's…

889

Yeah, yeah.

890

Pretty much

891

Dash: I, yeah, I feel bad

for people who have…

892

'Cause I've never been a nail biter,

like I said, but I pick at my, I

893

have picked at my cuticles and chewed

on my cuticles before as a kid.

894

I would chew them things

back to the knuckle.

895

Sorry if this is triggering anything to

anybody listening, uh, 'cause some folks,

896

man, they got it bad with nail biting.

897

Beck: Yehaw

898

Dash: And that would suck because of the

way, you know, like when you break a nail

899

off too short, it hurts to touch things.

900

You can't do shit

901

Beck: Right?

902

Meow.

903

Dash: Yeah.

904

Can you hear her?

905

I don't know which…

906

Sometimes they get treats at

this, in the afternoon, so

907

that may be what she's after.

908

Come here, baby.

909

Oh.

910

Beck: I have everybody

shut out of the room, so

911

Dash: Well, I'm in the hallway, so

912

Uh, did you bring any noun

of Appalachian interest?

913

Beck: Good.

914

This week's noun is a person All right.

915

Uh, today's town of

Appalachian interest is Dr.

916

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

917

Now, I know many of you will say, "Who?"

918

But you probably know him from the PBS

show Finding Your Roots, where he sits

919

across from famous people with a book and

somehow makes genealogy feel like both

920

a family reunion and a courtroom drama.

921

He'll look somebody straight in the

eye, turn a page, and suddenly f-

922

they find out their great something

923

And you know, I respect that.

924

Everyone needs to be reminded

sometimes that we all come from

925

a long line of troublemakers.

926

But before Dr.

927

Gates became the man on PBS gently

wrecking celebrities with census

928

records, he was a kid from West Virginia.

929

He was born in Keyser and grew up in

Piedmont, a small town tucked in the

930

mountains along the Potomac River.

931

Piedmont was a paper mill town, the

kind of place where everybody knew

932

your people, your business, your

mamaw, and probably what time you

933

turned the, your porch light off.

934

Appalachia is often talked about like

it only has one story, one accent, one

935

experience, one kind of family, and you

and I both know that has never been true,

936

no matter how many outsiders believe it.

937

Dr.

938

Louis Henry Gates, Jr.

939

is part of Black Appalachia, and

Black Appalachia is not a side note.

940

It is part of the region's history,

its labor, culture, music, schools,

941

churches, neighborhoods, and memory.

942

You do not get to tell the story

of Appalachia and leave that out

943

just because somebody watched one

documentary and decided we were all

944

barefoot extras in a Coal Camp remake.

945

Dr.

946

Gates went on to become one of the

most important scholars in African

947

and African American studies.

948

That field is deeply connected to

American cultural studies because

949

it asks how race, language,

literature, history, and identity

950

shape the country that we live in.

951

And yes, I did just say American

cultural studies on a podcast

952

that also once spent serious time

discussing gas station chicken.

953

The, we have a range.

954

His work reminds us that culture

is not just paintings in a museum

955

or some old book nobody wants

to read unless there's a quiz.

956

Culture is what people remember.

957

It's what families pass down.

958

It's what gets hidden, what gets saved,

and what gets whispered, and what somebody

959

finally says out loud at Thanksgiving

after too much sweet potato pie.

960

That is why Finding Your

Roots works so beautifully.

961

It's not just about famous people

learning they are related to kings

962

or moonshiners or somebody who had 18

children and apparently no hobbies.

963

It was about how history

lives in regular families.

964

You could find it in family names old

homesteads and hometowns, in the stories

965

that have been passed down and the

stories that nobody is allowed to tell.

966

There's a few of those in every holler.

967

But people from this region know what

it means to carry a place with you.

968

You can leave the mountain, the mill

town, the holler, the riverbank, but

969

it has a funny way of packing itself in

your suitcase without asking permission.

970

Dr.

971

Gates spent his career showing

that the past is not dead weight.

972

It is a map.

973

Sometimes it's messy or painful.

974

Sometimes it shows you something

beautiful that your family almost

975

lost, and sometimes it tells you

that your people were much more

976

interesting than anybody gave them

credit for, and that's the part I love.

977

one of the best-known voices in the

study of Black history and culture.

978

That does not make him an exception

in Appalachia, it makes him

979

part of the truth of Appalachia.

980

So today we honor Dr.

981

Lu- Henry Louis Gates, the Appalachian

now, who reminds us that family

982

stories are never simple, history

is never finished, and that West

983

Virginia has produced more than

pepperoni rolls, country roads, and

984

people who can give directions using

985

Thank you, Dr.

986

Gates

987

Dash: Hell yeah.

988

Love.

989

The first time I heard of him was

in, uh, my master's program, and

990

we read The Signifying Monkey.

991

Have you read that?

992

Beck: Nope

993

Dash: It's from, uh, 1988.

994

And so I like it.

995

I'm a structuralist.

996

I- a post-structuralist.

997

I love structuralism.

998

And so he's, like, signifying when used in

Afro-American cr- uh, cultural criticism,

999

describes kind of tropes like metonymy,

metaphor, double talk and it's a way

00:48:32,961 --> 00:48:34,861

of indirectly referencing something.

00:48:35,131 --> 00:48:40,381

So an example that, that he gave was

the way in African American vernacular

00:48:40,881 --> 00:48:45,741

you can show affection for someone

through the construct of an insult.

00:48:46,061 --> 00:48:52,221

But it comes from, doubling the term

off of Ferdinand de Saussure's construct

00:48:52,221 --> 00:48:58,602

of signification, which is basically,

uh, the relationship between a sign

00:48:58,642 --> 00:49:02,952

and what it signifies basically is,

like, h- how we express meaning.

00:49:03,952 --> 00:49:06,602

Anyway, that is just to say that

he is brilliant, and everybody

00:49:06,602 --> 00:49:07,812

should read Signifying Monkey

00:49:13,747 --> 00:49:14,077

Um,

00:49:14,303 --> 00:49:15,903

you heard of Affrilachian?

00:49:16,537 --> 00:49:17,087

Beck: Yeah.

00:49:17,087 --> 00:49:17,777

I follow them

00:49:18,045 --> 00:49:18,895

Dash: Oh, is it a…

00:49:19,589 --> 00:49:19,689

Beck: Facebook.

00:49:19,689 --> 00:49:21,839

There's a page, uh, it's Affrilachian.

00:49:22,362 --> 00:49:24,397

It's a, an artist and a

00:49:24,397 --> 00:49:24,917

poet

00:49:25,216 --> 00:49:25,936

Dash: Oh, okay.

00:49:26,196 --> 00:49:33,019

So, um, the person who coined the term is

named, Frank X Walker and it refers to,

00:49:33,069 --> 00:49:39,819

uh, the kind of culture created by people

who arrived in Appalachia via the slave

00:49:39,819 --> 00:49:42,839

trade or, the Underground Railroad, right?

00:49:42,839 --> 00:49:44,099

Like people of those experience.

00:49:44,119 --> 00:49:46,289

And so he coined it because he's a poet.

00:49:47,059 --> 00:49:49,669

And he taught - I've

taken courses with him.

00:49:49,669 --> 00:49:51,729

He taught at EKU when I was an undergrad.

00:49:52,179 --> 00:49:52,669

Beck: neat!

00:49:53,009 --> 00:49:54,219

Dash: before he was famous.

00:49:54,219 --> 00:50:00,975

This was before the Appalachia, the idea

of it as a cultural expression took off.

00:50:01,995 --> 00:50:02,795

Beck: That's amazing

00:50:03,639 --> 00:50:05,719

Dash: Everybody should

read Frank X Walker.

00:50:05,719 --> 00:50:05,939

I don't…

00:50:05,949 --> 00:50:06,999

Wonder where he's at now?

00:50:07,999 --> 00:50:09,689

He's from Danville, Kentucky

00:50:10,263 --> 00:50:11,493

Beck: That's around Pikeville, isn't it?

00:50:12,075 --> 00:50:14,075

Dash: No, Danville's Central Kentucky.

00:50:14,379 --> 00:50:14,769

Beck: Ah.

00:50:15,505 --> 00:50:19,465

Dash: Walker coined the term Affrilachia,

signifying the importance of the

00:50:19,465 --> 00:50:25,375

African American presence influence

in Appalachia he was Poet Laureate

00:50:25,375 --> 00:50:28,265

00:50:29,265 --> 00:50:31,430

Where are you teaching right now, Frank?

00:50:31,930 --> 00:50:32,900

Maybe he's not teaching.

00:50:32,910 --> 00:50:35,730

Maybe he's And he learned

under Gurney Norman.

00:50:35,740 --> 00:50:37,270

Have you ever read any of his stuff?

00:50:37,566 --> 00:50:42,176

He died recently, but he was also

a very big deal you know, to, to

00:50:42,176 --> 00:50:47,316

Kentucky and to in general I'll

put some links to Frank's stuff.

00:50:47,376 --> 00:50:50,396

Uh, I'm gonna put a bunch of stuff

for people to, to study up on if

00:50:50,396 --> 00:50:53,549

they want to and Beck will put it

in the newsletter this week too.

00:50:54,506 --> 00:50:58,316

Oh, well, we gotta spin this wheel and

see what our homework is for next week

00:50:58,612 --> 00:51:01,907

Beck: Okay This fa- this YouTube

one really threw me for a loop.

00:51:01,907 --> 00:51:04,317

I was watching YouTube videos

on end and I couldn't…

00:51:04,597 --> 00:51:07,987

That's why I went with the one that I went

with, 'cause it started everything, right?

00:51:08,187 --> 00:51:10,487

'Cause it was such a broad

thing, a YouTube video that kinda

00:51:10,487 --> 00:51:13,321

meant something, and there's

like, where do you go with that?

00:51:13,321 --> 00:51:16,211

That's the way that I interpreted it,

and so that's why I went with, you

00:51:16,211 --> 00:51:17,791

know, the first one that I remember

00:51:17,835 --> 00:51:18,525

Dash: Yeah.

00:51:19,755 --> 00:51:21,035

Um, Oh, damn.

00:51:21,055 --> 00:51:22,285

It landed on social media.

00:51:24,708 --> 00:51:28,418

Yeah and you know, if it land, next time

it lands on it, it maybe it'll be easier

00:51:28,418 --> 00:51:30,580

to just bullshit come up with something.

00:51:31,020 --> 00:51:31,580

it was fun.

00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:32,230

I ne- hadn't

00:51:32,230 --> 00:51:33,000

seen that before

00:51:33,074 --> 00:51:33,504

Beck: things.

00:51:33,524 --> 00:51:35,440

Yeah, I overthink things too, so

00:51:35,794 --> 00:51:36,724

Dash: That's relatable though.

00:51:37,054 --> 00:51:38,704

All right, so social media.

00:51:38,754 --> 00:51:48,114

What, your favorite memes or stories or

pages or things you learned, unexpected

00:51:48,114 --> 00:51:50,194

stuff, anything about social media,

00:51:50,708 --> 00:51:50,808

Beck: okay.

00:51:51,192 --> 00:51:55,652

well, I did a academic project on

social media on a, uh, a page called

00:51:55,892 --> 00:51:57,972

You Might Be From Portsmouth, Ohio If,

00:51:58,582 --> 00:52:00,552

And as a site of public memory.

00:52:00,602 --> 00:52:03,662

It's one of the YouTube videos that I

have on my channel, and I watched it

00:52:03,662 --> 00:52:05,142

the other day, and it was pretty good.

00:52:05,382 --> 00:52:08,322

I had forgotten how much work I

put into that particular project.

00:52:08,612 --> 00:52:12,062

But it was neat to see Facebook used

as a site of serious academic work

00:52:12,242 --> 00:52:12,892

Dash: Oh, yeah.

00:52:13,002 --> 00:52:17,412

I think I told you about that ethnography

I did of the zombie survivalist

00:52:17,722 --> 00:52:20,716

groups, I can see why people get

hooked on that kind of research.

00:52:20,726 --> 00:52:25,016

Ethnography is fun, especially

like im- immersive ethnography

00:52:25,624 --> 00:52:25,634

Beck: Yehaw

00:52:26,634 --> 00:52:29,494

I learned all about that in

my anthropology, uh, thematic

00:52:29,504 --> 00:52:30,804

sequence as an undergrad

00:52:31,345 --> 00:52:35,035

Dash: I didn't learn anything about

research until my, uh, until grad school.

00:52:35,045 --> 00:52:38,685

We just, I did, they did, we

did not do that kind of research

00:52:38,838 --> 00:52:41,518

Beck: We had this assignment, we had

to pick somebody from the community

00:52:41,518 --> 00:52:42,918

and write a project on them.

00:52:42,928 --> 00:52:44,938

Like, it had to be,

like, a 40-page project.

00:52:45,368 --> 00:52:48,718

So I did all this work

on my, uh, my landlord.

00:52:48,828 --> 00:52:52,438

He was this guy who, he was the

last person to play both first

00:52:52,438 --> 00:52:55,668

string for the basketball team and

the football team for Ohio State.

00:52:56,008 --> 00:52:57,398

He was on both in the '50s.

00:52:58,008 --> 00:53:00,148

And so I wrote this whole thing about him.

00:53:00,358 --> 00:53:03,998

I had to actually write two papers because

there was the paper that I gave him, and

00:53:03,998 --> 00:53:06,388

then there was the paper where I wrote

about what a piece of shit he was for

00:53:06,388 --> 00:53:07,948

the community at the same time, right?

00:53:07,968 --> 00:53:09,768

'Cause he bought up everything

and was a slum lord.

00:53:10,278 --> 00:53:12,648

And so I did all this work, and I put…

00:53:12,648 --> 00:53:17,588

I did transcription, and I did hours

of typing, and I did interviews and all

00:53:17,588 --> 00:53:21,458

this, and all that came back he said if we

wanted our projects back to let him know.

00:53:21,458 --> 00:53:23,718

And I was like, "Yeah, I want it

back for the feedback," you know?

00:53:24,088 --> 00:53:27,498

And he changed, he had one word

suggestion and gave me an A, and that

00:53:27,498 --> 00:53:29,698

was all he did on my 40-page project.

00:53:30,509 --> 00:53:31,189

I was bitter.

00:53:31,689 --> 00:53:32,439

Bitter

00:53:33,799 --> 00:53:35,829

Dash: That's fucked up, man

00:53:35,943 --> 00:53:36,253

Beck: Yeah.

00:53:36,543 --> 00:53:39,163

He ended up getting fired

from, uh, from Miami, so ha

00:53:39,453 --> 00:53:40,513

Dash: Oh, right.

00:53:41,513 --> 00:53:41,803

Yeah,

00:53:42,485 --> 00:53:43,755

Beck: It's, it's common knowledge.

00:53:44,005 --> 00:53:44,315

Dr.

00:53:44,315 --> 00:53:46,165

Cinnamon was an Africanist and Dr.,

00:53:46,205 --> 00:53:48,525

uh, Gladish was a botanist, and Dr.

00:53:48,525 --> 00:53:53,745

Cinnamon went to, uh, Africa on a research

study and he brought some plants back,

00:53:53,745 --> 00:53:55,545

and one of them was psychoactive, and Dr.

00:53:55,545 --> 00:53:59,659

Gladish knew it, and grew it in the

greenhouse anyway that's there on campus.

00:54:00,009 --> 00:54:03,679

And it got turned in, and they both got

fired, and they were my least, my two

00:54:03,789 --> 00:54:06,149

least favorite professors ever at Miami.

00:54:06,599 --> 00:54:06,869

Dr.

00:54:06,869 --> 00:54:08,599

Gladish is the only one

that ever made me cry

00:54:09,191 --> 00:54:09,701

Dash: Oh.

00:54:10,201 --> 00:54:11,011

Beck: He was the worst.

00:54:11,051 --> 00:54:15,531

Like, as somebody who is a professional

educator now, he was the worst.

00:54:15,781 --> 00:54:19,191

Like, he would teach you A, B, and

C, and then test you on E, D, and F.

00:54:19,531 --> 00:54:19,911

You know?

00:54:19,911 --> 00:54:23,211

Like, th- there just was no

correlation to what he would do.

00:54:23,481 --> 00:54:27,241

His big mistake was he gave us access

to all of his files on Canvas, and

00:54:27,241 --> 00:54:30,071

he, I don't think he realized he had

a copy of all of his exams and quizzes

00:54:30,071 --> 00:54:31,071

if you dug hard enough.

00:54:32,395 --> 00:54:34,055

So I ended up getting an A in that class.

00:54:36,588 --> 00:54:39,178

He said we could access

his files, so I did.

00:54:39,178 --> 00:54:40,708

I just didn't tell him what was in there.

00:54:40,928 --> 00:54:43,378

That was his dumb ass for not

knowing what was in there, you know?

00:54:44,334 --> 00:54:47,724

Dash: I mean, you know, y- you

found the resource and you used it

00:54:48,724 --> 00:54:51,644

Beck: I bet he wondered how I was doing

so well in his class 'cause everybody…

00:54:51,694 --> 00:54:53,984

That was one of those classes

that 80% of the class fails and

00:54:53,984 --> 00:54:57,174

everybody else gets a C, and I'm

sit- sitting there getting an A.

00:54:57,224 --> 00:54:57,514

I'm sure

00:54:57,514 --> 00:54:58,214

I drove him crazy.

00:54:58,356 --> 00:54:59,266

Dash: one that found them?

00:54:59,674 --> 00:55:01,134

Beck: Yeah, well, I sha-

I shared it with Shana.

00:55:01,494 --> 00:55:04,264

So cause we took botany

together as undergrads.

00:55:04,790 --> 00:55:07,370

I saved it to my very last set of

classes that I had to take 'cause

00:55:07,370 --> 00:55:08,960

I'm not a science person at all,

00:55:09,648 --> 00:55:10,818

Dash: I didn't take botany

00:55:11,360 --> 00:55:14,440

Beck: Well, you could take, like,

botany or you take biology or, you know.

00:55:14,700 --> 00:55:17,850

So I took botany and geology for

the science classes that I took.

00:55:17,900 --> 00:55:20,440

I didn't wanna take, like,

human biology or anything like

00:55:20,734 --> 00:55:25,604

Dash: I I mean, I took a lot of science

courses because I think I said, like,

00:55:25,604 --> 00:55:30,314

I accidentally minored in biology,

but I just kept taking bio classes.

00:55:30,424 --> 00:55:34,284

I did take geology because you

have to take more than just bio

00:55:34,284 --> 00:55:35,964

to, for the gen ed requirement.

00:55:36,964 --> 00:55:40,204

So I took economic plants,

but it wasn't about botany.

00:55:40,234 --> 00:55:41,204

It was about…

00:55:41,484 --> 00:55:44,904

It was actually a really interesting

course about how agriculture

00:55:44,904 --> 00:55:47,524

creates society and such.

00:55:48,146 --> 00:55:52,526

Weird dude teaching the course, but the

first day he wheels in this cart full

00:55:52,526 --> 00:55:56,846

of essential oils, which are just oils

expressed from various plants, we just

00:55:56,856 --> 00:55:58,476

spent the whole class smelling stuff

00:56:00,161 --> 00:56:02,611

Beck: In my botany class,

uh, the professor was a

00:56:02,671 --> 00:56:05,051

adjunct and so she didn't…

00:56:05,351 --> 00:56:05,831

I don't know.

00:56:06,091 --> 00:56:08,511

She was, she tried real

hard, I'll give her that.

00:56:08,866 --> 00:56:09,926

It was not a great class.

00:56:09,926 --> 00:56:10,876

It felt very high school.

00:56:10,876 --> 00:56:12,996

She ended up quitting and going

to teach high school anyway.

00:56:13,276 --> 00:56:16,856

But we had this one demonstration where

she went to Jungle Jim's and got, like,

00:56:16,866 --> 00:56:21,126

30 different kinds of fruit we had never

tried, including durian fruit, and we

00:56:21,126 --> 00:56:23,176

got to try a- all kinds of little things.

00:56:23,741 --> 00:56:24,731

Dash: Tried durian?

00:56:25,009 --> 00:56:25,659

Beck: I have.

00:56:25,881 --> 00:56:26,521

Dash: Oh my God.

00:56:26,871 --> 00:56:27,321

Yeah.

00:56:27,641 --> 00:56:31,731

That's the one that you're not allowed

to take to like the airport or eaten in

00:56:31,731 --> 00:56:33,541

certain places because it smells so bad

00:56:33,999 --> 00:56:35,719

Beck: Yeah, you can buy

it at Uncle Jim's though.

00:56:35,895 --> 00:56:37,025

Dash: What does it smell like?

00:56:37,519 --> 00:56:40,609

Beck: Uh, gasoline and

vomit mixed together

00:56:41,923 --> 00:56:42,623

Dash: So is Sheets.

00:56:43,423 --> 00:56:44,803

Beck: Y- basically, yeah.

00:56:47,445 --> 00:56:49,295

Like it, it was foul.

00:56:49,325 --> 00:56:50,165

Like totally foul

00:56:51,165 --> 00:56:52,545

Dash: Oh, well, now I know.

00:56:52,545 --> 00:56:54,475

I don't have to experience myself then.

00:56:55,352 --> 00:56:55,852

You what?

00:56:56,448 --> 00:56:57,288

Beck: I've pet a sloth

00:56:58,004 --> 00:56:58,724

Dash: Cool

00:56:59,117 --> 00:57:01,987

Beck: One of the weddings that

I did in Cincinnati, the girl

00:57:01,997 --> 00:57:04,807

worked at the Cincinnati Zoo,

and she had her reception there.

00:57:05,287 --> 00:57:08,897

Uh, she had her wedding in

this gorgeous Catholic church.

00:57:08,927 --> 00:57:11,477

Like, it was the most beautiful

temple I've ever been in.

00:57:11,947 --> 00:57:16,537

And then she had a reception at the zoo,

and because she was a zookeeper they

00:57:16,537 --> 00:57:18,137

brought a whole parade full of animals.

00:57:18,137 --> 00:57:19,237

They had penguins.

00:57:19,237 --> 00:57:20,317

There were, uh…

00:57:20,987 --> 00:57:21,757

Oh, what are they called?

00:57:21,807 --> 00:57:22,917

O- ostriches.

00:57:22,977 --> 00:57:23,807

Uh, not ostriches.

00:57:23,817 --> 00:57:24,347

Flamingos.

00:57:24,347 --> 00:57:25,397

That's what I was trying to come up with.

00:57:25,657 --> 00:57:30,127

And a sloth and a monitor lizard

and all kinds of interesting stuff.

00:57:30,137 --> 00:57:30,417

But I like…

00:57:30,447 --> 00:57:30,727

Got to…

00:57:30,737 --> 00:57:32,717

The petting the sloth

was my favorite part.

00:57:33,339 --> 00:57:34,109

Dash: Are they soft?

00:57:34,707 --> 00:57:35,057

Beck: Yes.

00:57:35,067 --> 00:57:36,457

Well, they're kinda wiry, like,

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Dash: They look kinda wiry.

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Beck: yeah, kinda like a chihuahua.