The Weekly Eudemon

The Old Testament. I summarize the OT in about eight minutes. The segment is closer to 11, but I throw in a couple of decidedly un-OT anecdotes. Words. A short look at a few unusual words. Lightning Segments. The ideal gin and tonic, The Adventures of Beer Man, Ira Gershwin, More. Radical Derrida? I know Derrida was radical, but I’m not sure three of his main conclusions—words don’t carry ultimate meaning, no text outside the text, and condemnation of binaries—are all that startling. I...

Sex in the Stall. A couple allegedly has sex in the bathroom stall at a NFL games. That’s unbelievably gross. Deconstructionism is partly to blame. The fact that these people are absolute pigs doesn’t help, but deconstructionism feeds them. I explain how. Communist Gnosticism. Marx, Lenin, and hatred for religion = shuttering of Greek Orthodox Churches in the early USSR. Homosexuality, deconstructionism, and hatred for truth = shuttering of Roman Catholic Churches in contemporary...

Fulton Sheen. Bishop, Emmy award winner, adviser to the rich and famous, and making serious inroads to canonization thanks to a stunning 2010 miracle (well, they’re all stunning, but this one particularly so). And then there’s his namesake, Charlie Sheen. Modernity: Modernity is Gnosticism. John Locke and Materialism, Newton and Empiricism, Mill and Utilitarianism, the politics of Progressivism. Lightning Segments: Martin Sheen and Dorothy Day and Dostoyevsky; Lesbian remark apologia,...

Introverts. An introvert is not a shy person. It’s someone who draws energy from quiet. He has a finite supply of energy for interaction . . . it drains him. A huge revelation for this podcaster. Hat tip to The Matt Walsh Show. Deconstructionists. Derrida’s attack on binaries was an overreaction to Descartes’ erroneous dualism that denied the sacramental nature of reality. That, anyway, is my theory. Gnostic Gays: Deconstructionism + Gnosticism = LGBTQ movement.

Touching During Mass. Enough already. Enough with shaking hands, too, at least during the cold and flu season. That custom has ran its course. Today’s Pride and Prejudice Parlor Scenes. Family members lounging around the living room, each with individual screens in their hands. The end of the family? Or a return of the family to 1800 leisurely norms? Marshall McLuhan. This Catholic convert would probably take major issue with my conclusions in the previous segment. I introduce the thought...

The Mind and Art of Albert Jay Nock. Great book/introduction into the life and thought of the godfather of American libertarianism. The fact that Crunden wrote this as an undergrad? Blows me away. Deconstructionism and the Family. Why are leftists pro-environment and pro-gay marriage? There’s a connection, though it’s murky and a bit confusing. I try to flush it out here. Lightning Segments. Dieting, Smear the Queer, More. Mindfulness. Breaking the mind in two. Proof of the soul? One...

Pope Francis and Brideshead Revisited, Structuralism and Libertinism, Buddhist Emptiness, Hungover, Mongols with Nestorian Christians

Next Week: I plan on producing a podcast next week, over the holidays, but it’ll probably be unusual fare. Sol Invictus. No, Christmas predates Sol Invictus, but the question of pagan practices’ influence on Christian practices is interesting. I don’t look at the history much, but rather, focus on the premonition of truth that I think was at work. The Jesus Prayer. “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Just twelve words. The path to praying without ceasing...

Post-Modernism Studies Have Begun: I bought Thaddeus Russell’s course, “What is Post-Modernism.” I like it, but I think I’ve caught three pretty bad errors in the first 20 minutes or so: Margaret Mead’s findings were terribly flawed, Copernicus didn’t suffer severe persecution, Galileo wasn’t persecuted because he was correct. Christians and Post-Modernism: Joseph Bottum corroborates my hunch: Post-modernism is attacking traditional Christianity’s enemy, modernism, so we have a lot of...

Midget Wrestling: It was a great time. Twisted? Naw, just fun. Don’t deprive midgets of their agency, and you can’t judge someone else’s sense of humor as long as it’s not unkind. Detroit: Its rise from the ashes continues, but it’s still a gritty place and rings “authentic.” Contrast that with downtown Chicago. Lightning Segments: All about The Manly Handbook, an absurd little book from the early 1980s that cracks me up to this day. FOCUS: The Fellowship of Catholic University Students...

Self-Abuse: The Atlantic ran a long essay about the “sex recession”: kids are having less sex these days. Why? One answer: masturbation. Sex Jokes: Is ribaldry dialogue okay for Catholics? Maybe, maybe not. You decide. Lightning Segments: El Cortez in Las Vegas, Elvis drummer, the Horn Effect, more. The Seventh Century: The Dark Ages have begun, but what exactly do things look like? Khazars, Pepin, Franks, Etc. Taoist Anarchism: Taoists are anarchists. For good reason: Wu-wei; non-action.

Black Friday and the Gorillas: Are Black Friday shoppers near descendants of the gorillas? Albert Jay Nock would seem to think so. A sense of superiority is an unsettling trait of many libertarians. Puritanizing Marijuana: The marijuana industry is booming, but there is a conscious effort to imbue it with the Puritan work ethic and otherwise mainstream it. Thaddeus Russell wouldn’t approve. Lightning Segments: Eight Mile, a list of Great Men, other snippets. Poustinia: My experience with...

I spent the week in Las Vegas, attending the annual Marijuana Business Conference (“MJ Biz Con”). Consequently, I didn’t have any time to put together a normal podcast, but I accumulated a lot of interesting discussion subject matter. This episode breaks down, from a Catholic perspective, Vegas and the blooming marijuana industry.

Listen on Youtube Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Stitcher Listen on TuneIn 650: So, if the Roman Empire didn’t fall in 476, when did it? Nobody really knows, but it’s probably safe to say that, by 650, Rome was gone and the Dark Ages had begun. Thanksgiving: November has a lot to recommend it, but perhaps nothing as much as this: it’s the month for giving thanks. With the attitude of giving thanks, comes many blessings. Lightning Segments: Hot Scandinavian women, a king’s life, who can...

Taoism: The laid back outlook of Lao-Tse and Chuang-Tzu. Lisieux-like. A very short introduction. Bogus Historical Atlas: A run-down of a bogus map of Europe circa 486. I wish I could find my copy of that book. It might have been a Rand McNally historical atlas. No matter. None of those “kingdoms” considered themselves kingdoms in 486. Burgundy, Franks, Visigoths: They were all controlled by barbarian generals who considered themselves part of the Roman Empire. Lightning Segments: Henri...

Halloween: Okay to celebrate? Of course. Without appreciating evil, you can’t appreciate good. Short History of Zen: Shakyamuni through the Bodhidharma to Hui-Neng: We sketch its earliest history to the seventh century, where it first noticeably took on its mature form. Mahayana Buddhism + Taoism = Zen. Lightning Segments: Two Russian jokes, Jeff Riggenbach, Albert Jay Nock Does the Fall Matter? The Fall of the Roman Empire isn’t just interesting for nerds. It tells us something about...