A Rhetorical Education

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Our first podcast. Get to know us a bit, hear our opening roundtable discussions on who we are, what we want, and how mostly its an ever-evolving whirlwind we have little control over.

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1st Trailer/Teaser of new season!.

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Welcome back to the podcast everyone!

Remember to link, subscribe, share and comment. Follow us on our social media:

Instagram: @rhetorical_education_beyond

Twitter: @archingwithaphd

FACEBOOK PAGE :“A Rhetorical Education Podcast”

Direct link in show notes: https://www.facebook.com/A-Rhetorical-Education-Podcast-100537222646496

I want to note that this episode will recommend and serve as the final episode of season two of the podcast. To that idea I feel like we should turn to first principles and look at the podcast the way it was originally conceived as a place for me to share things that were on my mind.

So, on with the show, and into the controversies:

POINT 1 – Roe vs. Wade – 1:07

One, have a brief discussion about Roe vs. Wade, not as a position of a man but I was looking at it is the idea of choice.

Particularly make a note about the ways that there seem to be people who would like to alter our nation by completely rolling back and attempting to start over.

I'm not going to speak too much on this other to say that I don't think anyone has the right to remove or restrict choices of other people who are living different lives under different conditions.

This is not parody, this is insanity posing as potential tragedy for everyone.

POINT 2 – The New Right – 5:04

I hate to say this but everybody who is currently serving in political office, and I direct this message particularly to the Democrats who in many ways from what I see are the only ones who seem to act with some sense of normality. Unfortunately, that is also both a positive and an extreme negative to right now.

Why?

Because whether you want to accept it or not, it is a reality now, the political landscape in the post trump America is no longer what it ever was before. So wake up.

In particular, it is worth noting, and I heard this on the May 11th episode of the podcast Fever Dreams, a discussion with James Pogue who recently published an article in Vanity Fair titled: “Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel is placing his biggest bets”.

It is interesting to observe these people as Pogue does, because though many seem to despise the “elites,” many are also from them. Without spending too much time on this it is worth expressing that the worldview of many of these people in the new right seems to direct their vitriol towards globalization and consumerism as being part of some sort of clown world and the media as being somehow like Orwell’s Ministry of Truth.

I will admit that I do not think that some of their critiques are not without merit, but another key intellectual figure of this movement who goes by the name Curtis Yarvin, and ex programmer and Blogger proposes ideas that I think I actively abandoned when I left puberty.

Quoting from the article, “To truly be red pilled” [because of course they like to use a Matrix reference]” Yarvin argues that “conservatives can actually win in America [by appointing] a Caesar-like figure to take power back from this devolved oligarchy and replace it with a monarchical regime run like a start-up. As early as 2012, he proposed the acronym RAGE – Retire All Government Employees – as a shorthand for a first step in the overthrow of the American regime. What we need, Yarvin thought, was a ‘national CEO, [or] what’s called a dictator’ [because] ‘If you’re going to have a monarchy, it has to be a monarchy for everyone,’ he said.”

I'm sorry, what!?

I'm certain I will have more to say on this as I learn more about it... unfortunately. And if you think it's not something to be taken seriously, you should know that this is a well-funded group of people who are gaining influence and position in politics today. Let that sink in.

POINT 3 – Rant on Where We Are Going Wrong – 12:35

We have become a needy, instant gratification, society that desperately calls out: “Please give me the outrage, the fear, the cringe, the horror, the humor, the offensiveness, and the outrage.”

PODCASTS I RECOMMEND. – THERE WAS AN IDEA – 16:24

I am re-upping my recommendation for this Podcast, previous mention on Podcast 11

This coming week, to be posted soon after and I will post a link then, I will be appearing on Terra Kearns’ “There Was An Idea…A Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast.

She is on Instagram and Twitter @anidea_podast

You can find her on Apple Podcasts at the link in the notes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/there-was-an-idea-a-marvel-cinematic-universe-podcast/id1523223773

When I have the link, I will share in on our social media.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES: Tim Smyth and Teaching with Graphic Novels

Tim Smyth, who I have gotten to know a little bit and does inspiring work teaching his High School students history classes using graphic novels is HOSTING an Edpuzzle workshop on Saturday, May 21 at 12 PM EDT.

He goes by Teaching With Comics on Facebook and Instagram.

“Graphic novels might be the perfect launchpad for your next classroom discussion! Join us for a hands-on #EdpuzzleLIVE with @historycomics to experience the magic of graphic novels in your classroom!”

I have included the link to register for this free event coming this Saturday in the show notes.

Great stuff, check it out.

Finally, due to an increased fluctuation and hecticness in my own schedule recently I have decided to take a small hiatus from the podcast for most of the summer, at least until the middle of July at the earliest.

During that time I'm going to be focusing on a lot of different projects getting them finished getting them out of the way and some of them will directly be involved with comic books hopefully, so I will be reporting back on that.

I will be keeping up with other things here on the main website and on social media, Like artwork and Writing. When I come back we will officially begin SEASON 3.

There will be a trailer talking about Season 3 to come and we will be focusing it on the history, use, and understanding of rhetoric. It will be a real dive into an actual rhetorical education that I want to be relatable, interesting, fun, and incisive, not to mention useful in your everyday life.

Until then, hope everyone has a great summer.

Remember to subscribe, comment and share. Follow us on Social media at Instagram: @rhetorical_education_beyond on Instagram, @archingwithaphd on Twitter, and on our new Facebook page: “A Rhetorical Education Podcast”

Until next week: “heed the call”

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Pardon the interruption and changeup but this week will not be the beginning of our examination of Rhetoric, instead, I decided to have some fun with my eldest son Finn.

He is a massive fan of the MCU movies, especially the Avengers.

So, I started digging in and boning up on remembering all I used to know about both the comic book and movie Avengers. Now, since he is most familiar with the movie versions, I thought we would start there.

Not just that, but I wanted to ask the question: How many Avengers are there?

Why?

Because the original team gather in the 2012 film is only 6 members. After that, through subsequent movies more and more are added. So, we set out to find out. Especially, since at the end of Avengers: Endgame Captain America calls them together with “Avengers Assemble.”

Something new too, the rest of this podcast is in the form of an audio + visual component, so, follow the YouTube link below to see it all.

https://youtu.be/CDr_O786mBQ

Hope you enjoy. Be sure to subscribe, rate, comment and all that.

Until next time,

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Welcome back to the podcast everyone!

Quick reminder, as always, please subscribe, follow, share, comment, review and if you are so inclined, draw me a sketch of me as a knight of the round table and mail it to me via electronic mail, you know, email or message me on social media:

Instagram: @rhetorical_education_beyond

Twitter: @archingwithaphd

FACEBOOK PAGE IS NOW ALIVE! “A Rhetorical Education Podcast”

Link in show notes: https://www.facebook.com/A-Rhetorical-Education-Podcast-100537222646496

Programming note: currently, I am in the middle of closing out my semester and taking on the finishing a bunch of projects, so, for the time being, the podcast is going to move to a bi-monthly, or every other week, release schedule for the next few months.

Alright then, on with the show!

POINT 1 – DEFINING THE STRAWMAN – 2:53

Of course, we should not neglect the fact that not everybody knows what a strawmen fallacy is. I would be a terrible host and positioning myself to make a terrible argument if I made that assumption and did not define it for you.

A Strawman Fallacy occurs when engaged in debate or argumentation, one person substitutes the other person’s actual position or argument by distorting, exaggerating, or misrepresenting it. This distorted version usually is easier to attack and knock down, like a strawman.

POINT 2 – WHAT ARE THE FACTS? – 5:00

POINT 3 – CRITICAL ATTACKS – 10:21

POINT 4 – SUPPORTERS, COUNTER-ATTACKS – 12:14

Links to the full bill, summary, and NBC opinion article are provided in the show notes:

FULL BILL: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1557/BillText/er/PDF

SUMMARY: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1557/?Tab=BillText

NBC |OPINION PIECE: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/florida-hb-1557-anti-gay-parental-rights-education-violates-free-ncna1293466

PODCASTS I RECOMMEND. – THERE WAS AN IDEA -21:17

Podcast I recommend this week I want to talk about my PCA conference presentation.

On the same panel as my discussion about ideological conceptions of superheroes in the MCU and the DC Universe according to Zack Snyder, I got to meet and see a presentation by Terra Kearns on the Eternals. It was great.

I also found and I am now listening to her podcast: “There Was An Idea…A Marvel Cinematic Universe Podcast.

She talks about the MCU and ideas connecting to pop culture and academics, it is awesome and I am hoping to appear on her podcast sometime next month myself, so shameless plug I guess.

You can find her on Apple Podcasts at the link in the notes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/there-was-an-idea-a-marvel-cinematic-universe-podcast/id1523223773

She is also on Twitter and Instagram at @anidea_podcast

My own PCA presentation itself can be found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GwHKKHjM4bo

Great stuff, check it out.

Leave off noting the fact that I plan on moving to an every two week or five month schedule for the time being as I am working on quite a lot of different projects that I’m looking to complete. But as I do this I’m also going to try and shift gears into a much more fun spirited but all and also informative engagement with what is Rhetoric. But I had originally planned to talk about this podcast itself but I pushed it back a little bit but I would like to have a series of podcasts where we explored and tie in connections to interesting and fun things, particularly, superheroes

Remember to subscribe, comment and share.

Until next week: “heed the call”

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Podcast 9: Freedom of Speech

Welcome back to the podcast everyone!

Instagram: @rhetorical_education_beyond

Twitter: @archingwithaphd

Coming soon, a Facebook page!

Alright then, on with the show!

POINT 1 – 1st Amendment Rights– 5:50

YouTube Channels Taking on and Mocking First Amendment Auditors (Frauditors) and Sovereign Citizens

Team Skeptic: https://www.youtube.com/c/TeamSkeptic

The Irish Demon: https://www.youtube.com/c/IrishDemon

Frauditor Troll: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX_W4DZS1jXygkuenQ3_3Bw

But in a more important way, and in a good faith way, I do think it's important that people understand how Freedom of Speech works. How your rights work, and what responsibilities go along with those rights is something we do not openly talk about more?

What is and is not your freedom of speech protected from?

Do you understand that there are still consequences for exerting your “freedom of speech”?

Let’s dig in.

POINT 2 – Freedom of Speech – 8:08

In it’s plain text, the first amendment states that:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

In other words, the GOVERNMENT cannot and will not make a law, for freedom of speech in particular, restricting free speech.

So, the history of the first amendment…rapid fire…

Adopted in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights to our constitution
Specifically what “freedom of speech” is is not defined in the original, like Jefferson and his “pursuit of happiness” from the declaration…or also freedom and life if you like.
At its most basic it means one can speak their mind and have an opinion without fear of government oppression. Don’t see anyone saying consequence free there.
Topic: Flag Burning. 1990, Sup Court in Texas v. Johnson expanded freedom to symbols as well as spoken and/or written words.
Not ALL speech is protected, such as obscene material like child pornography, plagiarism of copyrighted material, defamation (both libel and slander). Remember what J. Jonah Jameson said in Spider-Man 1 if need to know the difference: “libel is in print, slander is spoken.”, and true threats.
Additionally, and somewhat relevant in the big picture of American politics right now, wink wink, speech inciting illegal action or soliciting the committing of a crime are NOT protected.
1919 Supreme Court decision upheld the Espionage Act of 1919 in Debs v United States making it so speech against military operation or recruitment was NOT protected
Artistic freedom is widely accepted under Freedom of Speech as a freedom of expression. This can only be restricted when expression causes direct or immanent harm to others…like shouting fire in a crowded theater.
The Court typically holds to the principle of “content neutrality” in cases of freedom of expression, meaning you cannot censor or restrict something just because you or some group thinks it is offensive..
1965: Tinker v. De Moines Independent School District established freedom of speech in schools in terms of peaceful and nondestructive behavior. This only applies to Public Schools.

Of course, this is not exhaustive, but I want to leave here with public schools because it will play a part in what I will be noting in point 4.

POINT 3 – DEFINITIONS – 11:11

Rights: of course, to be “right” is to be morally correct, just, or honorable, but as we are specifically using it, plurally as in more than one, we are typically referring rather to “a moral or legal entitlement to have or obtain something or to act in a certain way”

Responsibilities: the plural of responsibility that is defined as “the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone”

Accountability: defined as “the quality or state of being accountable, responsible.” It is often noted as an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.

Consequences: we know this one right, it is “a result or effect of an action or condition” It is the embodiment of Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion, you know, that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Consequences are not always equal of course, but they are also not always bad or good.

POINT 4 – That thing they call “cancel culture” and Freedom of Speech

– 15:52

No MISCILANEIOUS THOUGHTS or PODCASTS I RECOMMEND.

The Problem with Jon Stewart recent episode on what is the matter with white people. https://www.theproblem.com/episode-8-the-problem-with-racism-white-people/

You can check out the main debate about “Taking Responsibility for Systemic Racism”: https://youtu.be/1cmnwbGmu7w

Podcast follow-up discussion here: https://www.theproblem.com/podcast/isabel-wilkerson-racism-interview/

Remember to subscribe, comment and share.

Until next week: “heed the call”

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Welcome back to the podcast everyone!

Quick reminder, as always, please subscribe, follow, share, comment, review and send me a post card from somewhere sunny and lovely to make me smile. Come on, you can do it 

So, due to my last week being a bit under the weather, there will be no original art with this week’s episode, apologies. I hope to be back at 100% and going again with it next week.

Alright then, on with the show!

Just like when I talked about mental health and mental illness a few episodes ago, I have been strangely fascinated and also disturbed by the recent and rather flippant use of the term indoctrination in our culture today.

There is a strong uptick trajectory today in our age of growing school board raids and rants. It appears as a catch all for everything from trans and homophobia to masks, to discussions of race, critical race theory, and equality.

No one who appears to be using it interchangeably as indicating a “threat” to their kids through the educational system really appears to understand what it is.

POINT 1: What is indoctrination? – 03:32

POINT 2 – Deconstructing Indoctrination – 09:06

Ranalli Link:

https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2022/01/16/indoctrination/

POINT 3: Education is NOT Indoctrination – 16:50

Link to “Difference Between Education and Indoctrination”

http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-education-and-indoctrination/

POINT 4: CRT…Curriculum, Regulation, Teaching – 19:54

Link to Tanesha Peoples article:

https://educationpost.org/since-critical-race-theory-is-being-called-indoctrination-lets-go-there/

Now, let us welcome the return of MISCILANEIOUS THOUGHTS. So, here we go: 28:02

I want to circle back to my final thoughts on Johann Harai’s book Stolen Focus that I have spoken quite a bit about.

Well, I finally finished the book over spring break. In his conclusion, Johann mentions visiting James Williams, a former Google strategist and they spoke to three layers of attention, all of which are being stolen from us in certain ways.

Spotlight – this is the focus on what is immediately in front of us, what our actions are at that moment, whatever it is. It is called a spotlight because it usually requires one to focus, down, on to an object or subject of focus. When disrupted, one can be prevented from carrying out near term actions like finishing a book chapter, getting a cup of coffee, etc.
Starlight – this is the focus one has on long term goals, projects and such over time. Things like writing a book, starting a business, being a good parent, etc. The title implies it is a guiding force for when you feel lost to remind you what you are working towards. If your focus here is lost you can forget where you going or what you are trying to achieve.
Daylight – this is the focus that lets you account for your long-term focus in the first place. It is the focus behind how do you know you want to write a book, start a business, or be a good parent. It allows you to reflect and think clearly in order to figure things out. If your focus here slides you cannot figure out who you are, what you want to do, or where to go. An existential crisis.

Spotlight is what you are focusing on now, in the moment, Starlight is the focus of your goals, where you are going, and Daylight is the focus on why you are engaged in the direction you are going.

Johann adds his own layer to this:

Stadium Lights – He notes that this is the ability to see each other, to hear each other, and to work together to work for collective goals and actions. This slip in focus keeps us at vast times from working together to solve large scale issues like global warming/climate change and other wicked problems.

It was a really fascinating take on how we are distracted, but rather than try and be a self-help book, and treat us all like we are made from a cookie cutter, Harari actively seeks to make us aware so that we can possibly address these things as best we each can. I like that approach.

I would recommend this book highly.

Well, that's all for now. Hope I’ve given you something to chew on and think about, a little nuance to go with that normally nutritionally empty social media diet we all partake in.

Remember to subscribe, comment and share.

Until next week: “heed the call”

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Welcome back to the podcast.

Please like, subscribe, comment, and share.

Show Time Stamps

2:32 – Introductions

4:25 – Neal’s Biography and a touch of Mental Health Talk

9:21 – Wilfred Owen’s Poem, Horace, and How We Forget About War

42:44 – Comic books, war and propaganda, and the problematizing of superheroes.

In this week’s episode we are going to hear a fantastic conversation with Neal Curtis, comics scholar and critical theorist living in Auckland, New Zealand.

He is the author of numerous books:

Against Autonomy (2001)

War and Social Theory (2006)

Capitalism and the Privatization of Life (2013)

Sovereignty and Superheroes (2016)

Hate in Precarious Times (2021)

You can find him on Twitter - @nealcurtis

More about his work can be found HERE: https://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/people/ncur286

As well as his personal blog: https://multiframe.wordpress.com

Wilfred Owen’s Poem “Dulce et Decorum Est”:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46560/dulce-et-decorum-est

Horace:

“Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace) was a Roman poet writing about 2,000 years ago. Horace was born in Italy, around 65 BC, and was educated at prestigious academies in Rome and Athens.

Most importantly – at least from a historian’s perspective – Horace’s life bears witness to considerable political upheaval. This included the civil war which started after the assassination of Julius Caesar; the battle at Actium (31 BC) where Mark Anthony was defeated; and the rise and consolidation of power by Caesar Augustus (formally known as Octavian). This period of transition between the Roman republic and Augustus’ rule heavily influenced his poetry as Horace was one of a number of poets commissioned by the Emperor Augustus to write favourably about his rule and its positive effects on Rome.

Horace’s ode is part of a collection of six poems focused on patriotic themes (known as the Roman Odes). For the most part, Horace claims that the young man can achieve virtue in battle and war, a sentiment his readership would have accepted quite readily. Since death comes even to those who turn tail and flee, is it not better to die in the pursuit of victory for one’s homeland?”

https://resources.poetrysociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Dulce-et-Decorum-Est.pdf

During our conversation on Ukraine, I mentioned a podcast called Going Medieval that talks about in an episode entitled “The Origins of Kyiv” that I have linked to HERE:

https://podfollow.com/gone-medieval/episode/723998991c090660987d98754177b93173724af3/view

Carole Cadwalladr reporting on Brexit:

“The Great British Brexit Robbery”

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great-british-brexit-robbery-hijacked-democracy

“Russia Report Reveals UK Government Failed to Investigate Kremlin Interference”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/21/russia-report-reveals-uk-government-failed-to-address-kremlin-interference-scottish-referendum-brexit

Heather Cox Richardson book How the South Wong the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America. Link to it HERE.

Putin’s call for a Conference on Denazification was a link and information I could not find more on, but there are plenty of discussion about Putin’s false flag excuses for invasion, including this one:

https://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/ukraine/2022/03/the-truth-about-putins-denazification-fantasy

My brother David’s article published in Passport:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A267806b5-695b-406f-81ac-a6531cd72cdb&fbclid=IwAR2Rqulpg_JfdK9Z5zlOYNhL9AAqC1AuK3hOyiUJL4TaBE-dNFHx6EHlCPc#pageNum=3

Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh was turned away from participating in the peace talks at Versailles in 1919 after the end of World War I.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002088177301200104?journalCode=isqa

Here came seeking independence for the Vietnamese people and a petition for self-determination, which was ignored:

“Demands of the Annamite [Vietnamese] People

Since the victory of the Allies, all the subjects are frantic with hope at prospect of an era of right and justice, which should begin for them by virtue of the formal and solemn engagements made before the whole world by the various powers of the entente in the struggle of civilisation against barbarism.

While waiting for the principle of national self determination to pass from ideal to reality through the effective recognition of the sacred right of all peoples to decide their own destiny, the inhabitants of the ancient empire of Annam, at the present time French Indochina, present to the noble governments of the entente in general and in particular to the honourable French government the following humble claims:

1. General amnesty for all the native people who have been condemned for political activity.

2. Reform of Indochinese justice by granting to the native population the same judicial guarantees as the Europeans have, and the total suppression of the special courts which are the instruments of terrorisation and oppression against the most responsible elements of the Annamite people.

3. Freedom of press and speech.

4. Freedom of association and assembly.

5. Freedom to emigrate and to travel abroad.

6. Freedom of education, and creation in every province of technical and professional schools for the native population.

7. Replacement of the regime of arbitrary decrees by a regime of law.

8. A permanent delegation of native people elected to attend the French parliament in order to keep the latter informed of their needs.

The Annamite people, in presenting these claims, count on the worldwide justice of all the Powers, and rely in particular on the goodwill of the noble French people who hold our destiny in their hands and who, as France is a republic, have taken us under their protection.

In requesting the protection of the French people the people of Annam, far from feeling humiliated, on the contrary consider themselves honoured, because they know that the French people stand for liberty and justice and will never renounce their sublime ideal of universal brotherhood. Consequently, in giving heed to the voice of the oppressed, the French people will be doing their duty to France and to humanity.”

In the name of the group of Annamite patriots…
Nguyen Ai Quoc [Ho Chi Minh]”

Discussed the opening of The United States of Captain America (2021) by Christopher Cantwell, Josh Trujillo, Mohale Mashigo, Darcie Badger, Alyssa Wong, Dale Eaglesham, Jan Brazaldua, Natacha Bustos, David Cutler, and Jodi Nishijima.

Here is an excerpt taken from a Bleeding Cool article link HERE:

“The American Dream is classically an ideal that allows the opportunity for prosperity and success and upward social mobility for family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers, regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. As a counter, of course, that is seen as an ideal that the country has regularly fallen short of, whether that's slavery, internment, Jim Crow laws, through to the injustices that saw Black Lives Matter marches on the street last year, or the observation that only millionaires get to be President. After all, it is just a dream. But that's the thing about ideals; they are good for helping you get on the right path – eventually. In this comic, Captain America takes apart the different proponents of the American Dream and how it has been used and abused while polishing that shield.”

Story about Captain America in the deep south, written by Andrew Aydin and drawn by Daniel Acuna comes from Marvel Comics Presents #3 (2019):

https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/74782/marvel_comics_presents_2019_3

Spider-Man: A Life Story 1: The 60s (2019) by Chip Zdarsky and Mark Bagley where Spider-Man speaks to Captain America who goes off to fight in Vietnam and then goes rogue.

https://www.marvel.com/comics/series/26911/spider-man_life_story_2019

Story where Captain America is given a chance to return to his own time, looking for Bucky, by Kang the Conqueror is Captain America: Man Out of Time written by Mark Waid and drawn by Jorge Molina.

More here: http://www.multiversitycomics.com/reviews/captain-america-man-out-of-time/

Captain America: Patriot written by Karl Kesel and drawn by Mitch Beitweiser in 2011 looks at the other men who stood in as Captain America while he was on ice.

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Captain_America:_Patriot_Vol_1_1

Captain America, Vol. 4 #1-16 (2002-03) written by John Rieber and Chuck Austen, drawn by John Cassaday, Treveor Hairsine, and Jae Lee came on the heals of 9/11. It examined Captain America’s role and critically looked at how choices of the U.S. government had blowback. Shaded the black and white.

https://insidepulse.com/2016/06/09/retro-reviews-captain-america-vol-4-1-16-by-john-ney-rieber-chuck-austen-john-cassaday-jae-lee-other-for-marvel-comics/

Thank you for listening. Let me know your thoughts.

Heed the call!

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Welcome back to the podcast.

Quick reminder, if you have not already I want to encourage you to subscribe, comment, rate and share.

Before we begin I want to say that the podcast discussing things in Ukraine and more is coming and will be recorded this week. I plan to release in the next week as Podcast 2.7.

The reason for the change is that I encountered a conversation that resulted in some insights for me that I wanted to discuss. So, for this podcast we are going to take a quick trip into topics around how we talk about mental illness and mental health. So, that is what we are going to discuss.

Mental Health and Mental Illness

Point 1: The ways we define and conceptualize definitions around mental health and illness. At 5:08 time stamp

Point 2: The ways we deal with stereotypes of mental illness when we encounter it. At 13:15 time stamp

Point 3: The role that teachers can guide such nuance discussions. A self-lesson for me and others. At 17:50 time stamp

Links to ways we can visualize as well as statistics about better understanding mental health and mental illness:

Visualizing Mental Illness: https://www.boredpanda.com/architectual-mental-illness-illustrations-archiatric-federico-babina/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

Open Source Status on Mental Illness: https://data.world/gswider/open-sourcing-mental-illness-osmi-2016-survey-analysis

Those seeking help for mental illness: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help

Definitions:

Mental health usually refers to the maintenance of one’s mental activity, the maintenance of your everyday life and ability to cope with stress. This, of course, fluctuates given different events in your life at different times.

Our mental health is a lot like, to use a crude extended metaphor, that of a car. It requires maintenance. If we neglect it or don't regularly take care of it, it can break down on us a bit. It's going to go through some wear and tear but if we take care of it and pay attention to it we can better handle and maintain it in good order overtime. Ideally we would want to be able to do this without calling upon outside stimulants like alcohol, drugs, etc. to try and manage for us as some do.

Mental illness is that point where mental health tips over in such a way that the brain and thought processes of a person are not working as they should. One is chemically or otherwise out of balance.

Mental illnesses can emerge in younger children but oftentimes the majority of cases tend to emerge when students are in high stressful situations such as perhaps entering a job field after high school or when seeking higher education at a university or college. Regardless, it is the independence and transitions of young adulthood that typically find mental illness emerging.

Common Stereotypes and Stigmas of Mental Illness: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination

Podcasts I Recommend, at 26:53 time stamp.

This week I'd like to recommend The Bulwark Podcast with Charlie Sykes from thebulwark.com.

Bulwark website: https://www.thebulwark.com

Bulwark Podcast Website: https://www.thebulwark.com/podcast/the-bulwark-podcast/

Bulwark Episode with Rachel Vindman, Thursday, Mar. 3, 2022 is really worth checking out.

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Welcome back to the podcast.

Quick reminder, if you have not already I want to encourage you to subscribe, comment, rate and share.

Show Notes:

Jodie Royak Interview: 2:45 mark

Podcasts I Recommend: 29:20 mark

This Week’s Art: 31:14 mark

Notes on finding all the amazing stuff Jodie Royak is doing:

Website: https://royakstudio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/royakstudio/?hl=en

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/royakstudio/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFc4ItGq-zSzvsjMEsXCiQQ

Blink Hangers: https://blinkhangers.com

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Podcast I Recommend:

For our inaugural recommendation I would like to suggest a podcast I have mentioned previously here on this podcast: Now and Then. Now and then is hosted by historians Heather Cox Richardson, professor of history at Boston University, and Joanne Freeman, professor of history at Yale University. The show was really fascinating in the ways that it attempts to look at what is going on today in America and relating it to what has come before in our history. As someone who studied history and has a bachelor’s in history I find it fantastic, even though American history isn't necessarily what or was my area of focus it nonetheless is something I have a great interest in. Reading from their own little bio about the show it states that this podcast aims to answer the question of how the past help can inform today's most pressing challenges, Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman together try to make sense of the week in news by discussing the people, the ideas, and events that got us here today. If you enjoy history or current events or discussions about America's founding fathers, reconstruction, you name it, then this is a podcast for you to check out.

Check them out: https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/now-then

You can also find them on Apple podcasts.

Dr. Heather Cox Richardson: On Facebook and Twitter

Joanne Freeman: at Yale University and on Twitter

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This Week’s art:

Finally, the artwork for this episode is one that I have created as a dedication to George Perez. If you are or are not familiar with the work of George Perez, and if you read comic books, then I want to know what's wrong with you.

However, for anybody who's followed or read comic books in the past 30 or 40 years he has been a prolific artist he's engaged with writing he's colored ink and been an editor. The picture I based my portrait of him is based on a collector cards series called Famous Comic Book Creators that was published in 1992.

George is world renowned for drawing superhero team books, it is specialty, and got his first job in comics as assistant to Richard Buckler in 1973-74. First solo work: Astonishing Tales #25 (Marvel, 1974). Other marvel credits include major runs on Fantastic Four, Avengers in both in 1974-76 and again in 1997, but he is most famous for his work on Wonder Woman (1986-91), cocreation of The New Teen Titans with Marv Wolfman (1980-5, 88-90). he is famous for helping Co-create such legendary characters, especially in the minds of my children as they are huge fans of the TV show Teen Titans GO!, beast boy, Starfire, and Cyborg. Along with Marv Wolfman he also was responsible for bringing about DC Comics epic maxi series Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Unfortunately, George Perez retired from comics in 2019 due to health issues and is currently in Hospice care with inoperable pancreatic cancer.

I got to meet George Perez in 2012 at C2E2 in Chicago. He was the absolute nicest man I think I've ever met. Perez’s art has given me great enjoyment, and that is what led me led me to want to create this piece specifically n dedication to him in his time of need, to show my appreciation for all those things and all that talent he shared with all of us.

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Quick reminder, if you have not already I want to encourage you to subscribe, comment, rate and share.

This week’s podcast will only feature TWO topics under discussion, but there is a reason. That reason is that I am going to be recording my first INTERVIEW this coming Thursday. That interview will be what makes up podcast, episode 5, and it will be dropping early next week (very likely Monday) and it promises to be AWESOME!!!!

Now, with that out the way, let us take a look at what is on the table today.

TOPIC 1

Links to more about Lynda Barry

So, fortunately a couple people managed to get back to me and I was really happy to hear this.

Before we go any further I think it's a good idea that we establish, for the audience comma who Lynda Berry is.

Lynda Barry is an American cartoonist, author, and teacher. She's been around for quite a while but was recently awarded a MacArthur genius grant and I have been a fan of hers for a quite while. I find a lot of what she does to be genius level stuff so her award is well deserved and a lot of her published works more recently have centered quite a bit around her teaching using visuals in her classrooms, works like Syllabus, Making Comics, (which the received the prestigious Eisner award and 2020. Her acceptance speech is on YouTube, link, and it is wonderful because she specifically thanks her students) and What It Is (which also took home an Eisner award in 2009).

In the field of comic studies and academia she is a very powerful and profound voice. Speaking of that, what was it that she said, that I paraphrased, that I found so interesting? What was the line I then asked others to weigh in on? In her graphic novel/journal of Writing exercises and creativity advice known as Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor, Barry says and I modified it to be more general:

“The only way to understand [something] is by making [something or doing something]. Thinking about it, theorizing about it, chatting about it will not get you there.”

Questions and more on balance:

Aristotle, when talking about virtues and vices, speaks to this when defining virtues as a balance in something. Vices come from deficiencies (too little) or excesses (too much) in those same things. Link to more on Virtue and Vices from Aristotle.

It is the extremes, in anything, don’t lead to good outcomes.

She does share a Bible verse, Proverbs 12:15: “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.”

Shakespeare has a similar line in his play the Merchant of Venice: "They are sick that surfeit with too much, as they that starve with nothing."

Even Thanos, the MCU Avenger movies knew that finding balance was important…though his method was not desirable.

TOPIC 2

Johann Harari’s book: Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention.

“False information travels at six times faster on Twitter and social media then the truth.”

“The way our tech works now to corrode our attention was and remains a choice—by Silicon Valley, and by the wider society that lets them do it. Humans could have made a different choice then, and they can make a different choice now. You could have all this technology…but not design it to be maximally distracting. In fact, you could design it with the opposite goal: to maximally respect people’s need for sustained attention, and to interrupt them as little as possible. You could design the technology not so that it pulls people away from their deeper and more meaningful goals, but so that it helps them to achieve them.”

Links to more on Johann Hari

MISCILANEIOUS THOUGHTS:

Links to Tim Smyth

Instagram: @historycomics

Links to Aaron Benson

Instagram: @aaronwbenson

Links to Jodie Royak

Instagram: @royakstudio

Links to Andrew Aydin

Instagram: @andrewaydin
Twitter: @andrewaydin

Special thanks to my Dad, my Aunt Mary, my cousin Marti, and my friends Aaron and Rebecca for their inputs.

Well, that's all for now. Hope you have enjoyed what we've discussed and it's giving you some food for thought.

Remember to subscribe, comment and share.

Until next week: “heed the call”

Special inclusion this week and going forward will be my creation of artwork specifically designed to reflect my artistic conception of the episode.

This week, considering our discussions on making things as a way of real expression and are noting of things that could be good but have turned bad I have created, hence doing the first step of actually creating something, a kaleidoscopic portrait of people who were heroes who became villains, particularly in comic books.

I chose to depict, starting in the upper right-hand corner and moving clockwise: Harvey Dent, Erik Lehnsherr, Jean Grey, the Batman villain Two Face, Magneto, and the Dark Phoenix.

And just in case you are of the uninitiated in terms of this pop culture referencing, I will gladly help you out.

Harvey Dent became Two Face

Erik Lehnsherr became Magneto

Jean Grey became the Dark Phoenix

Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention--and How to Think Deeply Again

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This week we are going to be trying something a little different, a long form or larger discussion centered around one topic.

For this one topic I want to hone in on the recent controversy that has bubbled up around the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman. I would like to discuss this as well as spin out into a larger but related discussion of banning books, comic books, graphic novels and their use in the educational classroom.

Before we go further, I want to invite people to subscribe to pod, comment, and share please.

Show Notes:

Let’s start with a general view of the Maus part of the controversy as a teaser, where this digression began.
So in McKinnon County Tennessee there was a recent decision to ban the graphic novel Maus by Art Siegelman.
American story of censorship – for more, go to “Now and Then” podcast hosted by historians Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman, who are more qualified in discussing this issue in American historical context, are pursuing a 3-part episode series dedicated to a discussion of Bans, School, and Power. They are currently on the second episode of that series.
Comic Book Censorship
An excellent book to learn more here is David Hajdu’s 10 Cent Plague.
Dr. Carol Tilley’s work exposing Dr. Wertham.
Dr. Qiana Whitted’s book on EC Comics
personal experiences in 2015 that sparked my own current teaching approach – link to ARTICLE
My 2017 push back against growing conservative outtakes
Tim Smyth’s Teaching with Comics and Nick Sousanis teaching site.
LINK to Nate Powell’s recent cartoon in the NIB.
Banned and Challenged graphic novels, a sampling
Maus Controversy
Interview with Art Spiegelman as presented in a talk for the Greater Jewish

Federation of Chattanooga TN. Link HERE.

It is the limiting of ideas to try and control the outcome of learning.

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This week we tackle THREE topics plus preview a LONG FORM (ONE topic) for next week’s episode. Introduce a new segment to the show as well.

TOPIC 1: Listening Rhetoric and Engaging with Difficult Topics and Questions

TOPIC 2: Spin off Will Saletan and his discussions on state of our media environment and social media impact. Also, awareness.

Link to Slate article mentioned: https://slate.com/briefing/2022/01/will-saletan-goodbye-slate-25-years.html

Link to Bulwark Podcast mentioned: https://podcast.thebulwark.com/will-saletan-the-coalition-of-the-sane

TOPIC 3: Take a spin with another topic from The Problem podcast with Jon Stewart about dangers of social media and algorithms.

Link to Podcast HERE.

Finally, introducing MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS.

If you enjoy the show, please follow the podcast, share, and review.

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A Rhetorical Education: Recent Episodes

A Rhetorical Education