Jaq and Andy’s Thoughts On Stuff 5s665m

This episode we start off attempting to clearly communicate the importance of clear communication before jumping head first into Tokyo culture, intentionally talking about Japan for, possibly, the first time in the history of this podcast. We round things off by travelling through travel plans, bemoaning the potential struggle of sticking to sticker making, and finally trying to articulate "the thing" about (white) Australian art.  

This episode of ToS sees our intrepid crew of two voyaging into the disappointing depths of modern house robots and AI misuse before turning left into toxic diet culture and the labels we place on food like meat placed on your skin...instead of your bones. Andy does not apologise for that accidental visual. Andy also does not apologise for the number of f***s sacrificed in the making of this podcast. Jaq does apologise for getting distracted and forgetting to mention that the topics of gacha game Infinity Nikki, K-drama Squid Game and the game of teaching Jaq how to actually use Instagram properly.

Chuffed as we were with the focus we displayed in our last episode we have decided to continue with this style. Starting off with our education systems complete inability to be entertaining and applauding manga's ability to be educational about incredibly important topics... like wine and volley ball. (Correction note: The character is Dogberry and he is from "Much Ado About Nothing" NOT "King Lear".)...( King Lear is not nearly as funny as M.A.A.N., just saying). We then moved on to musing about how being "woke" could possibly be an insult and grouping people can be used to ostracise them. ....We then found our way back onto surer ground with the expounding our appreciation for snow, Sapporo, Stray Kids and stimming behaviours. S topics were very popular. ...Oh! and Andy means "primal" not "primordial". We were tired when we recorded this ep. Honestly, neither of our brains were firing on all cylinders, not consistently. 

This was a new week, a new approach, a new solution to our tendency to incessantly meander away from any semblance of a cohesive topic of conversation. And we are happy to report that our new strategy was a success! ...mostly. This episode we selected one main topic each that we wanted to discuss and one thing we'd been enjoying recently to share. For Andy it was two subjects that couldn't be more opposite: the erosion of respect in our modern society and Thai BL. For Jaq it was.... basically one subject to be honest: Halloween.... Look it was a strategic choice... The four topic rule wasn't the only decision made to get both parties to focus. .... Enjoy. 

This episode we wander into the murky depths of delulu fans, threat perception and poorly aged media. It's not all doom and gloom and slight concern however! We also talk about drink spiking...wait....um... okay so the topics aren't super delightful but we are our usual, upbeat, slightly aggressive selves!   NOTE: In this episode Jaq recommends a movie called "Perfect Blue". The recommendation is not entirely rescinded but please research it before watching. It's content warnings are numerous and hard to fully explain and include outdated portals of people with mental illness. 

In a shocking turn of events we barely discuss Japan and don't even mention anime!.. I think, don't quote me... We do however talk about K-Pop stars and Korea.... baby steps people, baby steps. This week we really focus in on the expectations of society, from "image", to tattoos, to gender expression and representation (albeit with a small detour to gush over Michelle Rodriguez, who may, in fact, be the perfect woman). Opinions will be given, facts will be checked and ultimately one conclusion will be reached; Let people live how they want to.

Trigger Warning: mentions of suicide and domestic violence. Come with us on a journey through Japan, grocery stores, work places and Space (Jam) to fight c*nts who are, in fact, not bigger than us. In a surprising turn of events Jaq and Andy don't get too distracted this week due to the magical topic combination of Japan and fighting people. I swear we are not violent.

This episode Jaq and Andy finally stick to a topic for longer than 2 minutes but only because that topic is Skip Beat, an under-appreciated manga that spans so many volumes that you can wildly jump from topic to topic without leaving the borders of it's pages. Once they do break free however it's, op shops, fashion choices and far too much, un-fact checked dissatisfaction with the fact that Woody Allen exists.

Not to be outdone by our previous meandering, this week we get completely lost in tedious minutiae. Luckily for you we cut out the worst of it. You're welcome. However if you have a soft spot for 80s and 90s cartoons you may be swept along in our nostalgic fascinations. If not, the local house gecko gets quite a few words if that's to your interest. Probably not but... maybe. It takes all sorts. We also talk about anime and Japan again, if you were wondering.

In this episode Jaq and Andy do not talk about salad the entire time, but the topic is definitely given more time than it really deserves. Jaq and Andy sincerely apologise for this. Otherwise the conversation begins with anime and with record speed moves to friendship, fitness, good burgers and bad burgers, body shaming, pumpkin curry, eating.... honestly this was one of our most focused episodes yet. So...let's just take it as win.

In an unsurprising turn of events, when allowing ourselves to talk about what we usually divert to... we diverted immediately away from it. Not all went to the not-plan however, because we kept forgetting things. Sam, Jake Ryan and neurological pathways to name a few things. We didn't forget to talk about clothes and fashion though for some reason... it was an odd kind of day... mind you we also talk about well-muscled fan service, so not that odd really.

This episode Jack and Andy travel.... not very far due to unforeseen divergences. In our attempt to discuss travel, because we frequently divert to it, we have, naturally, diverted almost immediately away from it. Instead we stood in the driveway chatting about how much work is too much work, is too much alcohol the problem and why do we keep getting too much of one story...Oh well, may's well just go back inside and try again another day.

This week we're dropping the pre-tense and just talking about Japanese 2D media (watch this space for an episode entirely dedicated to travelling in Japan). We do of course deviate away from anime and manga... and deviate back again. But in between we discuss, make-up, tiktok, age perception and other highly vital and important topics... yeah no, not really.

We were into K-Pop before it was cool,... of course a lot of people still don't think it is but those people are wrong. us in our hazy recollections of 10yr old but strident assertion that K-Pop artists are cute and sexy in all of the right ways, especially BTS... and BigBang. From there we discuss the differences between K & J drama, mental health concerns, Zombies, BL and general irritations. Just the usual. 

Our journey continues as we dive head first into science literacy only to discover that Jaq can't spell LGBTQI+ and Andy assumes Jaq must know these things and says nuthin'. But not before we've detoured through schooling standards, childhood stress, eating habits and gay frogs. Yes, as usual, we get lost in the seas of conversation but come out...still kinda soggy to be honest. 

Our journey this day begins with the dangerous topic of anime before diverging quickly into an assortment of delectable diatribes and then coming back round to the concerning content of "Beastars", Jaq's problematic romance aversion and Andy's determined defence of it. We also talk a lot about effective communication. 

In our second episode we fully accept our rambling tendencies and talk about a range of topics with no clear theme or direction. We talk about climate change, politics, how we value the employed and unemployed. There's no knowing where we're going... much like that creepy boat in Willy Wonka. Contains even more swearing and cockatoos. Small edit (that we forgot to put in the recording)...the unemployed man in Melbourne pays his rent fortnightly, not weekly...

In our first episode we are discussing A Promising Young Woman, a 2020 film about society's approach to women's potential, victim-blaming culture and revenge. We'll be talking about those topics... and others, because we go off on tangents like they're the road less travelled. Contains swearing.