Journalism is not a profession or a trade. It is a cheap catch-all for fuckoffs and misfits — a false doorway to the backside of life, a filthy piss-ridden little hole nailed off by the building inspector, but just deep enough for a wino to curl up from the sidewalk and masturbate like a chimp in a zoo-cage.
Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 1972.
February 21, 2021
QotD: Journalism
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February 20, 2021
History Summarized: South Africa
Overly Sarcastic Productions
Published 19 Feb 2021In the past few centuries, few corners of the African Continent were quite as busy as the south. It’s a winding river from the first migrations and waves of colonists in the Cape Colonies to the Rainbow Nation we know today, so let’s dive in and see how it all played out!
SOURCES & Further Reading for Black History Month:
— The African Experience From ‘Lucy’ to Mandela From the Great Courses Plus, lectures 15-18 “South Africa: The Dutch Cape Colony & The Zulu Kingdom & Frontier and Unification & Diamonds and Gold”, 26 “Segregation and Apartheid in South Africa”, and 32 “The South African Miracle”— Born A Crime by Trevor Noah: https://bookshop.org/books/born-a-cri…
— Home Team History is a YouTube channel covering all corners of the African continent. They have several videos about Southern Africa, such as “A History of Stone Architecture in Southern Africa” (https://youtu.be/0U4Wu3CmL0U) and “Southern Africa: The Birthplace of Iron Mining” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9HO0…), and “A history of the Xhosa People” (https://youtu.be/axajPiZnDqo)
— Lastly, looking to modern times, it’s important to recognize how the COVID crisis has exacerbated massive preexisting disparities between healthcare for Black and minority communities and that of white Americans. It’s not enough to just acknowledge history, we all have a responsibility to understand modern problems and work on solutions. Read more: (https://www.scientificamerican.com/ar…) and please consider Donating to support the NAACP’s COVID relief programs: (https://naacp.org/coronavirus/coronav…)With special thanks to the members of our discord community who helped polish my script: Holben, Klieg, Good Hunter, and Sticc (who has a History of Africa podcast: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/…)
This topic was voted on by our community of Patrons! If you’d like to get extra rewards and play a role in the content we make, please consider supporting our channel at https://www.Patreon.com/OSP
Our content is intended for teenage audiences and up.
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QotD: The Infantry
The infantry (note not “infanteers” as they really hate that) are the actual troops who stand toe-to-toe with the enemy and bayonet them in the face. Boots on the ground, their job is to be pointed at the bad guys and go wreck it. They may get delivered in various ways including aircraft, boat, ship or their own vehicles, but same job: “infantry go smash”. Can be identified by neck tattoos, traditions that the Victorians would think are dated, officers wear faded red trousers and soldiers fight each other on Friday nights.
Combat Boot, “So, ‘capbadges’, what’s that all about then?”, combatboot.co.uk, 2020-11-13.
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February 14, 2021
History’s Best(?) Couples — Valentine’s Day Special
Overly Sarcastic Productions
Published 5 Feb 2021Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a look at some of the best couples in history. Well, “Best” is a stretch — definitely most entertaining — but the pairings on display today are FAR from healthy. Enjoy the slow descent into insanity that is “Me Discussing These Stories”.
SOURCES & Further Reading: Suetonius’ Twelve Caesars, Plutarch’s Parallel Lives: Julius Caesar, China: A History by John Keay, “Song of Everlasting Sorrow” by Bai Juyi, Smithsonian Magazine & Biography.com entries on Marie Antoinette & Louis XVI.
Our content is intended for teenage audiences and up.
TRACKLIST: “Scheming Weasel (faster version),” “Local Forecast – Elevator”, “Sneaky Snitch” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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Shakespeare Summarized: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Overly Sarcastic Productions
Published 27 Feb 2014Finally, a summarized comedic romance! And it was almost out in time for Valentine’s Day, when it would have been legitimately appropriate to release!
…I’m making progress, guys. Cut me some slack. 😛
Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s best plays. And nobody died this time! What a twist!
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February 13, 2021
Miscellaneous Myths: Hades and Persephone
Overly Sarcastic Productions
Published 12 Feb 2021You asked, I’ve answered! Today let’s discuss greek mythology’s most beloved AND most maligned relationship — but which reputation is truly deserved? You all know where *I* stand on the matter, but today I’ll do my best to justify my hot take that Hades And Persephone Is Romantic Actually.
Our content is intended for teenage audiences and up.
PARTIAL TRACKLIST: Hall of the Mountain King, Black Blade, Starfall, World Annihilation, Lacrimosa, Voice of Rushing Waters, Atlas, Breath and Life, Fire And Ice
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QotD: Haynes guide to tools of the trade
ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning steel Pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age, but it also works great for drilling mounting holes just above the brake line that goes to the rear wheel.
PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads.
HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.
MOLE-GRIPS/ADJUSTABLE spanner: Used to round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.
OXYACETELENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your garage on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside a brake-drum you’re trying to get the bearing race out of.
WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16″ or 1/2″ socket you’ve been searching for for the last 15 minutes.
DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, splattering it against that freshly painted part you were drying.
WIRE WHEEL: Cleans rust off old bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint whorls in about the time it takes you to say, “F….”
Do it by the book — the real meaning of Haynes instructions.
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February 12, 2021
QotD: Repartee
Daniel Hannan, Twitter, 2020-11-06.
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February 10, 2021
QotD: Wells’s Rules of Canadian Politics
1: For any given situation, Canadian politics will tend toward the least exciting possible outcome.
2: If everyone in Ottawa knows something, it’s not true.
3. The candidate in the best mood wins.
4. The guy who auditions for the role of opposition leader will get the job.
Paul Wells, “Wells’s Rules, annotated”, Maclean’s, 2009-05-21.
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February 9, 2021
History Summarized: Alexander the Great
Overly Sarcastic Productions
Published 19 Sep 2017Linguistically speaking, Alexander means “Defender of Men” from the Greek “alexo“, defend, and “aner/ander“, man. I’ll never be able to not internally think of his name as just meaning “Alex-Man”.
Oh, yeah, also he conquered an empire or something? IDK. I stopped paying attention after his bland name.
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January 29, 2021
Ancient Aryans: The History of Crackpot N@zi Archaeology
Atun-Shei Films
Published 22 Nov 2019Thanks to Indiana Jones, everybody knows that German archaeologists in the 1930s were searching for occult ancient artifacts … but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In this educational video, I explore how the N@zis turned the discipline of prehistoric archaeology into a cog in their propaganda machine, and how their crazy conspiracy theories about lost civilizations continue to haunt us to this day.
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January 23, 2021
History Summarized: Atlantic Exploration
Overly Sarcastic Productions
Published 22 Jan 2021So you just conquered Iberia, and you’re wondering where to go from here? It’s a more common conundrum than you might think. Consider: a big wooden floaty house that goes splish-splash in the Atlantic Ocean. Anyway, this is a video about Portuguese and Spanish (erm, Castilian) exploration in the Atlantic during the 1400s. Please note my deliberate decision to Nope on out at the turn of the 1500s.
This topic was requested by our longtime patron Antonio Juarez! Thank you Antonio for supporting our work and helping to provide entertaining educational content.
SOURCES & Further Reading: Ornament of the World by Maria Rosa Menocal; lectures from Great Courses Plus “1571: Spain, Portugal Encircle the Globe” by Donald J. Harreld, “Renaissance and Exploration: New Horizons” by Jennifer McNabb, “Portugal’s Great Leap Forward” by “Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius”
TRACKLIST: “Scheming Weasel (faster version),” “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys”, “Local Forecast – Elevator” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…Our content is intended for teenage audiences and up.
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January 16, 2021
Fables and Folktales: The Snow Queen
Overly Sarcastic Productions
Published 15 Jan 2021Welcome to 2021! It’s cold, it’s been a hell of a journey, and sometimes it feels like we’re being pelted by shattered glass. What story could’ve possibly fit the bill so perfectly?
Disney really missed an opportunity when they decided Frozen was going to have exactly nothing in common with the original story. Honestly that kind of analysis could be worth a video all on its own …
It’s myth-y enough I’m still gonna put it in the same playlist, but it would’ve felt disingenuous calling it a myth, soooooo
Our content is intended for teenage audiences and up.
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January 9, 2021
Three Dumb Italy Stories
Overly Sarcastic Productions
Published 8 Jan 2021If I had the time and energy, I’d have researched for a new video, but I have neither of those things right now, so you get Italy. Don’t worry, I made it extra snarky to compensate.
SOURCES & Further Reading: I, uh, well, most of the anecdotal information in this video came by way of tours I myself went on and somehow managed to retain 9 years later, but as always, you can find more on Florence & Venice in Florence: The Biography of A City by Christopher Hibbert and A History Of Venice by John Julius Norwich.
Our content is intended for teenage audiences and up.
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The (declining) power of the political cartoon
In Quillette, Jack Reilly outlines the rise of political cartooning from (of all people) Martin Luther to the present day, as it faces the final phase of its long career:
The first influential cartoon published in an American newspaper has traditionally been credited to Benjamin Franklin, who drew his famous serpent divided into eight parts with the legend Join, or Die — the message being that fellow colonists must band together to repel the enemy forces then threatening their territory. Long after Franklin’s death, the image would be dusted off for reuse by supporters of American unity.
Thomas Nast, whom many consider to be the greatest editorial cartoonist of all time, rose to prominence during the Civil War. Still in his early 20s, the young German immigrant began producing such arresting pro-Union material that Abraham Lincoln — flipping Napoleon’s rueful commentary about James Gillray on its head — referred to Nast as “our best recruiting agent.”
During the national election of 1864, conducted amidst the Civil War, the Democrats pushed a platform of reconciliation with the slaving south. In response, Nast created his famous Compromise with the South cartoon, depicting an injured union soldier, bowing his head and lifelessly shaking hands with a victorious confederate who stands atop the grave of a fallen Yankee, with Lady Liberty weeping in the foreground. The epitaph on a tombstone reads “In memory of the Union heroes who died in a useless war.” Nast’s lurid but masterful image created a sensation, and showed how politically powerful the cartooning medium could be in an age of mass newspaper readership. Two months later, Abraham Lincoln defeated the Democrat candidate, George McClellan, to secure a second term.
In the decades following the war, Nast would continue to elevate the medium to high art. In 1871, he began an ongoing series for Harper’s Weekly attacking the corruption of Tammany Hall, the Democratic political machine that controlled New York politics. Nast so mercilessly lampooned William M. “Boss” Tweed as the machine’s ringleader, that Tweed was heard to rage, “Stop them damn pictures! I don’t care a straw for your newspaper articles. My constituents can’t read. But they can’t help seeing them damn pictures!”
Eventually, Tweed was convicted of money laundering. (He attempted to escape justice by absconding to Spain, but was soon apprehended by Spanish officials, who reportedly recognized him with assistance from Nast’s cartoons.) As for Nast himself, he’d go on to conceive of the elephant as a symbol for the Republican party, popularize the use of the donkey for the Democrats, and help create the modern image of Santa Claus that Americans have come to love.
“The Third-Term Panic”, by Thomas Nast, originally published in Harper’s Magazine on 7 November 1874.
A braying ass, in a lion’s coat, and “N.Y. Herald” collar, frightening animals in the forest: a giraffe (“N. Y. Tribune”), a unicorn (“N. Y. Times”), and an owl (“N. Y. World”); an ostrich, its head buried, represents “Temperance”. An elephant, “The Republican Vote”, stands near broken planks (Inflation, Repudiation, Home Rule, and Re-construction). Under the elephant, a pit labeled “Southern Claims. Chaos. Rum.” A fox (“Democratic Party”) has its forepaws on the plank “Reform. (Tammany. K.K.)” The title refers to U.S. Grant’s possible bid for a third presidential term. This possibility was criticized by New York Herald owner and editor James Gordon Bennett, Jr.
Image and caption via Wikimedia Commons.
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