I’m not even a coffee drinker you are now. I like that we’re recording at 4:30am Just to make this work.
I know. Exhausting. The birds are chirping outside weed eating.
That’s weird.
That is so odd.
I didn’t know you could have a headlight on a weed eater. Weed Eater is actually a brand name. I think we should probably say trimming.
It’s kind of like Kleenex. I want to Kleenex. I want a BandAid on a beta rocks.
Yeah, man. That’s incredible marketing
right there. That’s brilliant.
What if someone wants to have a thoughtful conversation? They’re like, Hey, let’s go. You’re trying. My name is Jonathan.
I’m Nathan.
And we are going to you’ll die trying right here in front of you. Dr. Ma? Is really quirky and creative and cute.
All in the news right now. Celebrities. On my Instagram feed. I don’t know what happened. I probably had had like, glass of champagne and started following entertainment news sites for Instagram thinking I was going to get some good information. But as I thumb through Instagram at pre 5am Because I’m waking up and I can’t go back to sleep. I’m looking at all these stories. It’s all about celebrities. And I’m literally asking myself who the cares. I know. I mean, really? Who cares?
Casey Neistat just released like a 14 minute video talking of his addiction to social media. And then he goes on to this elaborate detail. Did you see that video? Yeah, it was very cool. And he was like some brilliant minded man or woman or sat at Instagram. And they created the algorithm to make your brain wired to want to open that app and just keep thumbing Wow, wow, wow. Yeah. I don’t know. Why do we care? Well, first
of all, a word about social media, phone and other mobile devices and addiction. Like it’s a thing.
Yeah, it’s a real thing. People can literally are so in tune with their device, that they can not have it on them and know that it’s going off.
People who don’t have their devices feel phantom vibrations in their pockets, because they’re so used to feeling which by the way, my phone doesn’t vibrate.
Mine. I don’t hear that.
Like that defeats the whole silent thing. It’s kind of true. So anyway, but yeah, it’s it’s it’s a thing, especially for the teenage brain. Sugar, drugs, alcohol, sexuality, gambling, social media, they all hit on the same receptors in the brain, and create addictive like tendencies. And it I mean, that’s a legitimate scientific finding.
You ready to watch me delete one of my social media apps that causes a lot of doesn’t cause any problem it just, I’m on it. And I don’t need to be all the time. Which one Twitter? You see me deleting. shakin, yep,
delete Nathan just deleted the Twitter app from his phone, which means if you reinstall it, you have to re login. I don’t care. You’re done.
I’m not done with tweeting. But I’m going to do it on a desktop and how many people have a desktop computer? Like seven?
I think there’s seven people Yeah, exactly. Internationally Correct. Yeah. Anyway, anyway. Okay. So you just saw right here. First thing first view for I don’t know. We’re 37 in the morning and Nathan just deleted Twitter. Yep. So okay. I want to ask you, why do you believe that we care what
the celebrities doing what Adam Sandler
or why did you say Adam Sandler there? Was he on the
I don’t know why. I don’t have to know why my brain does things. What about Hugh Jackman? Okay, now we’re like back to Barbra Streisand. Sharley sterren. Why do we care what these people carry bussi?
Take van die
funds. Jerry Lewis. Why do we care what these people think? Why are they holding signs and coming in front of cameras and saying this is what needs to happen. This is what needs to happen. People are listening. And people are like, Yeah, I agree. Because that celebrity, that person who happens to be good at a very small thing may be playing a particular role because let’s be honest, most actors have a stick that they do, right? They’re great at it, but they play the same stick Anthony Hopkins, same stick Who’s the guy from? One?
Elvis Presley?
Jack Nicholson, same stick. They’re good at that. But because they’re good at that, and millions of people will see them be good at that on the screen pretending to be something that they’re not which really they probably are. Why do I care what they think about politics or religion or world issues or events
digital There’s a website called cameo comm you can go there and actually pay some A B C D list celebrity X amount of dollars to send you like a 10 to 15 second video. So Lance Bass charges 100 bucks go to cameo.com If you love Lance Bass healed literally it’s bass he’s from insync does
the tall one with the dark hair?
No, the blond headed guy that everyone says looks like Ellen DeGeneres and they joke about it together. Never heard of any of that. Okay, well anyway, if you go to cameo.com My point is, like people who are celebrities, they are playing that part. They it is a part of them and my other life and world that was kind of, you know, I saw a little bit of that I was doing it myself. They want the Dolla dolla bills, y’all. I mean, that’s what they’re they’re driven by and then we’re driven but by feeding I don’t. Well, there’s a whole psychological, let’s go there. There’s this
recent scandal involving people who are paying to have their children admitted to various colleges and universities. And it’s just it’s a laughingstock, and I’m going to write my next newspaper column on this thing, but Lori Loughlin is one of them from Full House and Aunt Becky. Yes. And Felicity Huffman is another one to actresses right. Felicity Huffman looks like crap. She is. She is. My word is too early. My words are not coming to me. She is contrite. She has pled guilty. Lori Loughlin, on the other hand, smiling, signing autographs, on her way into and out of various, you know, meetings with lawyers and judges. And she even said that she’s just doing what she does. She’s an actress she’s playing apart. So two things that I’d like to hear you think out loud about and I’ll just sit here is dangerous. One of them is why do people put so much energy and attention and time and desire in celebrities and wanting to meet them wanting to be like them wanting to be around them wanting to have their pictures taken with them? Such that these people can’t even go to a restaurant be left alone? What a B. Why then do we like so much to see them fall? Why do we worship their celebrity but mock their humanity?
We’re bored sociopath. Okay, done move.
Alright, next topic.
I believe that people there’s actually some truth in that joke. Yeah, I’m not kidding. I mean, we aren’t think you’re kidding. We are bored. We we love you know, with Instagram, for instance, we love the filter. We love the you know, I don’t know. I mean, I was one standing beside a Bentley. So I took a picture next to it, you know, and I almost posted it on Instagram. But then that would have shown to the world that I have a Bentley, which in a weird way I wanted people to Yeah, you see what I’m saying? where I’m going with that. And my point, I guess I’m trying to make is these people really do drive Bentley’s and they kind of like that these people really do. These people are miserable, by the way. On that other end, they literally are living for that like in heart and if you don’t give them that heart, they will wither
up. It is sad to hear of these, you know, first of all, suicide of any kind is tragic. Yes. And to hear of these people who are quote unquote celebrities who cannot continue to live as a human being in the spotlight of an entire culture or cultures where they are not allowed to be human being where they have to continue to perform as some kind of demigod you know, it’s it’s really sad and
I’m saying all this very delicately because it is like it’s not a laughing matter. It’s actually very, very sad. Because again, if I can speak personally, I experienced a small amount of it whenever someone is literally like fueling this, this ego and you just constant constant. That is what you become that is your air that you begin to breathe. And whenever that they stopped goes away. You literally are suffocating. You’re you have no identity whatsoever. These are people’s identity. Are you Yeah, affirming them constantly. Yeah. So that’s what I was. I think. I think we like the idea of people a lot. We’d love that idea now as far as watching them fall, and that that’s just very odd to me. I think people have always loved a train wreck. And so they you know, you can’t look away when a train hits something you can’t look away whenever someone messes up whenever, you know, people are walking to their attorney’s office, and there’s cameras everywhere, and they want to see what happens next. And it’s all the rage, like literally, it’s that’s humiliating as a country that that is filling our our airwaves. And have you watched Nightly News with Lester Holt that they give a segment of about a minute to two minutes for like, a positive story at the very, very end. But the big bulk of everything is,
it’s just the sad tragedy. Sad, tragic what it means to be us.
Yeah, that’s very weird to me. I didn’t answer that question. I just literally did a really good job of dancing around it. But there you go. That’s my thoughts right now.
Yeah, I just Well, and it’s not just celebrity that people enjoy watching for anyone we as as people. And and maybe I don’t think that this is an American problem. But I can only speak about it as an American, that we someone’s doing woodwork at 450 in the morning,
it’s pretty, pretty amazing, really.
So we are not good at being happy. When other people are happy, we’re not good at enjoying and sharing in the success of other people, we tend to want people not to do well. When we hear that somebody lost their job, or like, they lost their job. If that would have happened to us, we’d be mortified, we’d be so sad, so scared, terrified. And all we would want is some support.
That’s really sad. That actually is a very true thing. People are people are happy when people lose their jobs.
People are happy when other people are sad. And it’s I think, a function of our obviously our own fear, our own insecurities, our lack of compassion. I mean, I think it’s because we don’t feel very good about ourselves. And so we want other people to not feel good about themselves, too. I mean, at the end of the day, as the preset, we’re all third graders and grown up bodies, we’ve never really evolved or matured, beyond trying to protect ourselves from everyone else. And so when we hear someone has a successful story, some of us will feel threatened by that. And we will want that to not be true, because it wasn’t true for us. As opposed to get fantastic that you’re going to, you know, you’ve been appointed by the governor to serve as the right hand, you know, man or woman in that position. It’s fantastic that you just got that high six figure position with that software company. Like that’s awesome. Good for you. Good for you on getting, you know, building the house of your dreams or whatever. No, it’s, we might say that with our words, but then we’ll go around in our small little community, and we’ll talk about them and we’ll make ourselves feel better. We think when ultimately what we’re doing is we’re, we are our own flesh eating bacteria. We are killing ourselves and community.
How does that make you feel? For those of you listening to know that you may have been a contributing factor to negativity? Yes. Well, you’re not may you probably we all have. Absolutely we all have. I tried to check myself on the regular, I think in closed, okay, this weekend kind of elaborate on this, I think in our safe circles, like I consider you and me in a safe circle with one another when the microphones not off. We do have intimate conversations that, you know, we’re very honest with one another. However, they stay within a room that we’re in and they don’t We don’t go out in the community and bash and yes, throw rocks and stones and watch people fall off a pedestal and laugh about exactly, because I think that’s that is just, that’s just wrong. I was trying to think of like this elegant word. It’s just wrong. It will.
And I do think considering the fact that this episode will first air in Holy Week, I do think that it’s interesting to see how people of faith have done this with their faith. So there’s this notion of the Christ of faith and the Jesus of history, meaning there that for people of faith, there is the person, the actual historical person of Jesus who lived in history. And then there’s the one who has become the Christ theologically, right. And I think at our best, we combine those two, but oftentimes we don’t. And I think it the reason being, we have no problem ascribing divinity to Jesus, it is not a problem for us to say Jesus was the Son of God. He was God’s, God’s flesh on earth come among us to bring your grace and peace. And what we have a problem with is not Jesus at divinity. We have a problem with Jesus as humanity. We don’t like to think about whether Jesus was married. We don’t like to think whether Jesus had a child. We don’t like to think whether Jesus had a sailor mouth, you know, when he stubbed his toe, we don’t like the fact that Jesus may have struggled with his identity and his vocation and his calling. And we don’t like it because we don’t like it about ourselves. We have a hard enough time being human. Please don’t ask my savior to be human to.
Well, that is that’s profound there. I mean,
and I think in part that’s why we struggle with celebrities when they stop being celebrities and they start being human because we’re human, and we know how much that sucks and so poorly Don’t let my idle be human to, I need them to stay up there just out of reach. But an idle a celebrity, or Jesus Himself, when He comes close becomes vulnerable and says, Hey, I’m one of you were like, Whoa, too much. And no thank you, right? And so we laugh and spit and mock and crucify and unfriend.
Unlike,
that’s unfriending, Jesus.
So what are some things that we can begin to do to ourselves with ourselves? I mean, we can delete the apps all day long we can. Yeah, I think that we should really be focused on our, our us.
Yes. And in that sense to do so in a functional and productive way. Because most of us are focused on ourselves in a kind of a narcissistic, self absorbed way. Meaning we’re not really challenging or pushing ourselves to be better. We’re just like, all about needs meeting. I need this, I want this. Now I need this. Now I want this. So I’m going to do whatever I have to to whomever I have to to get what I need what I want. That’s not self focus. That’s self absorption, narcissism. The self focus I hear you talking about is, what do I need to be grateful for? What do I need to be aware of what in my own life is cancerous? What do I need to extract and fix? retool, work on rethink, adjust? In my personality? In my profile, in who I am, what about me, is in need of transformation? That’s the sole focus I think I hear you asking for?
Well, yeah, you can say that. I was saying that. Yeah, that’s what I heard. Thank you. Thank you. I don’t think there’s anything wrong. I really don’t think there’s anything wrong with enjoying Taylor Swift’s albums and no albums, her eight tracks. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with watching Kathy Griffin retire from today’s show. And I just I think that we need to be more tender with the fact that them and others in our community are people. And be be kind to, to that. Yeah, be kind.
You know, when you ask a thoughtful person who has some? Notice, I’ll use the word celebrity, someone who a lot of people know, when you ask them, you know, what do I need to do to be like you a thoughtful person in that stature would say, you’ve got to be the best version of yourself. When people ask the Dalai Lama, how do I become a Buddhist? He’ll say, Well, what are you and they’ll say, Well, I’m Christian. And he’ll say being a Buddhist means being the best Christian that you can be. So I think we have to work on figuring out what the best version of ourselves would look like. Setting that as our bar, and then creating a plan to get from where we are to they’re not perfect, not without blemish, not without mistake, but to strive for that more excellent way where we become the best version of ourselves. And I know that that language is being overused a lot because of Joel Olsteen. And live your best life now. And if I have an allergy to anything in the world, it’s analogy to Joe’s team. But there is something to be said about that language. You know, there is there is a version of myself out there that is possible that when I failed to pay attention, I missed that mark. But when I’m intentional, and I have accountability with friends and spouse and others in my life, I can become a better version of myself and I think at the end of the day, that’s the purpose that’s the goal.
Or mister spot shaving knocked me off my pedestal and watch me fall. Yeah, hear that? Yeah. You’re welcome. Dr. Carroll. Do you like that segue? Did you enjoy the segue?
You know, I have no didn’t enjoy.
Well, I want to tell you something that Brent our lovely producer. This is really cool. Brand i over don’t remember which bourbon drink it was in the middle of the night whenever his last visit with us. We were having a conversation in regards to the funeral profession and how this is very much social media driven. How we love the idea of being living forever. Right. And obviously we’re not going to he was like there has to be a market for a and I don’t know why. And I quote I don’t know why Facebook hasn’t grabbed on to this idea. Have a tribute page for someone who’s passed away. And I’m like, Man, that’s really awesome. He’s like, and he’s saying it so elegantly. And you know, me and my words, and especially after a couple of drinks, I’m like blue potatoes. He is talking about how people, there’s there’s a market for for this site and on the website somewhere where you can literally update someone on anniversary photos that continuously update and feed someone’s memorial page of some sort. So I was like, Man, that’s awesome. And he’s talking about this for like, 2030 minutes, and it’s really cool. I was listening to him. And this was, I don’t know how long goes a year, month or two ago. Yeah, two months ago yesterday, Facebook rolls out more features for dead people. wired.com. Facebook was designed for the living. But as the social network grew older, it also needed to decide what should happen when users die. So in other words, the company announced Tuesday that it will give the legacy contact more control over the deceased’s presence on Facebook. So when someone dies, you essentially you’re going to be able to memorialize them turn their page into a memorial page. So you can designate you Dr. Carol can designate joy. And so the information will remain private. So for instance, messages that you’ve that you’ve sent or received joy would not have access to those not that it would matter. But my point is she would still be able to have Memorial access, be able to post pictures and other things to memorialize you forever and ever. So in other words, I’m just complementing the fact that Brent’s mind is that ridiculous that he saw that and Facebook was probably listening to our conversation anyway, and like flagged it as something legit and they did it.
Well. What if that happens, actually, and it’s got to it
definitely happens. I was talking one day about kitty litter to see and next thing I know all my ads were kitty litter.
Now I’m going now kitty litter because my phone heard you is probably going to appear in my feed too. Although my phone is currently enjoying a certain marketing campaign about privacy. I don’t know if you’ve seen the ads for iPhone 10 privacy and we’ll see what happens there.
Let’s go there. I’m getting a ton of get Roman comm for erectile dysfunction right now. I’ve never talked about that.
One of my favorite things to do is to sign people up for things have you done that? Did you do that to me? No.
Okay, because I literally every one of my ads was talking to the Wonder Boys about it. I was like why am I doing getting get Roman comm they’re running like TV campaigns and a bunch of social media blitz. Yeah, and it’s all over the place.
But it is a fun little thing to do is to sign up a friend with their email address. That’s something that Joey and I kind of do whenever we go shopping as we can you like to enter an email address. Why yes.
It’s awful. Do you know my email address is on top of your head? Yes. Oh, that’s awesome. Well, I I’m constantly unsubscribing to things so to but it doesn’t seem to matter. Doesn’t they keep coming in? They keep coming in. Well, I don’t think
I’m Brent well done. Yeah, I don’t your next business idea to me in private. Get that done. I don’t think
we should record an episode at six in the morning. 530 in the morning cuz I can’t talk my
words are gone. Like I cannot come up. My vocabulary is severely compromised.
Things. Celebrities like buttons. Coffee.
I am grateful for episode 61 on this. What is I don’t know the Holy Tuesday when it releases. Oh, yeah.
I don’t even know who I am right now.
I’m Nathan Morris.
I’m Dr. Carol.
This is you’ll die trying I hope you’ll visit us at you’ll die trying.com or email us at you’ll die trying podcast@gmail.com
or facebook.com forward slash you’ll die trying give a five star review give us a thumbs up Telephone Telephone and we’ll see you next time on episode 62