1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,500 Hello. 2 00:00:00,500 --> 00:00:03,940 I accepted all of the terms and conditions, 3 00:00:03,940 --> 00:00:06,300 but stuff still happens. 4 00:00:06,300 --> 00:00:07,220 So what's up? 5 00:00:07,220 --> 00:00:08,580 Gobbler's Knob. 6 00:00:08,580 --> 00:00:10,420 It's called Gobbler's Knob. 7 00:00:10,420 --> 00:00:13,020 That's the place where we yank a magical groundhog out 8 00:00:13,020 --> 00:00:15,220 of a stump to ask it about the weather. 9 00:00:15,220 --> 00:00:18,580 If you are not familiar with the ritual that is Groundhog Day 10 00:00:18,580 --> 00:00:21,100 here in the US, it's a literal holiday 11 00:00:21,100 --> 00:00:23,300 where a bunch of dudes in tuxedos 12 00:00:23,300 --> 00:00:27,340 pull a groundhog out of a stump at a place called Gobbler's Knob. 13 00:00:27,340 --> 00:00:31,260 They then talk to the groundhog, whose name is Puxitani Phil, 14 00:00:31,260 --> 00:00:34,580 and they ask him how long until spring's going to arrive. 15 00:00:34,580 --> 00:00:36,460 And then everyone hears the prediction, 16 00:00:36,460 --> 00:00:39,460 and we're like, wow, did you hear about that this year? 17 00:00:39,460 --> 00:00:42,100 Dang, we did that again, huh? 18 00:00:42,100 --> 00:00:43,860 Regardless, the magical meteorologist 19 00:00:43,860 --> 00:00:48,500 has said that spring is going to come soon. 20 00:00:48,500 --> 00:00:50,100 Global warming, I guess? 21 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:52,460 This groundhog is real tapped into fossil fuels. 22 00:00:52,460 --> 00:00:54,540 Anyway, this is the perfect example of something 23 00:00:54,540 --> 00:00:56,180 I'm actually super into. 24 00:00:56,180 --> 00:00:58,100 Like, I don't care about Groundhog Day, 25 00:00:58,100 --> 00:01:00,340 but its existence makes me happy. 26 00:01:00,340 --> 00:01:02,980 Knowing America, I'm sure there's some egregious history 27 00:01:02,980 --> 00:01:03,700 behind it. 28 00:01:03,700 --> 00:01:06,020 But the notion of a bunch of people getting together 29 00:01:06,020 --> 00:01:09,620 and pulling a groundhog out of a stump because of weather? 30 00:01:09,620 --> 00:01:10,860 That's just very human. 31 00:01:10,860 --> 00:01:12,980 What's also very human is fighting 32 00:01:12,980 --> 00:01:16,380 for a better quality of life in France and the EU. 33 00:01:16,380 --> 00:01:19,500 I want to start this off by saying, again, climate change. 34 00:01:19,500 --> 00:01:20,340 Real bad. 35 00:01:20,340 --> 00:01:22,180 And we did a lot of bad things to get here. 36 00:01:22,180 --> 00:01:24,340 And by we, I mean massive corporations 37 00:01:24,340 --> 00:01:25,780 and the politicians they purchased, 38 00:01:25,780 --> 00:01:29,420 not we as in you for not recycling that one can 39 00:01:29,420 --> 00:01:30,060 that one time. 40 00:01:30,060 --> 00:01:31,620 But as we're looking towards the future 41 00:01:31,620 --> 00:01:33,700 and hopefully having a planet still, 42 00:01:33,700 --> 00:01:36,380 we're trying to figure out ways to fix that. 43 00:01:36,380 --> 00:01:39,100 And unfortunately, the ways that we're looking into 44 00:01:39,100 --> 00:01:41,260 largely just dump on the little guy 45 00:01:41,260 --> 00:01:43,300 instead of targeting the problem at its core. 46 00:01:43,300 --> 00:01:45,620 And so all around the world, but in this case, France 47 00:01:45,620 --> 00:01:47,380 and the EU, farmers have been getting 48 00:01:47,380 --> 00:01:50,060 hit with increased taxes and more regulation 49 00:01:50,060 --> 00:01:52,980 and all this stuff because agriculture is to blame. 50 00:01:52,980 --> 00:01:54,740 And if we're going to blame agriculture, 51 00:01:54,740 --> 00:01:56,820 we might as well blame it on the farmers, too. 52 00:01:56,820 --> 00:01:59,340 Let's ignore the fact that we've spent the past several decades 53 00:01:59,340 --> 00:02:01,540 moving from agriculture to agribusiness, 54 00:02:01,540 --> 00:02:04,580 despite all the farmers saying this is a bad idea. 55 00:02:04,580 --> 00:02:05,060 Nope. 56 00:02:05,060 --> 00:02:06,780 Now that you've been having to meet our demands 57 00:02:06,780 --> 00:02:08,740 for the past however long, you suddenly 58 00:02:08,740 --> 00:02:11,540 have to change everything and deal with the cost. 59 00:02:11,540 --> 00:02:13,860 And so farmers and those who are standing in solidarity 60 00:02:13,860 --> 00:02:16,500 with them in France and beyond in the EU 61 00:02:16,500 --> 00:02:19,580 have been protesting and striking and blocking roads 62 00:02:19,580 --> 00:02:22,340 using their equipment and going hard, 63 00:02:22,340 --> 00:02:23,700 doing what they do best. 64 00:02:23,700 --> 00:02:25,900 They're basically saying, hey, you can't just place all 65 00:02:25,900 --> 00:02:27,020 this burden on us. 66 00:02:27,020 --> 00:02:29,140 How the hell are we supposed to feed our family? 67 00:02:29,140 --> 00:02:30,740 How are we supposed to have a future 68 00:02:30,740 --> 00:02:32,260 while we're doing all of this work? 69 00:02:32,260 --> 00:02:33,780 This has been going on for several weeks, 70 00:02:33,780 --> 00:02:35,340 but there has finally been some progress 71 00:02:35,340 --> 00:02:37,980 as now two major farmers unions in France 72 00:02:37,980 --> 00:02:39,860 have called for a pause to the protest, 73 00:02:39,860 --> 00:02:41,660 citing that they've had productive talks 74 00:02:41,660 --> 00:02:42,380 with the government. 75 00:02:42,380 --> 00:02:45,180 We are far from like, you know, being done with this 76 00:02:45,180 --> 00:02:47,540 and getting them all the things that they deserve. 77 00:02:47,540 --> 00:02:49,620 But it's a reminder that we need to actually be thoughtful 78 00:02:49,620 --> 00:02:50,860 about how we move forward. 79 00:02:50,860 --> 00:02:53,020 This doesn't get solved by punishing the farmers. 80 00:02:53,020 --> 00:02:54,740 This gets solved by changing the system 81 00:02:54,740 --> 00:02:56,420 that created the problem to begin with. 82 00:02:56,420 --> 00:02:59,540 Stand in solidarity and in holding people accountable. 83 00:02:59,540 --> 00:03:00,940 Speaking of holding people accountable, 84 00:03:00,940 --> 00:03:03,900 I have someone I want to hold accountable, Hideo Kojima, 85 00:03:03,900 --> 00:03:05,940 creator of the Metal Gear Solid franchise 86 00:03:05,940 --> 00:03:07,220 and my arch nemesis. 87 00:03:07,220 --> 00:03:09,460 Sony recently held their state of play live stream 88 00:03:09,460 --> 00:03:10,700 in which they announced a whole bunch of games 89 00:03:10,700 --> 00:03:11,900 that were coming out this year 90 00:03:11,900 --> 00:03:14,300 and also stuff from Hideo Kojima. 91 00:03:14,300 --> 00:03:15,780 He announced the sequel to the game 92 00:03:15,780 --> 00:03:18,180 that stars Norman Reedus and has a character named 93 00:03:18,180 --> 00:03:19,420 Die Hard Man. 94 00:03:19,420 --> 00:03:22,180 It's going to be called Death Stranding 2, 95 00:03:22,180 --> 00:03:23,420 on the beach. 96 00:03:23,420 --> 00:03:26,300 Yep, Death Stranding 2 on the beach. 97 00:03:26,300 --> 00:03:28,780 Presumably there's going to be a beach 98 00:03:28,780 --> 00:03:30,860 and maybe we'll be able to take Norman Reedus 99 00:03:30,860 --> 00:03:34,340 to some exquisite locations like Gobbler's Knob. 100 00:03:34,340 --> 00:03:38,540 He also announced a new IP called Fizent in all caps 101 00:03:38,540 --> 00:03:40,860 and it's supposed to be more like his original 102 00:03:40,860 --> 00:03:43,140 espionage action Metal Gear Solid stuff. 103 00:03:43,140 --> 00:03:44,340 Just let me rest. 104 00:03:44,340 --> 00:03:46,100 Kojima, please. 105 00:03:46,100 --> 00:03:47,420 I just want to go to bed. 106 00:03:47,420 --> 00:03:49,020 There's also a Silent Hill 2 remake 107 00:03:49,020 --> 00:03:51,020 and there's a new game by Team Ninja. 108 00:03:51,020 --> 00:03:52,300 Kojima, let me sleep. 109 00:03:52,300 --> 00:03:54,300 I haven't slept since Metal Gear Solid 2 110 00:03:54,300 --> 00:03:56,060 because I'm still confused. 111 00:03:56,060 --> 00:03:57,980 Anyway, the United States is mad 112 00:03:57,980 --> 00:04:00,460 because someone else has a crush on drone strikes. 113 00:04:00,460 --> 00:04:03,940 And so now we're engaging in one of our favorite pastimes. 114 00:04:03,940 --> 00:04:05,180 Bombing the Middle East. 115 00:04:05,180 --> 00:04:07,620 Yes, the US is bombing Iraq and Syria 116 00:04:07,620 --> 00:04:09,500 after three service members from the US 117 00:04:09,500 --> 00:04:12,140 were killed by a drone strike from militias 118 00:04:12,140 --> 00:04:14,060 that were presumably backed by Iran. 119 00:04:14,060 --> 00:04:15,700 Three US service members were killed 120 00:04:15,700 --> 00:04:18,700 and so we've launched over 100 bombs 121 00:04:18,700 --> 00:04:20,860 at like 85 plus targets. 122 00:04:20,860 --> 00:04:24,500 Using drone strikes and bombers, all that stuff. 123 00:04:24,500 --> 00:04:26,220 Why are we there in the first place? 124 00:04:26,220 --> 00:04:27,060 Colonialism. 125 00:04:27,060 --> 00:04:28,700 According to National Security Boy 126 00:04:28,700 --> 00:04:31,140 and Smash Bros mainstay, John Kirby, 127 00:04:31,140 --> 00:04:34,580 quote, the goal here is to get these attacks to stop. 128 00:04:34,580 --> 00:04:36,940 We're not looking for a war with Iran. 129 00:04:36,940 --> 00:04:38,900 Yeah, the Biden admin is currently patting themselves 130 00:04:38,900 --> 00:04:40,940 in the back being like, yeah, we're just doing like 131 00:04:40,940 --> 00:04:43,620 some bombings, not like war grade bombings, 132 00:04:43,620 --> 00:04:46,100 just your, you know, playful bombings. 133 00:04:46,100 --> 00:04:49,340 And meanwhile, the Republicans are criticizing old Joe 134 00:04:49,340 --> 00:04:50,740 saying he's not going far enough 135 00:04:50,740 --> 00:04:53,980 and should do way more and blow everything up 136 00:04:53,980 --> 00:04:56,220 because we may not have federal abortion rights. 137 00:04:56,220 --> 00:04:58,300 We may not have affordable college tuition. 138 00:04:58,300 --> 00:05:00,620 We may not have reasonable healthcare, 139 00:05:00,620 --> 00:05:02,940 but we sure can't bomb the hell out of places. 140 00:05:02,940 --> 00:05:05,340 And isn't that what God's really all about? 141 00:05:05,340 --> 00:05:07,820 Look to the sky because today's moon phase 142 00:05:07,820 --> 00:05:10,140 is a years overdue library book 143 00:05:10,140 --> 00:05:11,980 that you found in an old box of stuff 144 00:05:11,980 --> 00:05:13,340 while you were cleaning out a closet. 145 00:05:13,340 --> 00:05:14,900 I would recommend that you return it, 146 00:05:14,900 --> 00:05:16,660 but the library that you checked it out from 147 00:05:16,660 --> 00:05:17,900 probably doesn't exist anymore. 148 00:05:17,900 --> 00:05:18,820 Lightning round. 149 00:05:18,820 --> 00:05:21,660 After participating in violence against Palestinian citizens 150 00:05:21,660 --> 00:05:25,740 in the West bank, the Biden admin has sanctioned four 151 00:05:25,740 --> 00:05:27,020 Israeli settlers. 152 00:05:27,020 --> 00:05:30,220 Elmo somehow managed to become like the center 153 00:05:30,220 --> 00:05:32,260 of a whole bunch of people's venting sessions 154 00:05:32,260 --> 00:05:33,220 on the internet. 155 00:05:33,220 --> 00:05:35,220 After tweeting, how's it going? 156 00:05:35,220 --> 00:05:38,540 According to recent research, Gen Z boys are more upset 157 00:05:38,540 --> 00:05:41,100 about feminism than even boomers are. 158 00:05:41,100 --> 00:05:43,820 Now I wanna be clear that this is still a minority 159 00:05:43,820 --> 00:05:46,580 of Gen Z boys, just the ones who like watch Andrew Tate, 160 00:05:46,580 --> 00:05:48,220 the tater tots, if you will. 161 00:05:48,220 --> 00:05:50,660 Dovetailing off of that, Spotify just signed 162 00:05:50,660 --> 00:05:55,380 another $250 million contract with Joe Rogan. 163 00:05:55,380 --> 00:05:56,300 Finance. 164 00:05:56,300 --> 00:05:59,460 Microsoft and Google had less than expected earnings results, 165 00:05:59,460 --> 00:06:02,380 which is funny because AI is supposed to save everything. 166 00:06:02,380 --> 00:06:04,580 They maintain that it's still early, 167 00:06:04,580 --> 00:06:07,500 but can we just stop hearing about AI for a second? 168 00:06:07,500 --> 00:06:08,380 And finally for today, 169 00:06:08,380 --> 00:06:10,620 because we can't stop hearing about AI, 170 00:06:10,620 --> 00:06:13,100 Google is already renaming their AI assistant 171 00:06:13,100 --> 00:06:16,420 from Bard to Gemini because they can never just 172 00:06:16,420 --> 00:06:17,500 stick with one name. 173 00:06:17,500 --> 00:06:19,100 Remember Hangouts? 174 00:06:19,100 --> 00:06:20,300 Like the original one? 175 00:06:20,300 --> 00:06:22,300 Thank you so much for listening to today's episode 176 00:06:22,300 --> 00:06:23,300 of Stuff Keeps Happening. 177 00:06:23,300 --> 00:06:25,860 Head to Stuff Keeps Happening.online for sources, 178 00:06:25,860 --> 00:06:29,900 bonus content, and an AI whose name never changes. 179 00:06:29,900 --> 00:06:31,060 My name is Endeavorance. 180 00:06:31,060 --> 00:06:32,580 I'll be back on Thursday. 181 00:06:32,580 --> 00:06:51,580 Take care and be well.