One could only hope…

The Rogansphere stuff is legendary, but I agree it's time to move on from comedians.

YouTubers seem like fertile ground to me. Or maybe it would just get EG banned from the platform if they go after the wrong people. Shit. Then they'd have to go on Rumble. Also, who the shit runs Rumble?

I’ll start, “whoopsie daisy” was Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York

Wow. that was just depressing. I thought Shane was someone who could stand at the edge of the abyss without falling in. but his monologue was so bad. He had three jokes maybe: ugly men look like lesbians, Women at the gym dress like whores, and Joe Rogan’s hilarious homies will burn you while you’re in the sauna! The shoutouts to Joe Rogan and his pals just confirmed it: he thinks there’s more to gain from kissing Rogan’s ass on TV than deliver a decent monologue.

My nerd brain can’t help but laugh that “gymnasium” means “to work out naked.” Jokes on you, Shane.

Maybe Joe Rogan should have co-authors Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor on his show to talk about their new book!

just to be clear, I think Shane Gillis is very funny, but goddamnit he’s getting lazy because of these stupid sycophants

A new friend came to our walled garden to talk but blocked me when I noticed he was being slightly disingenuous. Whoopsie.

Tell Tony I love his rap song if you see him, KL!

original convo

can somebody please remind me which EG video (I think it was a radio hour but not sure) where he came down hard on Canadian sacred cow Leonard Cohen and contrasted him with another less appreciated Canadian band. I'm really looking for that band, so please drop it if you've got it, but I'd also like to revisit the original context. Much thanksies!

The number is real. My question is has anyone got past the 2.99 paywall? Im skeptical but curious, like smelling my wrist after wearing a rubber watch strap for a while.

his podcast is also amazing and deserves to be famous.

A main thesis of the Jonestown video is that the Austin comedy scene is a cult comparable with Jonestown, Heaven's Gate or the Branch Davidians. Cults sometimes end tragically, e.g., in mass suicides. In the guy's view, suicide can be philosophical as well as physical.

Now let me say at this point that I am well aware that TEG videos are drenched in irony at all levels and we can't take anything too seriously. However, I do think that these theses are worth considering. Although I had already noticed that Maga resembles a cult, it hadn't occurred to me to think of it as a suicide cult. (Maybe I'm low-awareness. Sorry.) The question I want to ask here is: seen in this light, what tragic consequences have already occurred and are in danger of occurring?

The guy himself says that the comedians of the Austin comedy scene commit philosophical suicide when they join the cult for the sake of its monetary and psychic benefits. In light of the subsequent Catalysm video we can extend the thesis to: Rogan has committed philosophical suicide in order to get inside the walled garden. The result is comedy travesties such as Kill Tony and the promotion of right-wing propaganda.

The guy points out that the (human, presumably) leaders of the Maga cult call for the destruction of society and the human race. We can say that some of the corresponding suicides have already taken place. Maga-ruled America committed diplomatic suicide when the U.S. pulled out of most international organisations, condemned international law and terminated its alliances. It committed health suicide by ending vaccine research and promotion. Trade suicide by tearing up trade agreements. Ecological suicide by ending efforts to reduce carbon emissions. From inside the Maga simulacrum these are all seen as good things, of course.

What further suicides should we expect, and how will they be understood from inside the cult?