Episode 8 - Two Hobos Talk About The Hobo Code

The titular hobos here are yours truly and Steve.  (I was going to go with Steve and I, then Steve and me, and figured I didn't want to screw up and be embarrassed in front of the guy with the PhD in English).

Steve notes that we could call this one 'Pete is an ass again'.  I can't argue with this.

Who are people really?  Why do they change?  Do they change?

The beatniks return!

'We're going to get high and listen to Miles' sounds good to us.

Poor Sal, poor poor Sal.

Joan has no gaydar.

True to form, Bert Cooper is an Ayn Rand fan.  As an old acquaintance said of Atlas Shrugged '

“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." John Rogers

We get to see another Draper pitch.  It's complete bullshit, but it's a Draper pitch.

PJ Clarke's, yay or nay?

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Episode 7 - We Get Red In the Face

This is one of my favourite episodes.  It has everything.

It has excess.

It has some very funny lines.

It has Roger puking.

It has Chekov's gun.

It has a chip and dip (it's practically four of something).

It is the inspiration for the name of a Mad Men facebook group I'm in.

But, most of all, it has this wonderful subtext.  An 'older' man trying to sort of lure a younger man into something that he thinks will wreck the younger one, yet, the younger one comes out on top.  The older man may be Dick Nixon, or, it may be Roger Sterling.  The younger man may be JFK, or, it may be Don Draper.  I wonder what Steve thinks of this analysis?  (I type these things up a day in advance....)

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Episode 6 - Dave, Steve and the Waters of Babylon

Roy, if you had a job what would you do?

 I think this is the best episode we've talked about so far.  There's a great deal about identity, which is a central theme of the show, as well as a bunch of biblical references.

There's a lot of casual anti Semitism in this one.  Well, frankly, there was a lot of casual anti Stimitism in 1960, so that tracks.

Peggy is going to write copy!  It's like watching a dog play piano.

As much as Don is a really awful guy, when he does putdowns, they are glorious.  I'm speaking of course to what is shown in the accompanying photo.

I mentioned a Reddit user during the show, but forgot to give him/her credit, the user in question is SimpleJackTorrance.

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Episode 5 - Steve and Dave Reveal What 5G Causes

See that's a clever title.  Episode 5 of Season 1 is entitled 5G, and, some dummies think 5G phone networks cause umm COVID and I think abortions and it'll turn us all into something to do with umm, ISIS and make us wear masks or something.  Look, thinking like these people is hard ok?

We find out about this whole Dick Whitman deal this week.  Well, Steve did, I found out in 2007.

The show continues to talk about identity and role playing.  

This is, for me, the first sad episode. It brings a tear to my eye every time.  Other episodes are sad of course, and the series, generally, is very dark, but this one traditionally heart braking.

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Episode 4 - Visit New Amsterdam with Dave and Steve

We start out reminding our listeners that Steve is viewing this as literature (which is great because, well, he does the whole analyze literature thing for a living).

This episode goes deep into Pete Campbell land.  It's not a happy place.

I feel for Pete in this one.

Hey Pete only makes three grand a year.  (I think he get's commission though).

The show is really like a sprawling Russian novel, or a collection of short stories.  A big collection.

I almost forgot to mention the boys listening to The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart, but Steve saved the day.

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