Safety Last Stanley Ching

No franchise has left such a large impact on my life as has Pokemon. From the time I was 10 years old, throughout high school and even in university, Pokemon continued to have a dominating presence.

Even now I still get nostalgic about the older video games that accompanied my youth; for example, Littleroot Town and Ecruteak’s theme song still make me drift back to my childhood. Whether it’s arguing with friends about the pronunciation of Groundon or my parents finally buy me a $20 Pokemon deck only for it to be stolen a few months later, this franchise has added so much colour to my life and imagination.

During high school, I even played Pokemon competitively, which meant abiding by certain rules and regulations imposed by a larger community.

For example, one-hit knock out moves such as Sheer Cold were banned and you couldn’t put more than one Pokemon to sleep on the opposing team.

But I am not the only one in my friendship group with such a nostalgic love for this franchise, one autumn night in Sydney, 2023. Lance, Nathan and I gathered to record a round of the Pokemon Draft Game, this time we went and drafted four different generations for your viewing pleasure.

And with that out of the way, let’s get to the rules.

1)     You must select 6 Pokemon.

2)     You can only select Pokemon that originated from that region. Therefore, you can only pick Gyarados in the first region even if you can catch it in almost every game.

3)     You can only pick one starter from that region.

4)     Once a Pokemon is picked, their entire evolutionary chain is disqualified. For example, picking Magikarp disqualifies Gyarados.

5)     No legendaries or pseudo-legendaries. Legendaries are pretty obvious, but pseudo-legendaries  such as Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross and Heatran are just too powerful and made the game less interesting.

6)     One cute Pokemon is mandatory. They must be able to ride on your shoulder or be carried.

7)     After the round is complete, everyone votes for their favourite team. They cannot pick their own team.

Make sure you tell us which team is the best and make sure to catch them all.

No franchise has left such a large impact on my life as has Pokemon. From the time I was 10 years old, throughout high school and even in university, Pokemon continued to have a dominating presence.

Even now I still get nostalgic about the older video games that accompanied my youth; for example, Littleroot Town and Ecruteak’s theme song still make me drift back to my childhood. Whether it’s arguing with friends about the pronunciation of Groundon or my parents finally buy me a $20 Pokemon deck only for it to be stolen a few months later, this franchise has added so much colour to my life and imagination.

During high school, I even played Pokemon competitively, which meant abiding by certain rules and regulations imposed by a larger community.

For example, one-hit knock out moves such as Sheer Cold were banned and you couldn’t put more than one Pokemon to sleep on the opposing team.

But I am not the only one in my friendship group with such a nostalgic love for this franchise, one autumn night in Sydney, 2023. Lance, Nathan and I gathered to record a round of the Pokemon Draft Game, this time we went and drafted four different generations for your viewing pleasure.

And with that out of the way, let’s get to the rules.

1)     You must select 6 Pokemon.

2)     You can only select Pokemon that originated from that region. Therefore, you can only pick Gyarados in the first region even if you can catch it in almost every game.

3)     You can only pick one starter from that region.

4)     Once a Pokemon is picked, their entire evolutionary chain is disqualified. For example, picking Magikarp disqualifies Gyarados.

5)     No legendaries or pseudo-legendaries. Legendaries are pretty obvious, but pseudo-legendaries  such as Dragonite, Tyranitar, Metagross and Heatran are just too powerful and made the game less interesting.

6)     One cute Pokemon is mandatory. They must be able to ride on your shoulder or be carried.

7)     After the round is complete, everyone votes for their favourite team. They cannot pick their own team.

Make sure you tell us which team is the best and make sure to catch them all.

(5:20) - Jordan Peterson & Frogs

(9:30) - Compassion in Schools

(14:15) - Plato's Cave and Teaching Dreams

(18:30) - Yoga & Appearance

(22:40) - Learning Languages & Korean

(31:05) - Learning Thai & Muay Thai

(38:25) - Music & Hip Hop

(56:45) - Passions and Writing my Book

(1:00:00) - Giving Feedback about my Book Cover

(1:09:15) - AJ's Passions

What we consider normal seems so obvious that sometimes the possibility of change seems impossible and unlikely.

Every society that has ever existed has clearly preferred thinner bodies, right? That’s just an unchanging law of nature, right? Wrong.

Sometimes, when we’re trying to understand society, it’s important to step away from what learnt cultural assumptions that seem so obvious. Instead, view society in the same way that an alien would view it, with eyes unclouded by cultural biases.

Well, in that case, I think it’s safe to say that humans spend an absurd amount of time on beauty, whether it’s picking out the right suit for a formal, getting a manicure, selecting the shiniest diamond for a wedding ring, spending an unhealthy amount of time deciding if you should change your hairstyle. The truth is, for a vast majority of people on this earth, we are all hopelessly vain and this desire to be beautiful is the cause for a lot of our pain. Companies exploit this insecurity, media elevates those who fit our beauty standards, and even worse, we assign labels of morality like goodness and honesty to people whom we find beauty.

In this episode, I bring on Charlotte, a good friend whom I’ve discussed many of these topics with before, but finally deciding to record and broadcast our words in the hopes that you’ll learn something from this.

So, have a think about beauty, beyond the shallow conception of what looks good and bad, such labels are subjective and are slaves to our environment. Instead, think of beauty as an unrestrained force that beats at the very core of society. An unrestrained force that governs every action we take in our lives.

TIME STAMP:

(6:35) - Wearing make up in year 8

(11:40) - A man-eating auntie

(16:35) - Obsession with pale skin

(24:10) - Is beauty objective or subjective?

(32:00) - Beauty is political and economical

(48:25) - Moralising beauty

(56:25) - Media representation

(59:20) - Sacrificing a generation to change one's values

(1:04:05) - Asian fox eye trend

(1:10:50) - Dealing with one's own insecurities

North Korea (NK) is a nation that everyone has an opinion on, but no one has any experience. Throughout my entire life, this rogue state has been painted with the worst portrays possible, linked with human rights violation, poverty, a closed-off political system that no foreigner can seem to understand, and perhaps most damning a loose trigger finger with nuclear weapons. So, just imagine my surprise when I found a Westerner who hasn’t just entered NK, she’s done it multiple times and now she works for a travel agency in North Korea. This means, I finally have access to a place that previously seemed impenetrable. Does NK only allow a certain number of haircuts? Are blue jeans really banned? What are the poverty levels like? Will Koreans that speak English really be kidnapped and forced to teach English? So many questions, so little time.
After listening this podcast, I realise that some people might feel that I didn’t talk about the political situation enough, that I was too lenient with Zoe, by not pushing her harder to discuss the actions of the NK government. And while I think those criticisms are fair, when I first contacted Zoe, she stated that she generally tries to avoid the most politically sensitive parts of the country. This is probably because of her employment but also because she doesn’t have an interest in those fields. And while I didn’t push these topics, I don’t think I shied away from it either, I do ask questions about the DMZ, how NK sees the South, and what are some things that you can and can’t do or say in the country. Ultimately, I think Zoe’s goal is to humanise the citizens of NK, not as political pawns in a geopolitical struggle with Western democrat and capitalist countries, but people like us.
I hope you enjoy this podcast. A lot of my preconceptions about NK were broken and some of my older exceptions were reinforced. But how often do you get a chance to peer behind the curtain? Enjoy.

Zoe's Instagram: @zoediscoversnk

Zoe's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZoeDiscovers

TIMESTAMP:
(6:05) - Media Exaggeration
(8:50) - Telling your parents about visiting NK
(11:30) - Why the interest in NK?
(19:10) - How do people react to your job?
(23:40) - The reality of NK
(29:55) - South Koreans in NK
(40:00) - Poverty in NK
(50:50) - Political repression and the DMZ
(57:55) - Marriage proposals in NK
(1:04:15) - Crash Landing on You
(1:12:35) - True or False about NK

I think men are terrified and obsessed with women because we inherently understand that a beautiful woman can basically level us with a single glance. That’s probably why men have tried and still try to regulate women sexuality (Sharia Law or abortion). Subconsciously, it might be a defence mechanism. On the other hand, I also think that the opposite is true, and that women are both terrified and captivated by masculine strength and vigour. I think the fable of Beauty and the Beast is one of the best representations of the split in the feminine psyche. The awareness that men are dangerous; yet still, the desire to tame this aggression into something more productive and stable.
Okay, well now I’ve recounted the basis of Jungian psychoanalysis to you, let’s use that as a launching point for today’s podcast with returning superstar Giorgio (lead singer of Pyramid Mission, check them out on Spotify and Instagram). Why is Andrew Tate so popular? Why have words like incels and sigma males entered our vocabulary, and why do so many young men consistently feel drawn to these dark and edgy anti-heroes that seem repulsed by society? I’m thinking about Joker, Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, any modern version of Batman, Shinji from Evangelion Neon Genesis, Patrick Bateman from American Psycho and fittingly, the nameless protagonist from Drive. Some might say that these references are just ironic jokes meant to signal and scare, but let me ask you, how many times do you have to repeat an action before it stops becoming ironic?
Incels and sigma males are difficult words to understand on the internet, mainly because any mention of them seem to create such polarised response. Some detest them and see them as the last vestiges of toxic masculinity, while others find comfort in these labels as the final barrier against an uncaring feminised world. So, let’s define them before we start. Incels is short for involuntary celibate, which anyone who is unable to find a romantic partner despite wanting a relationship. Sigma males are different, as they are not really incapable of romantic love, but rather see women as agents who will lead them astray. A biblical example of this could be the tale of Adam and Eve, later in the podcast, Giorgio and I return to the Bible to discuss what might be the first incel/sigma male character in Abrahamic religions. Regardless, there’s are two fundament similarities between both groups: A deep disgust for the standard gender relationships in a world where feminist ideas are relatively accepted in mainstream circles, and a mistrust for the traditional roles of masculinity.
So, what does this mean for the modern man? Are we just damaged and jaded beyond repair? Or will masculinity be able to realign with a view that sees itself as a pillar of society?

TIMESTAMP:

(6:40) – A photograph of incel heroes
(8:50) – What is an archetype?
(13:00) – Similarities between modern incel archetypes
(14:50) – Art can’t be separated from context
(17:10) – Male characters with failed relationships
(21:15) – Is masculinity necessary in the 21st century?
(25:15) – Has Tinder ruined dating?
(30:15) – The Freudian Madonna/Whore complex
(33:00) – Sacred violence against evil
(39:20) – School shootings & traditional masculinity
(42:05) – Are incels/sigmas just sexually frustrated?
(44:30) – #BLM, The American Dream & incels
(48:15) – 4Chan, r9k and the necessity of intimacy
(52:50) – Glorifying the ‘everyday man’
(57:00) – The original biblical incel/sigma
(1:02:45) – The moral failure of incels