The Troubadour Podcast

Send us a textRule 12: Pet a Cat When You Encounter One on the Street This podcast I seek to answer Jordan Peterson's fundamental question posed in Chapter 12: "Is there any coherent alternative given the self-evidence horrors of existence? Can Being itself, with its malarial mosquitoes, child soldiers, and degenerative neurological diseases truly be justified?" With reference to: *Homeric heroes and gods in The Iliad and The Odyssey *Peterson's own unique literary criticism *Blood Upon The Risers *Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Ambitious Guest." *Ayn Rand's "Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" *Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson *Stoic philosophy *And Much more Does Peterson have the proper perspective on Man's metaphysical nature and the metaphysical nature of reality or has he perpetrated an error that leads him to see the world through a prism of pain, suffering and agony? Is LIFE suffering? As Peterson says, Or is there a way to see the world differently. If you're a fan of Jordan Peterson I hope you'll join me on this final installment of my intellectual journey through the lectures and books of a controversial, interesting, erroneous, and brilliant thinker.

Send us a textWhat is masculinity? Why is it under attack today?  These are the fundamental questions addressed in Jordan Peterson's Rule 11: Do Not Bother Children When They Are Skateboarding. We'll be exploring the life of MAN from Ancient Greece to modern time. We'll be talking about wildly different men like *Demosthenes of Ancient Athens *Winston Churchill *John Adams *Thomas Jefferson *George Washington *And Your everyday men like me! Are there conditional requirements to meet before one can enter the eternal fraternity of man? If so what are they and what do they mean? In the poem IF by Rudyard Kipling he sets down a set of 37 conditions he believes in necessary to achieve manliness.  As Peterson addresses in this chapter, there is a sentiment prevelant today that has been growing for the last 50 years. He began to identify this motivational emotion when he noticed that the University of Toronto, where he worked, put "skate stoppers" on certain curbs and on the bases of sculpture. These were designed to stop young skateboarders from grinding their boards against these areas. But they were uglier than any damage a young man could do on his flimsy piece of wood. So what really was their motivation? And what is it about boys and men that seem to crave pain and agression? Is this what so many women today are calling "toxic masculinity?" Is it the same tendency in men that leads to real violence? We'll be exploring these questions any more in this episode. I hope you'll join me in an attempt to understand what this thing we call "masculine" really is. IF- by Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when all about you        Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,    If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,     But make allowance for their doubting too;    If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,     Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,     And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;        If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;    If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster     And treat those two impostors just the same;    If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken     Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,     And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings     And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings     And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew     To serve your turn long after they are gone,    And so hold on when there is nothing in you     Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,        Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,     If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute     With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,    Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,        And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Send us a textRule 10: Be Precise in Your Speech. Here are just a few of the topics we will be covering on this episode about poetry, language, perception, philosophy and anthropology. *Robert Frost and Jordan Peterson's differing view on meaning *Frost's Mending Wall poem *A conundrum from Germany circa 1939 *The lost Jiukiukwe Indian tribe near the Orinoco *The basic nature of language *The Second Coming poem by William Butler Yeats *What we can learn about precision and clarity from Francis Bacon and Benjamin Franklin It's an intellectual exploration deep into the headwaters of Peterson's "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos."

Send us a textThere's a youtube sensation going on in England. Her name is Stacey Reay and she teaches Poetry. Her channel is a must watch if you have children in school and even if you just want to understand a poem more thoroughly. Visit her channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJhuqpyhE8NzYZFkwTzi_7g Stacey and I will be discussing a poem she chose, "The Manhunt" by Simon Armitage. We dive into the story of a woman who is trying to find the man she loves. He is right before her, but she can't find him. We talk about PTSD and our modern era in warfare, and we talk about both war poetry and love poetry. Most importantly, we converse with this verse by Armitage. Stacey provides a great break down of the poem and squeezes as much meaning as possible from it. You won't be disappointed! The Manhunt By Simon Armitage: After the first phase, after passionate nights and intimate days, only then would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face, only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw, and handle and hold the damaged, porcelain collar-bone, and mind and attend the fractured rudder of shoulder-blade, and finger and thumb the parachute silk of his punctured lung. Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, and feel the hurt of his grazed heart. Skirting along, only then could I picture the scan, the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had finally come to rest. Then I widened the search, traced the scarring back to its source to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind, around which every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.

Send us a textIn this episode we will be exploring Peterson's rule "Assume that the person you are Listening to might know something you don't." it's a lesson we should all take to heart, especially those (like myself) who are so inclined toward totalitarian certainty. While certainty is achievable, it is anything but easy. More appropriate should be our desire to understand other ideas, and how to entertain those ideas, without necessarily accepting them. In that no greater tool is at your possession than ART. We'll be exploring the poem "The Laws of God, the Laws of Men." Benjamin Franklin as a young man gave himself a daily assignment in his attempt toward moral perfection: To imitate Jesus and Socrates. We know what it means to imitate Jesus. But what does imitating socrates entail? This episode will explore that idea.

Send us a textRule 7 is "Pursue what is Meaningful (not what is expedient). As surface advice, this is great. Yet what is more important than cliche advice are the underlying reasons for integrating this advice into your life. Why should one pursue what is meaningful, in the face of Peterson's foundational proposition: "Life is Suffering?" What does meaning mean? Where does it come from? How do you pursue it given the trials and tribulations of life? Is life suffering? Or can there be another worldview?

Send us a textPeterson's 8th Rule "Tell the Truth (Or at least don't lie) is important not only for avoiding disaster but for building a new you! That's what Ed Catmul, founder and president of Pixar, did. He was honest with himself that he was not a good enough animator to become a professional. So he pursued something else: computer science. By the mid 1970s he had his PHd and his dream: to create the first feature length animation movie done completely on a computer. Of course, in 1995 he did that. But he came to another problem. Most successful companies fail by making stupid mistakes. Why do they do that? These unseen forces took down some powerful companies in his time. Catmul decided not to let that happen to his company, so instead of focusing on the technical difficulties of making better animated videos, he decided to institutionalize honesty and candor. But how do you do that? Listen to find out.

Exploring the progressive themes in William Blake's poem 'London' and connecting it to the romantic ideals of the 18th century. Discussing societal critiques, industrialization, and the hardships faced by children during the industrial revolution. Delving into the connection between romanticism and social progressivism through figures like Victor Hugo and their focus on intense emotions and societal critiques.

Exploring the famous 'problem of evil' through the eyes of philosophers and poets, particularly focusing on William Blake's poem 'The Tyger'. Delving into the symbolism, imagery, and profound meanings embedded in the poem, contrasting perspectives on the nature of God and human suffering, and exploring primal fears throughout history.

Delving into William Blake's poem, the podcast explores selfless love versus selfishness through the symbolism of the Clod of Clay and the Pebble, drawing parallels to school shooters and radical mindsets. It challenges perceived reality and moral codes, dissecting individual choices and societal impact.