Episode 34

full
Published on:

19th Jan 2026

Bird-Legged Ho of Jurassic Park

Beck and Dash dig into Appalachian culture, Blenko Glass, queer life, therapy, food, and trans visibility. It’s thoughtful conversation, everyday nonsense, and a lot of heart—served up with humor and community care.

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Transcript
Beck:

Welcome to Queer Next, the podcast that puts the Yee-Haw in y'all means Hall.

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I'm your host Beck,

and I'm your host Dash.

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Welcome to today's episode,

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Dash: Felix.

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I I love you a lot, but

you're just so annoying.

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Beck: I was so glad to see

Sabrina got her cat back.

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Dash: She was really upset.

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Beck: I bet

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Dash: that's Belo is related

to, um, my cat brisket.

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They have, I don't know how it goes.

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They're not litter mates.

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I think Belo might be the

sister, might be brisket's aunt.

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And it's just, that whole line is not

the brightest, but they're all very

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sweet and beautiful, so, you know,

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Beck: yeah.

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You can't have it all.

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Dash: Well, the person that,

are you gonna get up and leave?

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Goodbye baby boy.

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Now he, he's like, well, I

wasn't gonna, but if you insist,

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so I'm, I'm, I love Felix's.

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Um.

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Lap cat era he's in.

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But it, it, it can be a lot.

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Okay.

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Now maybe I won't have to touch all

these wires and make that sound one of

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these days I'll get like a proper like

studio office set up, but I do have that

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plan for one of the bedrooms upstairs.

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Beck: Yeah.

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Dash: I forgot what I was saying.

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Probably not super important.

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Beck: I feel like I have

coconut in my teeth.

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Dash: Save that for later.

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Beck: Yeah.

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God, you have to try these.

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They're so good.

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They are.

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They're called Raffaello.

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Rap Raffaello.

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Yeah, something.

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They come in these little tiny

packets and it's just a little coconut

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ball with coconut cream in it and

an almond and it just delicious.

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Dash: That sounds awesome.

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Beck: I do these surveys for Facebook.

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It's an invite only thing.

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Anyway.

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You make $5 at a time doing those.

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And I've made probably a couple

hundred dollars doing them

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over the last couple of years.

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Why?

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And I had, I had $15 saved up,

so I used those on my ref, ref,

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rapo, whatever they're called.

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They're coconut, ferre, rochet.

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Dash: I never get picked

for stuff like that.

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Yeah, I'm too, I'm just

too normy, I guess.

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Beck: I like doing it.

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Dash: Have you ever done jury duty?

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Beck: Um, I've been assigned to it

once, but I got out of it 'cause

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I was the main person at my job.

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That's when I worked at the photo studio.

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So they let me out of it.

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I

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Dash: don't know why it's, um, it,

it has to be coming for me someday,

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but I've never been, like, I've

never gotten the summons or whatever.

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Beck: After my dad died, he got a

federal, uh, sorry, jury summons to

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go to a federal court in Cincinnati.

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Dash: Well, they're just shit out.

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Beck: Yeah.

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I was like, sorry he's dead.

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You wouldn't believe me.

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I felt like, have you ever seen that

episode of Ja uh, Roseanne where Jackie

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is telling people their dad died and

she's talking to somebody who's hard of

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hearing and she's like, dad passed away.

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Dad went to heaven, dad is gone.

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And they still did hear

and he's like, she's fine.

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Like, and she like screams it.

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It's really funny.

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That's how it felt.

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Calling everybody, all the

masons and all the car lots and

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Dash: Oh man, yeah.

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Beck: I was like, he's dead.

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Dash: My mom's helping her.

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One of her sisters do that.

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Like her husband died maybe a

week ago, not very long ago.

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And so they're going through all that

stuff and trying to clear out the house.

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Beck: Oh, my dad died three years ago

and he gets more mail here than I do.

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He does, we put in a change of address for

him 'cause we were leaving the property,

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you know, so I put the whole family.

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Dash: Oh man.

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Beck: Yeah.

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All his mail comes here and it's because

he's a man and he moved to this area.

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He's gotten letters from funeral parlors,

uh, giving him free lunches to come talk.

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And the local masons wanted to welcome

him and like, all kinds of different mail.

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Yeah.

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Dash: Interesting.

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Beck: The, the variety of mail he's gotten

is very different than what I've gotten.

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He still gets credit

card applications and.

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All that shit.

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Dash: They make it so easy sometimes.

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Beck: Yeah.

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I just, I rarely check my

mail, so it just sits there.

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Dash: Oh, I'm, I'm pretty bad about it.

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I've been, it was much worse when I

was going to work every day because the

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post office here is open three hours a

day and, but now I'm, so, I was able to

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check it like once a month basically,

but now I check it several times a week.

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But whenever I'm back to going into

work, it'll, it'll go downhill again.

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Beck: Yeah, well our, I live in

a big complex, there's like 10

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buildings or something, and they

have one designated mail bank where

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there's just a bay of banks, uh, of

mailboxes, and it's so out of the way.

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It's such an inconvenience

to get into that.

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We just don't check it very often unless

we know there's a package down there.

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Dash: If I had known that a,

a post office appeal box was

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mandatory with this house, uh.

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I would not have bought it.

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I legit would've refused based on that.

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Oh wow.

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Because I, I know that I,

I just saw this coming.

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I knew that the way my brain works,

the way my executive function

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and how much fucking work it is

to do every single thing here.

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I was like, yeah, I'll

never check the mail.

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So, and that turned out to be true.

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Beck: Yeah.

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My parents had a PO box when I was a kid

and I was the designated mailbox checker.

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They would stop and I'd have to run in.

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Dash: Yeah.

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We always had one growing up.

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'cause there wasn't mailboxes

on the rural routes.

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We lived on 25 W, so

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Beck: yeah.

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Yeah.

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We were Route one Box 48,

Lucas Hill, Ohio, you know?

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Dash: Yeah.

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Beck: Where the hell is that?

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That, that could be anywhere.

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Then they went with the 9 1 1

addresses and that all changed.

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So

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Dash: did I.

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So this was a couple weeks ago, and

I have this one therapist that I see

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that's like a trauma therapist, so like

we're doing like a whole lot of like

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serious talking and stuff when I'm in

there and I was telling him this story.

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I was kind of describing the way like.

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People who don't experience any kind

of like systemic or administrative

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disenfranchisement, um, wouldn't know

that it's possible to even get got in

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the ways that like trans people can,

or immigrants or whatever, anybody who

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kind of can stand out in the system.

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So I was describing this like police

interactions I've had to him, and I

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don't know what phrase I used and I

must have made a motion with my arm,

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but my watch called the fucking Police.

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While I was in therapy.

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Beck: Well,

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Dash: and I realized it

and I'm like, oh shit.

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I like hung up really fast,

but you can't hang up on them.

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Beck: Right.

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Dash: So, and I told him that.

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I was like, oh God, I just,

I told him what happened.

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He goes, all right, they're

probably gonna call you back.

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And I was like, I know, and that

will make me have a panic attack.

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So like the fucking sheriff

called me directly and I was

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like, no, no, everything's fine.

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It was an accident.

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And then I started to like.

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Panic or whatever.

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My therapist, he was

like, yeah, no, go for it.

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This is great data.

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Suck a bitch.

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So what are you feeling right now?

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Describe what you're feeling.

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Leave me out alone.

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Beck: Have you ever done the therapy

that that has the rapid eye movement

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where you go left or right to I

think it's what's what's called.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Dash: I have not, I'm scared of it.

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Yeah.

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Beck: Why

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Dash: have you done it?

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Beck: Yeah,

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Dash: you have.

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I don't know.

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I just, it's so.

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Reactivating.

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I, it just, it's clearly like I, people,

I have people who are close to me who

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are doing it and you know, they'll be

like wrecked when they're done with it.

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Beck: Yeah.

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It was difficult because they just

keep, they just keep asking you and

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then what basically, and you have to

dig into whatever it is you're feeling

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and you really get in your feelings.

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But you know, it gets it out.

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It's like a tooth extraction.

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The pain pulls it, pulls it out.

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Dash: The, the first time I heard about

it, I was like, that sounds like some

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made up woo woo bullshit, you know?

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Beck: Yeah.

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Dash: And then, no,

it's, it's a real thing.

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You know, like there's other versions,

there are similar things like brain

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spotting and the whole purpose of

them is to, to sort of challenge old

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pathways of thinking, like associations.

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The brain has like between

like thought sensation.

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And feeling and all that

stuff and memories, and then

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kind of create new ones.

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It makes sense.

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But no, he, I don't know what he

would characterize his approach

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as, but it's nothing like that.

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But he does do that thing where

he's constantly like, describe

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what you're feeling right now.

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And I'm like, my, all of my

conditioning makes that an

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extremely difficult thing to do.

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Like everything about me, like

the life it, like just my life has

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necessitated not having emotions.

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I mean, emotions were like

shameful in our household.

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Oh my God.

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I made, I made some chili last

night and it's like the best pot

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of chili I think I've ever made.

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Legitimately.

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Oh, wow.

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Like I taste tested it.

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This is first day, not even second day.

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I'm excited for today.

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It's gonna be lit.

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So I just did that thing where I taste

tested it and I had just eyeballed,

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you know, I had my chili powders and

all my, you know, salt and oregano and

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and stuff, and I just kind of threw it

all in there and I didn't even have,

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normally I would put a beer in it, like

a really dark beer for that, like yeasty

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barley kind of cut through flavor.

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Didn't have that 'cause

I don't like buying beer.

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And I was like, oh my

God, this is delicious.

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Beck: Is that the first time you've

made chili since you quit smoking?

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Dash: Yeah,

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Beck: that could be a big part of it.

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Dash: It could be.

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You're right.

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Beck: The case buds totally change.

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Dash: Yeah.

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They wake back up.

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Although I did make it like

back when I had quit the last

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time, I'm sure I made it.

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But you know, that was a couple years ago.

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'cause I had, when I started

smoking again, it was almost

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exactly a year that I spent smoking.

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Beck: Yeah.

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' Dash: cause I started shortly af I started

back again shortly after I moved here.

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Beck: Got you.

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We're going on 11 years since we quit.

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Dash: Nice.

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Well, smoking's allowed on our campus.

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Beck: Oh, wow.

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Dash: There'll be staff and faculty

just puffing on corners everywhere.

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So, and I'm not supposed

to even be around it.

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I'm not supposed to be

exposed to it at all.

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So if I go back to campus, it's

gonna be like running by everybody.

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Beck: It makes me nostalgic.

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It makes me miss my mom.

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Dash: Oh, I'm sure I'll like the smell of

it, but if I, I can't ingest it because

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it could like the risk of nicotine.

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Wound healing, especially like the

bone graft, like it could cause

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that thing to pop right open.

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Beck: Yeah.

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Dash: There's a word for it.

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Ance.

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Beck: I don't know that word.

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Dash: I had not heard it before either.

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It basically just means a

wound opens back up again.

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Beck: I should know that one well.

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Dash: But yeah, that's

what nicotine will do.

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If you have had any kind of, it

does it for both incisions and it

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would make my bone graft not take.

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And, and I need like,

that's at least a year.

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They say like, not to

even be near nicotine.

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Beck: Yeah.

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On the, on those charts and everything.

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I, I'm back to being a pres smoker status.

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Dash: Hell yeah.

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Beck: It's been so long.

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Yeah.

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It's been so long.

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But I was, I was a heavy smoker.

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I, I cannot be trusted at all.

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Like I smoke one cigarette and

I'm a two pack a day smoker.

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Immediately.

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Like, it just, I have no, no limits.

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I have no boundaries.

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That's adhd.

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Yeah.

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It was bad.

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I would just smoke one after the other.

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'cause as soon as I got done with

one, I was like, okay, I need

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something to do with my hands.

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You know?

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Dash: You know, something I, I realized,

and I don't, listeners, I'm sorry if

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I've told this before, but, um, the,

like, I had become one of those, like,

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I only smoke when I drink people.

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So then I just started

drinking all the time.

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Like, I would find excuses to drink

so that I could have cigarettes.

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And then when I finally quit

drinking, like I was going crazy

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and I was like, oh God, these with

withdrawals are awful, or whatever.

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Then I just decided to smoke a

cigarette and they went away.

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They were not alcohol withdrawals,

they were nicotine withdrawals.

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And I was like, God damnit.

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All this time I have

not been an alcoholic.

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I've been somebody who was, who would

drink just so they could have a cigarette.

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'cause I, I've never once like that.

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The day I stopped drinking alcohol,

I just never thought about it again.

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Well, the day I smoked the

cigarette, the first cigarette,

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after I quit drinking alcohol, I

never thought about alcohol again.

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Beck: Yeah.

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Dash: It was actually

kind of embarrassing.

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I was like, that is the dumbest

reason to drink I have ever heard of.

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Beck: Well, uh, there's,

there's been dumber, I'm sure.

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Dash: Well, I mean, I don't know.

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People have all kinds of reasons

for getting up to the stuff we do.

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That's not any good for us.

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Beck: I started smoking again my

first week of grad school, uh, or my

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first week of, uh, of the PhD program.

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No, was it was regular grad

school, and then I quit.

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I was smoking in, in my master's program

and then quit and then started again.

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My first grad, my first

PhD program finals week.

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Somebody brought over a pack of cloves

and I didn't, I ended up quitting.

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'cause I didn't wanna

be a doctor that smoked.

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I felt like that would

be a hypocritical thing.

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Even though you're not that kind

of doctor, you can be smart enough

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to know you shouldn't be smoking.

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So

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Dash: I think if, if you're someone who

might wind up being somebody's role model.

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'cause I've, I was very sensitive

about the fact that students

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would see me smoking on campus.

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I would do things to try to

get out of their line of sight,

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and I would go for walks.

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I would take my walk like after I

had lunch or something like that,

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and that's when I would smoke

because, and I, I didn't, you know,

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I wasn't like, they're gonna see

me doing this and think it's cool.

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I mean, they're adults.

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It doesn't work that way.

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But still, I, it felt like some, in some

ways, like at odds with the role I had.

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You know, my supervisor, he also

smoked like we would smoke together

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and he would make fun of me.

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He was like, I don't know why you,

you're not gonna get in trouble.

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I don't know why you're hiding it.

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And it's like, I know you

don't know why I'm hiding it.

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Nobody looks up to you.

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Beck: Right.

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Dash: People really don't know

what it's like to have no choice

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about whether you're a role model.

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That's right.

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That's, that's one kind of minority

stress that people who don't have

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marginalized identities, they don't know

about that there's nodes blending in.

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Everything you do is hypervisible

and everything you do is significant.

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Beck: Right.

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I think that's true in a lot of academics,

uh, jobs, because even my role as a

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professor, people, like some girl, I was

talking to her yesterday and you could

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just tell she was so nervous to be talking

to me, and it was like, girl, calm down.

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You know?

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I, we were just, it, it

just, it's a darling.

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It really is.

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But yeah, I forget sometimes that,

that we have that kind of power.

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Dash: I do too.

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I, and it happened when we were

grad students there when I was

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living there, I got to know the.

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The L-G-B-T-Q students from the student

group, and then the ones who would be

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connected with the resource center there.

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And there was one cohort in particular of

graduates who, you know, I, I spent a lot

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of time mentoring and when they graduated

they sort of, they would begin to, to

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go like, can we hang out or something?

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Because we would do things over at Eric's.

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I mean, remember you and Shannon

come over there a few times.

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We would just sit around

and watch movies over there.

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Like it was not some lit party.

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So we were like, yeah,

we're gonna watch some.

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I think we were watching horror movies

and we let 'em come over and they were

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like, are we allowed to bring alcohol?

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And I was like, I don't care what you do.

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I mean, don't drive home

if you're gonna drink.

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But you know, and I didn't.

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That was like when I started to

realize that, like they really

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thought we were super cool.

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Beck: Wow,

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Dash: that's Ziggy.

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I don't know what she's doing.

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She's just got the zoomies.

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Beck: I would pay $5 to have

the Zoomies for like one minute.

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Dash: The babies get them pretty often.

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The old men, you know, maybe once or

twice a week they'll get up to it.

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But yeah, she's, um, right now she's

running up and down the stairs as

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fast as she can and she just likes

to talk about it while she does it.

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Beck: She's one of those people that

jogs and talks at the same time.

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Dash: Yeah.

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I don't know why cats do.

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All of mine do anyway.

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They'll go, if they're playing by

themselves, especially upstairs,

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you'll just hear 'em talking about it.

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Beck: We had one talkative cat.

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His name was Ted, who was,

he was named after Ted Talks.

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That's how he got his name.

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His last name was Dammit.

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We had Ted, dammit.

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He was a good cat.

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Dash: He was,

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Beck: I missed having cat.

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I missed having a cat so much.

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And now that baby's no longer with us.

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We got her back yesterday, by

the way, we got the ashes back.

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It was huge.

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Like I was, I had gotten like a poodle

back and they're like this big, you

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know, and the babies was like, huge.

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It's, well, we got her paw print

and we're, they forgot to send it,

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:

but they got us an ink print and

they saved some of her hair for us.

404

:

So,

405

:

Dash: wow.

406

:

Beck: I still can't believe she's gone.

407

:

This house feels so empty without her

because she had just a natural talent.

408

:

She was an outside dog most of her life,

so being inside was like a new thing.

409

:

So she had a natural talent just to be

in the way no matter where she stood.

410

:

Dash: Yeah, because she had

that out outside Dog energy.

411

:

Beck: Yeah.

412

:

Like no matter where she stood, she

was right in the walkway and she was

413

:

so big, like you didn't, you couldn't

just walk around her, you know?

414

:

Yeah.

415

:

Did you see the dog?

416

:

Do you, do you follow We rate dar,

we rate dogs or anything like that.

417

:

Dash: I don't follow them,

but I see their stuff.

418

:

Every now and then,

419

:

Beck: there was a dog this

week that they posted about.

420

:

He got picked up as a stray and not

only did he get out of the kennel, they

421

:

had him in, he got out the front door,

he bit the lock and turned the lock

422

:

and got out and immediately ran home.

423

:

Can you imagine that?

424

:

That's like a movie, like him busting out

to two different areas and then running

425

:

home before they could like, he's like,

oh shit, I gotta get home and they're

426

:

gonna find out I was out or whatever.

427

:

Dash: Yeah,

428

:

Beck: yeah.

429

:

He got caught by the dog

pound and he got out.

430

:

I just think that's amazing.

431

:

Shannon and I are going on a little

trip this weekend just to get the

432

:

hell out of Ohio for a, an evening.

433

:

Oh, our, our 22 year anniversary

was this week, so I saw

434

:

Dash: that.

435

:

Beck: Yeah.

436

:

Dash: Happy anniversary.

437

:

Beck: Thank you.

438

:

22 years is a long time, and it was

longer than we were with our parents.

439

:

I find that really interesting.

440

:

You know, we've been with

each other longer than we

441

:

were ever with our parents, so

442

:

Dash: yeah,

443

:

Beck: we're gonna go to Michigan

and get a hotel room and just

444

:

be out of Ohio for a night.

445

:

It's only like 45 minutes

from here, but it's.

446

:

We weren't able to travel because of baby

either, because yeah, the four hour thing

447

:

and she didn't travel, so she was too big.

448

:

Dash: Is it still like

snowing and stuff there?

449

:

Beck: Yeah, it hasn't really quit.

450

:

I had to cancel my class Wednesday night.

451

:

Dash: Mm-hmm.

452

:

Will they?

453

:

I woke up today and it was

blizzarding and they didn't say

454

:

shit about it on the weather.

455

:

Beck: That's kind of how it is.

456

:

It's like so normal.

457

:

Dash: Yeah.

458

:

Beck: Just another Tuesday

we're having a blizzard.

459

:

Dash: I got a bunch of like

warm things to go for outsides.

460

:

Beck: Nice.

461

:

Dash: It's about time.

462

:

Beck: My latest purchase was

a pair of $10 sweatpants from

463

:

Amazon, and they're so comfortable.

464

:

Dash: I've been living

the sweatpants life.

465

:

I don't know if I'm gonna be able

to go back to wearing clothes.

466

:

Beck: Yeah.

467

:

I showered four times in a row this week.

468

:

I have a day off.

469

:

I'm wearing nothing but sweatpants

and I'm not putting a bra

470

:

and I'm not doing anything.

471

:

I might leave the house to go through

a drive through, but that's as

472

:

much as I'm giving the world today.

473

:

I just do, you know, the spoon

theory that you have to have?

474

:

I do so many spoons to get through a day.

475

:

Showers just take so many spoons,

you know, and with my short hair

476

:

and everything, I get bedhead

if I even look at the bed.

477

:

So I have to take a shower.

478

:

And four in a row is just a

lot like, just so many spoons.

479

:

So

480

:

Dash: it is, it's not just the showers.

481

:

Everything that goes along

with it, you know, it's the

482

:

Beck: drying off that gets me.

483

:

There's just so much of me to dry off.

484

:

Dash: Well, and there for me, it's

like getting the clean clothes to

485

:

put on before I have to heat up

the bathroom because it's freezing.

486

:

Um, yep.

487

:

Beck: Same.

488

:

Dash: And then like, after

it's like moisturized, dirty

489

:

clothes, you know, brush teeth

or whatever, it's, I don't know.

490

:

And as I get older, the

list of shit just grows.

491

:

Beck: Yeah, Shanna does most

of the laundry in our house.

492

:

Thank goodness.

493

:

Dash: I would like to get

rid of some of my clothes.

494

:

Yeah, I just don't wear things anymore.

495

:

Beck: I need to too.

496

:

I have so many t-shirts.

497

:

It's ridiculous.

498

:

Dash: I struggle to get rid of stuff.

499

:

'cause so many, so much

of it is sentimental.

500

:

Beck: Yeah.

501

:

Dash: I know that that's hoarding and I

know that I inherited that from my dad.

502

:

Beck: I have two sets of clothes.

503

:

I have my work clothes and then

I have my afterschool clothes.

504

:

So I have two entirely

different 'cause I come home and

505

:

immediately change every day.

506

:

Dash: I noticed when I was working

in admissions that I hardly ever wore

507

:

anything but my EKU stuff, like the rest

of my wardrobe went totally untouched.

508

:

Beck: Yep.

509

:

Dash: So I just stopped

getting other kinds of clothes.

510

:

Now, I can't like, operate the closure

of jeans 'cause my, it takes two

511

:

hands and this hand is so stupid.

512

:

So I'm wearing either sweatpants or

like these, I'm very fashion forward

513

:

with my, I have coveralls for every.

514

:

I'm like, okay, this is

what you get right now.

515

:

Beck: I don't like coveralls.

516

:

'cause you have to basically

undress to go to the potty.

517

:

Dash: It's true.

518

:

You know, I, when I, as I was editing that

Jennifer's body episode, I kept thinking

519

:

of other things that I meant to, that we

could have talked about and it's whatever.

520

:

I don't wanna catch 'em all.

521

:

But one thing I have been thinking

about was when we were talking about

522

:

the like ways like that, that we as

a culture in Hollywood have these

523

:

cycles of how we treat women on camera.

524

:

Beyond just their sexualization or

objectification, but like how their

525

:

careers are actually the trajectory.

526

:

So as an example, there's a joke,

oh, what is that movie with?

527

:

It's got Mindy Kaley and um, Emma

Thompson in it and they're com

528

:

There's standup comedians there.

529

:

She has a late night show.

530

:

Beck: That doesn't sound

familiar to me at all.

531

:

Dash: It was okay.

532

:

I enjoyed it.

533

:

You might like it.

534

:

Late night 2019.

535

:

So the conceit is that Emma Thompson's

character was a standup comedian,

536

:

but she had become a late night host

and, you know, kind of lost touch.

537

:

And Mindy Kaling is this like

intern and she's got her finger

538

:

on the pulse and whatnot.

539

:

And there's a scene where Emma Thompson's

character decides to surprise, do a

540

:

surprise set at a benefit, and she sucks.

541

:

She's, she's doing the material

that nobody understands.

542

:

It's kind of like obvious.

543

:

She, it, it's clearly like stuff

she's read about but doesn't

544

:

know anything about social media.

545

:

And she gets really discouraged.

546

:

And so then she starts talking

about what it's like to be a woman

547

:

who grows old in Hollywood or in

or in as some form of celebrity.

548

:

And she says this joke where

she was like, I would have to

549

:

get Botox to do voice work.

550

:

And it's like, you know, from the

earliest days of Hollywood that's been.

551

:

You age out of relevance or whatever as

552

:

Beck: Yeah, you have a face for radio.

553

:

Dash: Right?

554

:

And, and then we've got Steve McQueen

playing a 17-year-old at the age of 32.

555

:

Beck: Yeah.

556

:

Dash: And in 1960, whatever,

32 was a hard ass 32, right.

557

:

These are about the hydration

queens of social media.

558

:

32 these days.

559

:

But there was that moment that's

kind of revival of the enduring.

560

:

Feminine presence that grows

old and grows in power.

561

:

And I was thinking about like where

that came from, like who floats that

562

:

boat and it's, it's queer culture,

particularly the gay male appreciation

563

:

for femininity as it ages, I think.

564

:

Think of how, for instance, RuPaul, he

has talked about like how he c created

565

:

that character, his drag persona.

566

:

It's a mixture of Joan Crawford actually.

567

:

He said, um, not Joan Crawford, but

it's the woman's name who played

568

:

her in Mommy dearest Faye Dunaway.

569

:

So like a pastiche of,

of an image, you know.

570

:

So he's like, it's equal parts that, and

Elvira is who he created RuPaul from.

571

:

Beck: Oh wow.

572

:

Dash: And there's, and there's

this black man underneath and it

573

:

kind of completes that character.

574

:

If you watch queer culture, especially

gay male culture drag and that aging

575

:

icon, Joan Rivers, Kathy Moriarty,

Kathy Moriarty's character in, but

576

:

I'm a cheerleader, is a drag queen.

577

:

Beck: I just watched

that again the other day.

578

:

Dash: Yeah.

579

:

And, and so, you know, and she's, she

was, uh, invited to be in that film

580

:

be because everybody, um, loves her

so much and because, but it's like,

581

:

not until they reach a certain age.

582

:

Beck: Right.

583

:

Dash: Can you, can you become.

584

:

The icon of, I don't know what that is.

585

:

I don't know what it's called.

586

:

There's probably a name for

it and I don't know it yet.

587

:

I didn't actually do any research.

588

:

I've just been thinking about like

how much, how queer an aging woman is.

589

:

Beck: Right.

590

:

That makes me think of the, the

myth of, um, Stonewall, how it

591

:

was supposedly happened because

that was the day Judy Garland, her

592

:

funeral was, did you know that?

593

:

Dash: I hadn't heard that.

594

:

Beck: The, the reason that they started

Stonewall, that's the reason they snapped.

595

:

It was the, the Stonewall Riot happened

on the same day as Judy Garland's funeral.

596

:

Dash: Okay.

597

:

Well, I don't, you know, I don't

know enough to, to agree or disagree.

598

:

Beck: I've read it in several places,

599

:

Dash: but I wouldn't be surprised if,

you know, even if we can't say like,

600

:

oh, it was a directly contributing

factor that could have been in the

601

:

air, I guess is a way to put it,

you know, like this loss of an icon,

602

:

because Judy Garland was one of those.

603

:

Um, sort of I, icons of queer culture,

but also the figure of Dorothy and

604

:

the Wizard of Oz, and that whole

association is very queer as well.

605

:

Like the, you know, the friend of Dorothy?

606

:

Beck: Yeah.

607

:

I do a whole little segment in one

of my lectures about Stonewall.

608

:

We talk about why we do pride in June

and, um, how the myth is that Marsha

609

:

p Johnson threw the first brick.

610

:

That's not true either.

611

:

Marsha herself has said that

she wasn't even there when

612

:

the first brick was thrown.

613

:

Yeah.

614

:

And the, the, the general consensus

is that it was probably a butch

615

:

lesbian who was working as a bouncer

that threw the first shot glass.

616

:

Dash: Hmm.

617

:

Yeah.

618

:

Beck: Have you ever seen, she's

beautiful when she's angry?

619

:

Dash: No.

620

:

Beck: It's a, it's all about the second

wave of feminism and it's fantastic.

621

:

The documentary style

622

:

Dash: looks like it's on Tubie.

623

:

Beck: It's very good.

624

:

I highly recommend it.

625

:

They even, um.

626

:

Rita Ma Brown, who wrote

one of my favorite books of

627

:

all time, Ruby Fruit Jungle.

628

:

I don't know if you've

ever heard of that book.

629

:

Dash: Yeah, you've told me about it.

630

:

I haven't read it though.

631

:

Beck: Yeah, well, she's the author

of that and she had her hand right in

632

:

the middle of all the feminist doings

of the second wave in the sixties and

633

:

seventies, so I loved that about it.

634

:

Dash: I mean, we, we rightly are

critical of the second wave of feminism.

635

:

Um, and, and we should be critical

of the idea of waves of feminism.

636

:

Beck: Oh yeah, I talk about that too.

637

:

Dash: But a lot of the theorizing that

we still rely on to this day about.

638

:

How to construct identity, what,

what, what our like, idea of equality

639

:

is and how do we, like what we

derive that from, comes from that

640

:

stuff, comes from those thinkers.

641

:

Yeah.

642

:

You know, Betty Friedan, you know,

plenty of things to criticize

643

:

about her, but where would we be

without, was it the femininity?

644

:

Because I was called

645

:

Beck: Yeah.

646

:

The problem that has no name.

647

:

Dash: Right.

648

:

And that goes for like the

political lesbians too.

649

:

Beck: I was talking about them the other

day, how there were separatists about how

650

:

they would even not let boy, uh, children

come into the, the communes or whatever.

651

:

Shannon was like, we

should find one of those.

652

:

Dash: Who was it that wrote

what we're rolling around with?

653

:

Is that Gail Rubin?

654

:

Beck: I don't know that one.

655

:

Dash: What?

656

:

We're rolling around

in bed with, oh my God.

657

:

Is it Amber Hollabaugh?

658

:

That's embarrassing.

659

:

She's one of my favorites.

660

:

Beck: Oh, she should send that to me.

661

:

Dash: Okay.

662

:

Yeah, it looks like, uh, something

that was written as a summary in a

663

:

way of, in a way of a conversation

between her and Sherry Moraga.

664

:

Sherry Moraga was the speaker

at our diversity award banquet

665

:

for the, the students last year.

666

:

It was the day after the fucking election.

667

:

Beck: Oh, wow.

668

:

Dash: So that would've

been the year before last.

669

:

Now, at this point,

670

:

have you read Hollabaugh?

671

:

The Uh,

672

:

Beck: no.

673

:

Dash: My Dangerous Desires,

674

:

Beck: no.

675

:

Dash: Should she died, I

think it was:

676

:

She was, uh, very good

friends with Dorothy Allison.

677

:

I think Dorothy Allison actually

wrote the foreword or something

678

:

for, for my dangerous desires.

679

:

But, uh, so Amber Haugh is she identified

as white trash or trailer trash.

680

:

Alternatively, after she grew up

in extreme poverty in the trailer

681

:

park or a trailer park and had

an incredibly interesting life, a

682

:

really hard life in places, but.

683

:

She had this concept of the queer

survival economy, which is just people

684

:

who are fully disenfranchised from

real economy, the kinds of things

685

:

they do, these micro transactions

they create to sustain one another.

686

:

Beck: It makes me think of a piece

that I teach my students called

687

:

I Want A Wife by Judy Seifert.

688

:

It was the first, um, one of the

first articles printed in the first

689

:

MS Magazine issue that went out.

690

:

Um, and basically it's written

from a satirical point of view

691

:

and she lists all the things.

692

:

I want a wife that cleans up after

me and allows me to concentrate on

693

:

my academics and my writing life,

and, um, remembers all the birthdays

694

:

and the holidays and does vacuuming.

695

:

And then she just goes through

a whole list of things that the

696

:

wife would do for her, and she's

like, of course I want a wife.

697

:

Why wouldn't you?

698

:

And my, my students get a lot of feelings

about that particular essay because one of

699

:

the, I use it for the discussion boards.

700

:

I say, do you think women are still

expected to do all of these things

701

:

in, in the, in the 21st century?

702

:

You know, because that was written in

the seventies, so how much has it changed

703

:

in the last 50 years and not much?

704

:

Dash: No, I don't think the expectations

of the domestic sphere, you know,

705

:

like the women are expected to do more

professionally and personally and take

706

:

care of, you know, themselves now.

707

:

But no, there's no fewer

expectations on them and.

708

:

Terms of domesticity.

709

:

Beck: Yeah.

710

:

We talk about the second shift,

711

:

Dash: the history of the social

construction of the domestic sphere and

712

:

the public sphere in American history is

actually most, I don't wanna say most,

713

:

it's, it's very like heavily explored

in, uh, masculinity theory, in American

714

:

masculinity theory in particular.

715

:

Like they have the, the stages

of American masculinity.

716

:

I think it's communal.

717

:

Passionate and independent

are the, the three stages.

718

:

But at, at a certain point, they

needed to construct those different

719

:

roles for women and construct a

rationale for why they couldn't change.

720

:

And that was when they came up

with this idea that like, women

721

:

are naturally adept at domesticity,

ergo they need to stay in the home.

722

:

And a lot went into making that look true.

723

:

See people, you know, a lot of times

people will be like, well, but women are

724

:

more nurturing and yada yada, or whatever.

725

:

And it's like.

726

:

That's not what we mean though.

727

:

That's not, that doesn't

have to happen in the home.

728

:

Nurturing can happen anywhere.

729

:

Beck: Yeah.

730

:

Dash: What, like, let's for a second,

let's say you're right about that.

731

:

Let's say your bio essentialist ass is

correct, that women are more nurturing.

732

:

Shouldn't, wouldn't you want them

in war then or in the workplace

733

:

In a high pressure CEO suite?

734

:

You wouldn't, you know, if, if this was

a d and d party, you'd want a healer.

735

:

So that's not what we're talking about.

736

:

Well, okay.

737

:

Then women are, you know, should take

care of the kids or something like that.

738

:

It's like, whose kids?

739

:

Like, just because I, let's say I

as a woman am, uh, better at taking

740

:

care of children than any given

man doesn't have to be my kids.

741

:

I could go, I could get a job as a nanny

and take care of somebody else's kids.

742

:

So like, what they actually did

to make this look true was to make

743

:

public space inaccessible to women.

744

:

A good example is, oh fuck what building

was, was it the, ah, I think it was either

745

:

the Capitol, yeah, when Trump and Hillary

were doing their debates or something like

746

:

that and they took a restroom break and

she was late coming back to the debate.

747

:

Beck: I remember,

748

:

Dash: well, it's because there's one

women's bathroom in that whole fucking

749

:

building, and it's like a 20 minute

walk away from the room they were in.

750

:

And so like.

751

:

You'll, one way to, um, keep women out of

public spaces was to make it so that they

752

:

couldn't access the restrooms in there.

753

:

So that's why bathrooms are segregated

by Sex in America was to keep

754

:

women out of public and now they're

being used to attack trans people.

755

:

Beck: The bathroom debate

came up with the ERA too good.

756

:

The bathroom debate is

something that changes with each

757

:

political administration, but

it's the same argument, right?

758

:

But they never wanna talk about the

actual problem, which is heterosexual

759

:

men who go into these bathrooms Yeah.

760

:

That do these predators things.

761

:

It's not the trans women, it's

not, you know, it's not the

762

:

trans men doing these things.

763

:

It is, it is the, the, the heterosexual

generally white men, statistically

764

:

showing that they're the ones doing this.

765

:

We can talk about predators, we

can talk about sexual assault.

766

:

It has nothing to do with, yeah.

767

:

It has nothing I'd love to do with

trans people using the bathroom.

768

:

I showed my students a Phyllis

Schlafly Betty for Dan Debate.

769

:

It was on Good Morning

America about the ERA.

770

:

It's fantastic.

771

:

Yeah.

772

:

And in the, in that conversation

about the ERA Phyllis Schlafly, her

773

:

big argument was girls are gonna

be, uh, drafted if the ERA passes.

774

:

Right?

775

:

But then she also, her other

argument was the bathrooms.

776

:

What's gonna happen when people

start using all the same bathrooms?

777

:

So they were using bathrooms as

a fear tactic as early as the

778

:

late sixties, early seventies.

779

:

Dash: Yeah.

780

:

And, and women's bathrooms

became kind of a refuge.

781

:

It was the only place

they were safe from men.

782

:

Like they had that big like

antichamber, this culture of

783

:

going to the restroom in groups.

784

:

Uh, that's because men

aren't safe to be around.

785

:

Nothing to do with trans people,

but there's a couple of trans

786

:

sports things up in front of Scotus.

787

:

And, uh, Conley Barrett of all people gave

remarks that they were a bit too sweeping.

788

:

And it's, um, it's important

because they're starting to realize

789

:

that none of this shit is real.

790

:

That they've fallen for a

boogeyman and they're actually

791

:

about to legislate themselves.

792

:

Cis women and cis men are going to

be punished by this trans people.

793

:

I hate to tell y'all this, but you

have been pissing and shitting next

794

:

to trans people your entire life.

795

:

Yep.

796

:

We blend right the hell in the

person that's gonna be policed by

797

:

this is the effeminate man, the

masculine looking woman, the intersex

798

:

person, the non-binary person.

799

:

Beck: There's a lady I

follow recently on Facebook.

800

:

So she got posted on some right wing

website and she's straight, she has

801

:

kids and everything, but she has a more

masculine face and the hate that she

802

:

has been getting, saying, you're always

gonna be a dude, blah, blah, blah, blah.

803

:

Like all of the things that you

can imagine they would say to her.

804

:

And she's literally like, has children,

like has giant breasts, you know, like,

805

:

Dash: yeah,

806

:

Beck: I, and I realize that the trans

person can have children and the

807

:

trans person can have breasts and

all those kinds of things, but like.

808

:

Dash: Just because she could

probably kick your ass and it

809

:

wouldn't make you wanna fuck her.

810

:

That's why you're mad at her.

811

:

Yeah.

812

:

Like,

813

:

Beck: yeah.

814

:

That's the whole, you just nailed

the unfuck ability is the problem.

815

:

That's what people actually get mad about.

816

:

Dash: And it's always a joke too that

says the exact correct thing, but somebody

817

:

said on some social media, this whole

trans bathroom panic has taught me.

818

:

Conservatives, especially conservative

men, public restrooms are deeply

819

:

sexual places for these people.

820

:

Yeah.

821

:

And, and whatever they think is going

on in women's restrooms, they're

822

:

who, who we should be afraid of.

823

:

Beck: And in all, it was

never about the restrooms.

824

:

Like it was never about

the water fountains.

825

:

You know what I mean?

826

:

It's just a lot of

bullshit throwing in there.

827

:

Um, it's a trans panic.

828

:

They are totally trying

to control the narrative.

829

:

Look over here and, and, and hate these

people, and don't pay attention to what

830

:

we're doing behind the curtain here.

831

:

I noticed I haven't heard of any

trans people on the Epstein list.

832

:

Dash: No.

833

:

And have you noticed that

they have stopped, it's, it's

834

:

coming back a little bit.

835

:

There's a few anti-D drag bills that,

uh, that are, are worth mentioning,

836

:

but, uh, the discourse about all trans

people being groomers has died down.

837

:

And it's because they've got

to normalize pedophilia now.

838

:

Yeah.

839

:

And so they, because they're being

outed as pedophiles, like we're.

840

:

All that shit's gonna come out.

841

:

It may be after their long dead

and can, and consequences can

842

:

no longer be, you know, applied.

843

:

But it's coming out.

844

:

The Sasha Riley testimony

is going, it is incredible.

845

:

He may not have any proof, but the details

are on point and some of it is trackable.

846

:

Beck: Yeah.

847

:

Dash: And the files

themselves, blah, blah, blah.

848

:

Like it's, it's all gonna come out.

849

:

So now they've gotta normalize pedophilia

because they themselves are pedophiles.

850

:

So it's not as fashionable now.

851

:

I haven't been called

a groomer in forever.

852

:

Beck: Wow.

853

:

There's, I don't know if

you've heard about it yet.

854

:

Um, it's been making the

news channels around here.

855

:

There's a drag queen who owns a food

truck, um, that's running for office.

856

:

Yeah.

857

:

And he, he's running for, uh, Congress,

uh, sugar, I think is his drag name.

858

:

Yeah, like he's, he is, he's

well known in Toledo circles.

859

:

Like I'm, I follow some Toledo,

uh, Facebook pages and he's always

860

:

on there trolling people like, and

he's always really smart about it.

861

:

But he is running as a libertarian,

which I found interesting.

862

:

But people, some people are like, go on.

863

:

He's getting a lot of the, if

you don't even know what you are,

864

:

which tells me people don't even

understand the basic difference

865

:

between drag and trans, you know?

866

:

Dash: No, they don't.

867

:

And they don't know

anything about performance.

868

:

Like these are people that don't

realize they're performing their gender.

869

:

Beck: Yeah.

870

:

Dash: All the time.

871

:

They

872

:

Beck: need a good Judy b

lecture is what they need.

873

:

Dash: Yeah.

874

:

Plenty of people could do you.

875

:

So for a time there, have you ever

read the, the Martha Nusbaum, like

876

:

diatribe against Judith Butler?

877

:

It's called the Professor of

Parody, which was the first.

878

:

She read, I think it was gender Trouble,

the very first thing and was so mad that

879

:

Judith didn't have the answer, basically.

880

:

So she couldn't accept that.

881

:

And, and I'm not saying, you know, some

of her critiques were, I haven't read it

882

:

in a long time, but I remember thinking

like, okay, yeah, I see your point there.

883

:

But Judith Butler didn't set

out to solve gender for us.

884

:

She was creating an analytic, uh, and

she did a great job because to this

885

:

day, we can still refer to gender

trouble and if we need to to teach,

886

:

it's a good like text to teach from.

887

:

But yeah, they, they had this whole

like spat going back and forth.

888

:

I mean, there's academic, uh, beef that

just would shock you, the stuff people do.

889

:

Beck: Oh, it wouldn't,

it wouldn't shock me.

890

:

I've been in academia too long.

891

:

beck_23_01-16-2026_151745: I remember

892

:

dash_22_01-16-2026_141745: I.

893

:

beck_23_01-16-2026_151745:

about the cult of True Womanhood

894

:

which is an older article, but

it's an idea before it's time.

895

:

Basically, the idea is that women

have these four kind of pillars

896

:

that they have to stand up to.

897

:

Uh, pity, domesticity,

submissiveness, and.

898

:

Purity, Like you can't,

you have to be a virgin.

899

:

And then PD, you have to be

responsible for like the, the

900

:

family's religious education.

901

:

You have to be a church going

902

:

dash_22_01-16-2026_141745: Mm-hmm.

903

:

beck_23_01-16-2026_151745: You

have to be a domestic goddess and

904

:

you have to submit to your man.

905

:

Right?

906

:

And they've been talking about these

four pillars of womanhood from in

907

:

magazine articles, from like the 1830s.

908

:

Like this has been the idea of what a real

woman is in America for over 200 years.

909

:

Right.

910

:

200 years.

911

:

And it's wild to me that the expectations

of women have not changed at all.

912

:

But the expectations of men

have wildly changed, right?

913

:

Because men of that time, they

had to be good farmers and, and,

914

:

you know, good animal husbandry

people and, and things like that.

915

:

And men don't need that nowadays.

916

:

Most of them don't.

917

:

Anyway.

918

:

So what it takes to be a

man is very different than

919

:

what it takes to be a woman.

920

:

But yet, we don't change.

921

:

We don't adapt.

922

:

There's so many things that you

could say about a woman that are

923

:

outside of those four pillars.

924

:

There's so much more to being a

woman than just those four things.

925

:

And to reduce it down to

just, that is wild to me.

926

:

But it, it doesn't change.

927

:

It's, they still expect

the same out of us.

928

:

dash_22_01-16-2026_141745:

No, that's a good point.

929

:

Like you can tell that something is not.

930

:

It doesn't have you

know, agency or freedom.

931

:

If it doesn't evolve, it's like femininity

is so Constrained, confined, policed,

932

:

controlled, uh, and you know, going

back to what we were talking about

933

:

earlier, that only happens by design.

934

:

People would love to act like, oh,

it just, well, men are just, they

935

:

just happen to be better at war.

936

:

Men happen to be better.

937

:

That's a kind of war men wage, like.

938

:

And then, oh God, did you see?

939

:

I probably not, but, so

there's this terminally online

940

:

pick me bitch named Pearl.

941

:

Just pearly things is

her, like online stuff.

942

:

She hangs out in the manosphere.

943

:

It's, she's dreadful.

944

:

And she decided, I don't know what got

into her tiny P brain, she decided to

945

:

debate, literally standing on a stage

behind a podium and a kiss, like.

946

:

beck_23_01-16-2026_151745:

know who that is.

947

:

dash_22_01-16-2026_141745:

She's a, a political analyst.

948

:

Uh, you'd know her if you saw her, and

she's like, she has a, a tongue, right?

949

:

Like she's silver tongue.

950

:

She, she's just cuts right to the quick.

951

:

It is one of the most, it's like

cr, it's super embarrassing.

952

:

Like you get secondhand embarrassment

from watching it because what, what

953

:

Pearl and these manosphere dudes do.

954

:

And so she just like copies what they

say is like the shit about like, well

955

:

alimony, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

956

:

It's unfair.

957

:

And she'll, and there's

the made up statistics.

958

:

So it's one thing she said was like.

959

:

90% of court custody

cases go the mom's way.

960

:

And, and experience said like,

that sounds wildly inaccurate.

961

:

Is that made up?

962

:

Where are you citing that from?

963

:

And she's, Pearl doesn't get asked that

because they just, they all in that,

964

:

in that manosphere, they just trade

these fake facts around each other.

965

:

Like this is their currency.

966

:

And she short circuited.

967

:

She, she just like.

968

:

Dropped the microphone and stared out

into the dis, I think she dissociated

969

:

for 30 seconds of just dead air silence.

970

:

And this happened multiple

times in this debate.

971

:

And it got to the point where Ann

Experian, I think she was a little

972

:

concerned about her 'cause she

was like, this isn't going well.

973

:

Do we need to stop?

974

:

But there's, you know, that whole like.

975

:

Well, men suicidality you know, all

these manosphere talking points, but

976

:

what you're describing is patriarchy.

977

:

You, what you're describing is how you

are struggling under patriarchy, and I

978

:

would love for that to change for you.

979

:

But what I need you to

recognize is the fact that.

980

:

It's you that set it up that way.

981

:

It's masculinity, it's patriarchy that

has set your misery in motion here.

982

:

And that that always breaks down.

983

:

Like they just don't, they

can't talk about that.

984

:

beck_23_01-16-2026_151745: Gotta love it.

985

:

I did, at least, I didn't have

anybody tell me they don't

986

:

use pronouns this semester.

987

:

So there's that though I do start my

conversation when, because the way

988

:

that I do it is I, uh, the first day

of classes I have an attendance sheet

989

:

and I take a stab at their last name

and then they can tell me the first

990

:

dash_22_01-16-2026_141745: Yeah.

991

:

beck_23_01-16-2026_151745: they wanna use.

992

:

And before I even got started, I was like,

and don't tell me you don't use pronouns.

993

:

I will make fun of you all semester

if you tell me something like that.

994

:

And so nobody tells me that shit.

995

:

So.

996

:

dash_22_01-16-2026_141745: Uh, some

people just, they need to pick a struggle.

997

:

beck_23_01-16-2026_151745: Yeah.

998

:

dash_22_01-16-2026_141745: Well, did

you bring a noun of Appalachian interest

999

:

beck_23_01-16-2026_151745: I did.

:

00:42:44,581 --> 00:42:45,121

I did.

:

00:42:45,321 --> 00:42:45,741

All right.

:

00:42:45,741 --> 00:42:49,311

Today's noun of Appalachian

interest is blinko glass.

:

00:42:49,551 --> 00:42:52,341

If you grew up anywhere near

West Virginia, there's a decent

:

00:42:52,341 --> 00:42:53,751

chance you've seen blinko glass.

:

00:42:53,751 --> 00:42:57,111

Without realizing it, it might've been

on a window sill at your grandma's

:

00:42:57,111 --> 00:42:58,761

house, catching the afternoon sun.

:

00:42:59,061 --> 00:43:01,581

It might've been holding sweet

tea, or it might've been that one

:

00:43:01,581 --> 00:43:03,081

vase everyone warned you about.

:

00:43:03,286 --> 00:43:04,006

Don't touch that.

:

00:43:04,006 --> 00:43:04,726

That's Blinko.

:

00:43:05,126 --> 00:43:09,446

Blinko Glass was founded in:

William j Blinko, an English glass

:

00:43:09,446 --> 00:43:13,346

maker who knew his way around hot

furnaces long before he came to the us.

:

00:43:13,766 --> 00:43:17,576

After a few moves and false starts, the

company landed in Milton, West Virginia

:

00:43:17,576 --> 00:43:20,306

in:

:

00:43:20,576 --> 00:43:23,066

Turns out Appalachia was a good

place for people who knew how

:

00:43:23,066 --> 00:43:24,806

to work with fire and patience.

:

00:43:25,206 --> 00:43:30,226

first, Blinko made flat Glass for stained

glass windows later on, especially during

:

00:43:30,226 --> 00:43:34,126

the hard years of the Great Depression,

they started making colorful glassware,

:

00:43:34,186 --> 00:43:38,656

VAEs, pitchers, bottles, things people

could actually use in their homes.

:

00:43:38,926 --> 00:43:42,256

That shift helped keep the company going

when a lot of others didn't make it.

:

00:43:42,656 --> 00:43:46,226

Every piece of Blinko glass is

still hand blown shaped by people

:

00:43:46,226 --> 00:43:48,026

using breath tools and timing.

:

00:43:48,326 --> 00:43:51,476

No machine spitting out identical

co copies, and that's why no

:

00:43:51,476 --> 00:43:53,246

two pieces look exactly alike.

:

00:43:53,486 --> 00:43:56,846

One might lean, a little, one might

have bubbles, and that's not a mistake.

:

00:43:56,846 --> 00:43:57,801

It's proof that someone made it.

:

00:43:58,405 --> 00:44:00,205

The colors are also part of the legend.

:

00:44:00,535 --> 00:44:04,015

Deep blues, greens, yellows, reds,

glass that looks like it belongs

:

00:44:04,015 --> 00:44:05,635

in the sunlight and opens curtains.

:

00:44:06,128 --> 00:44:07,898

You don't hide blinko

unless you're scared.

:

00:44:07,898 --> 00:44:09,218

Somebody's gonna knock it over.

:

00:44:09,458 --> 00:44:12,218

You set it out where it can be

seen because it earned that spot.

:

00:44:13,051 --> 00:44:16,351

very appalachian about blinko,

both being art and practical.

:

00:44:16,561 --> 00:44:19,321

It can be fancy, but it can

also hold water, flowers, or

:

00:44:19,321 --> 00:44:20,731

whatever drink you've got ready.

:

00:44:21,031 --> 00:44:23,371

It says I, I look nice,

but I have a job to do.

:

00:44:23,771 --> 00:44:26,981

if you've ever been to the Blinko factory

and watched glass being made, you know

:

00:44:26,981 --> 00:44:31,241

how it feels like half magic and half like

you're watching someone cook with lava.

:

00:44:31,571 --> 00:44:33,821

It's hot, fast, and steady all at once.

:

00:44:34,061 --> 00:44:37,241

You walk out knowing you just saw a

skill that has to be passed down, not

:

00:44:37,241 --> 00:44:39,341

rushed, not automated, just practiced.

:

00:44:39,731 --> 00:44:42,791

So that's today's noun, not just

glass, not just history, but West

:

00:44:42,791 --> 00:44:46,961

Virginia Glass made by people who

stayed, adapted and kept making

:

00:44:46,961 --> 00:44:48,581

something worth sitting in the window.

:

00:44:48,981 --> 00:44:49,731

-:

:

00:44:50,060 --> 00:44:51,560

-:

it really is a well-known thing,

:

00:44:51,560 --> 00:44:53,150

especially around the Huntington area.

:

00:44:53,330 --> 00:44:54,980

Like Blinko is world famous.

:

00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:58,830

Shanna wants, wants a, a glass fish

like her grandmother had, so we're gonna

:

00:44:58,830 --> 00:45:00,240

have to have one of those at some time.

:

00:45:00,580 --> 00:45:03,040

And I've bought her a couple of

Blinko pieces over the years.

:

00:45:03,370 --> 00:45:04,810

But I've never had it myself.

:

00:45:04,810 --> 00:45:08,380

Shanna has some, but I've been to the

factory and watched him make it before.

:

00:45:08,380 --> 00:45:09,520

That's really interesting.

:

00:45:09,925 --> 00:45:12,305

-:

bet I didn't know anything about it.

:

00:45:12,305 --> 00:45:16,005

Like, I don't know, it probably wasn't

much of a thing where I grew up, but glass

:

00:45:16,005 --> 00:45:18,435

in general, like glassware was a big deal.

:

00:45:18,435 --> 00:45:19,665

Like people collected,

:

00:45:20,065 --> 00:45:20,485

-:

:

00:45:20,935 --> 00:45:23,605

-:

grandparents on my dad's side, their

:

00:45:23,605 --> 00:45:29,495

basement, all the walls were shells just

lined with what were probably prohibition

:

00:45:29,495 --> 00:45:35,955

era liquor bottles, but they were just

interesting colors and like blown glass.

:

00:45:36,355 --> 00:45:38,215

-:

have an acquaintance that works there.

:

00:45:38,285 --> 00:45:38,975

-:

:

00:45:38,990 --> 00:45:41,730

-:

friends with my ex and then we worked

:

00:45:41,730 --> 00:45:44,550

together at Amazon, but she was

kind of cool to me the whole time.

:

00:45:44,890 --> 00:45:46,210

But so I call her an acquaintance.

:

00:45:46,210 --> 00:45:47,290

Anyway, she works there.

:

00:45:47,290 --> 00:45:48,610

She's one of their managers now.

:

00:45:48,940 --> 00:45:49,930

And seems to love it.

:

00:45:49,960 --> 00:45:52,957

So I think it, I, Shannon

would love to get into blowing

:

00:45:52,957 --> 00:45:53,917

glass and stuff like that.

:

00:45:53,917 --> 00:45:56,197

It's just an expensive

hobby and hard to get into.

:

00:45:56,437 --> 00:45:59,237

-:

there's a glass bowling competition

:

00:45:59,237 --> 00:46:05,637

show I watched for a while, but the

American versions of like the artisan

:

00:46:05,697 --> 00:46:07,677

competition shows are not good.

:

00:46:08,077 --> 00:46:12,540

I, the British various universe of.

:

00:46:12,940 --> 00:46:17,620

Competitions like Bakeoff and

sewing, bee pottery, Throwdown, all

:

00:46:17,620 --> 00:46:19,450

that stuff, they're really elite.

:

00:46:19,510 --> 00:46:22,990

They like created the, the

mold and it's a culture.

:

00:46:22,990 --> 00:46:26,651

Americans don't compete like British

people do, Like Americans are out here

:

00:46:26,651 --> 00:46:30,011

like fucking sabotaging each other,

talking shit, forming alliances.

:

00:46:30,636 --> 00:46:35,576

Can you imagine a bunch of potters forming

an alliance like they're on Survivor?

:

00:46:35,976 --> 00:46:38,016

-:

can, that was Shana's specialty in,

:

00:46:38,016 --> 00:46:42,636

in, in college was, uh, ceramics

and so there it was very cliquey.

:

00:46:42,816 --> 00:46:43,386

So I can

:

00:46:43,516 --> 00:46:43,806

-:

:

00:46:43,896 --> 00:46:44,676

-:

like that happening.

:

00:46:50,054 --> 00:46:53,504

-:

made like two things in high school.

:

00:46:53,504 --> 00:46:56,324

We were really lucky at that, you

know, high school I went to and talked

:

00:46:56,324 --> 00:46:57,644

about how, what a good school it was.

:

00:46:58,034 --> 00:47:02,964

And they had a, the, the art room

was just filled with materials.

:

00:47:02,964 --> 00:47:04,764

It had a full size walk-in kiln.

:

00:47:05,184 --> 00:47:08,933

Like we got to try all kind, play

with all kinds of cool techniques.

:

00:47:09,333 --> 00:47:12,223

So I, I made a few sculptures,

I guess you'd call 'em.

:

00:47:12,223 --> 00:47:14,263

They weren't, uh, pottery, but.

:

00:47:14,663 --> 00:47:17,393

I found I have found most

art very frustrating.

:

00:47:17,393 --> 00:47:18,948

I'm just not particularly good at it

:

00:47:19,348 --> 00:47:22,138

-:

have never tried pottery before that,

:

00:47:22,138 --> 00:47:25,288

which is surprising since that's her,

was her whole world for several years.

:

00:47:25,658 --> 00:47:28,508

I've just never had the opportunity

to get my hands in clay like that.

:

00:47:28,558 --> 00:47:32,498

I'd love to try it, but I did have

to take two drawing classes as an

:

00:47:32,498 --> 00:47:36,428

undergrad as part of my major My

associate's degree was in it, and

:

00:47:36,428 --> 00:47:38,318

you know how many websites you draw.

:

00:47:38,890 --> 00:47:41,320

It still doesn't make any sense to

me why I had to take drawing classes.

:

00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:46,010

But I'm still glad I took 'em because I

learned how to basically make a, a generic

:

00:47:46,010 --> 00:47:49,700

representation of something Like, I'm

not gonna make, I, I could draw my table

:

00:47:49,700 --> 00:47:53,630

and tv, but, and it would look like my

table and tv, but it wouldn't be exact.

:

00:47:53,630 --> 00:47:55,610

The proportions would be

wrong and that kind of thing.

:

00:47:55,940 --> 00:48:00,600

But taking a drawing class really teaches

you how to see things like objects.

:

00:48:01,090 --> 00:48:03,490

-:

as far as being able to reproduce.

:

00:48:03,550 --> 00:48:07,763

Like I could, I could go like, all right,

I can draw that because I'm looking at it.

:

00:48:08,003 --> 00:48:12,743

I can, I can use, you know, this,

this particular technique or

:

00:48:12,743 --> 00:48:15,233

skill to create this illusion.

:

00:48:15,653 --> 00:48:20,313

But what frustrated me was like

never getting to a place where I

:

00:48:20,313 --> 00:48:24,423

could take what I saw in my mind's

eye and make it in real life.

:

00:48:24,823 --> 00:48:26,833

I don't think I've ever

once had that happen.

:

00:48:27,728 --> 00:48:28,958

-:

I have with photography.

:

00:48:28,958 --> 00:48:31,358

With photography was where

I found my, my niche.

:

00:48:31,758 --> 00:48:32,808

-:

I didn't take photography.

:

00:48:32,838 --> 00:48:33,318

-:

:

00:48:33,738 --> 00:48:34,848

Well, I worked at a studio,

:

00:48:35,208 --> 00:48:35,718

-:

:

00:48:35,958 --> 00:48:37,728

-:

learned hands on, I did take every

:

00:48:37,728 --> 00:48:40,488

photography class I could get my

hands on when I was an undergrad.

:

00:48:40,888 --> 00:48:43,138

-:

was so prohibitively expensive.

:

00:48:43,538 --> 00:48:46,058

-:

especially when I got into it because it

:

00:48:46,058 --> 00:48:48,038

was when the digital divide was coming.

:

00:48:48,333 --> 00:48:48,553

-:

:

00:48:48,668 --> 00:48:51,038

-:

getting harder to find and more expensive

:

00:48:51,038 --> 00:48:54,908

and the chemicals were more expensive and

even buying a camera was more expensive.

:

00:48:54,968 --> 00:48:58,038

'cause the film ones were it

was a weird time because now

:

00:48:58,038 --> 00:48:59,328

they're still making film cameras.

:

00:48:59,328 --> 00:49:00,378

They started new lines.

:

00:49:00,378 --> 00:49:01,458

People are going back to film

:

00:49:01,788 --> 00:49:02,298

-:

:

00:49:02,298 --> 00:49:02,568

Yeah.

:

00:49:02,968 --> 00:49:04,348

Well, it's kitsch now.

:

00:49:04,618 --> 00:49:07,678

It's, you know, people are

like, oh, it's nostalgic.

:

00:49:07,798 --> 00:49:07,918

You know?

:

00:49:07,918 --> 00:49:07,978

It

:

00:49:08,428 --> 00:49:08,758

-:

:

00:49:08,788 --> 00:49:10,468

-:

comes back around to that, I think.

:

00:49:10,868 --> 00:49:11,258

-:

:

00:49:11,658 --> 00:49:11,838

Yeah.

:

00:49:11,838 --> 00:49:13,308

I used to be pretty good at photography.

:

00:49:13,308 --> 00:49:16,248

I used, I used, I mean, I, I was the

head photographer at a business that

:

00:49:16,248 --> 00:49:21,238

was very successful, so we did babies

and weddings and high school seniors

:

00:49:21,238 --> 00:49:23,548

and old couples and whole families and

:

00:49:23,948 --> 00:49:27,648

-:

used to carry those disposable cameras.

:

00:49:27,648 --> 00:49:31,398

I would buy them just by the arm

load and take pictures a lot.

:

00:49:31,798 --> 00:49:37,858

And I had thousands of photos of

just all the places I had been.

:

00:49:37,858 --> 00:49:41,158

I traveled all around a lot when

I was younger and at some 0.1

:

00:49:41,158 --> 00:49:44,938

place or another that I was living

or crashing, they disappeared.

:

00:49:45,338 --> 00:49:48,788

And I know I'll never, you know,

there's no way I'll never find those.

:

00:49:49,188 --> 00:49:51,888

But they exist somewhere, which

is really weird to me sometimes,

:

00:49:51,888 --> 00:49:54,018

like sometimes I'll think about the

fact that like somebody has those.

:

00:49:54,939 --> 00:49:55,359

-:

:

00:49:56,007 --> 00:50:00,137

when my mom died, that was a really hard

time for me and just getting outta bed

:

00:50:00,137 --> 00:50:02,297

sometimes was a very difficult task.

:

00:50:02,777 --> 00:50:04,877

So I gave myself assignments.

:

00:50:04,877 --> 00:50:08,187

There was a really cool park in

Bowling Green called the Simpson

:

00:50:08,187 --> 00:50:10,467

Garden Park, and it's beautiful.

:

00:50:10,707 --> 00:50:13,467

They have several different gardens

within it, and there's a walking

:

00:50:13,467 --> 00:50:14,887

track and there's art all through it.

:

00:50:15,614 --> 00:50:18,284

I would give myself assignments and

I would just take my cell phone.

:

00:50:18,284 --> 00:50:19,694

I wouldn't even take my big camera.

:

00:50:19,694 --> 00:50:22,544

I would take my cell phone and I

would give myself assignments to

:

00:50:22,544 --> 00:50:25,724

take like, like one of my assignments

was Rainbow, so I'd have to take.

:

00:50:25,724 --> 00:50:27,224

A picture of something of every color.

:

00:50:27,274 --> 00:50:31,874

While I was at the park or dramatic, uh,

dramatic bitches was one, was one of my

:

00:50:31,874 --> 00:50:36,344

categories because there's lots of flowers

out there that are very dramatic bitches.

:

00:50:36,624 --> 00:50:40,454

So that would, dead things like you'd

only take pictures of dead flowers

:

00:50:40,454 --> 00:50:42,974

or dead trees or things like, I had

all kinds of little assignments,

:

00:50:43,304 --> 00:50:46,304

but it kept me interested in

something and kept me getting outta

:

00:50:46,304 --> 00:50:48,314

bed and going outside and walking

:

00:50:48,699 --> 00:50:48,989

-:

:

00:50:49,184 --> 00:50:53,324

-:

and it really helped me get through.

:

00:50:53,724 --> 00:50:57,154

The, the two years after I lost

mom when we moved down to to

:

00:50:57,154 --> 00:50:59,554

Portsmouth, I really missed it.

:

00:50:59,554 --> 00:51:01,864

That was something that was one of

the hardest things for me to give up,

:

00:51:02,284 --> 00:51:03,544

but there was nothing like that down

:

00:51:03,604 --> 00:51:04,054

-:

:

00:51:04,454 --> 00:51:05,924

-:

yeah, I love taking pictures.

:

00:51:06,124 --> 00:51:07,864

-:

have to have a photography challenge.

:

00:51:08,264 --> 00:51:08,714

-:

:

00:51:09,114 --> 00:51:11,514

-:

set us all one and we'll make a, we'll

:

00:51:11,514 --> 00:51:13,434

make a, a thread or something about it.

:

00:51:13,834 --> 00:51:14,284

-:

:

00:51:14,684 --> 00:51:16,364

-:

Well, I gotta get back to work.

:

00:51:16,764 --> 00:51:18,564

-:

I forgot you were working today.

:

00:51:18,864 --> 00:51:19,884

-:

:

00:51:20,284 --> 00:51:21,844

-:

we're taking the next two days off,

:

00:51:21,844 --> 00:51:23,164

so I've gotta get shit done today.

:

00:51:23,164 --> 00:51:25,654

And then I don't have class on Monday

because of Martin Luther King Day.

:

00:51:25,714 --> 00:51:26,104

-:

:

00:51:26,414 --> 00:51:27,644

-:

I'll work some more then, but

:

00:51:27,644 --> 00:51:31,604

I'm, we're gonna take two days off

and just enjoy being together so.

:

00:51:32,117 --> 00:51:34,132

-:

see a shitload of doctors on Monday.

:

00:51:34,532 --> 00:51:35,097

-:

:

00:51:35,341 --> 00:51:37,201

-:

hoping they'll give me good news.

:

00:51:37,261 --> 00:51:38,376

You know, it's, it's like follow ups.

:

00:51:39,592 --> 00:51:44,022

Uh, well, listeners that it was,

thanks for hanging out with us again.

:

00:51:44,082 --> 00:51:46,452

Let us know if you have

ever been on a snip hunt

:

00:51:46,852 --> 00:51:49,492

-:

any suggestions for Appalachian nouns

:

00:51:49,492 --> 00:51:51,262

of interest, please send them my way.

:

00:51:51,562 --> 00:51:54,532

You can email us at mailbag@queernext.com

:

00:51:54,802 --> 00:51:56,872

or under any of our social posts.

:

00:51:56,872 --> 00:51:58,432

You can, you can comment there.

:

00:51:58,832 --> 00:52:00,512

-:

Yeah, please do one thing.

:

00:52:00,512 --> 00:52:03,672

I it is like we, you know,

Appalachia is incredibly diverse.

:

00:52:03,672 --> 00:52:05,022

It's, it's a large region.

:

00:52:05,422 --> 00:52:09,472

Most of my knowledge is filtered

through Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky.

:

00:52:09,472 --> 00:52:12,952

Yours is, uh, West Virginia, Ohio region.

:

00:52:12,952 --> 00:52:16,822

Like, you know, we wanna know about

where, where y'all are from and, and

:

00:52:16,822 --> 00:52:20,402

if you're not from Appalachia, you

know, there's gotta be, you know,

:

00:52:20,402 --> 00:52:25,787

similar, similar experiences across,

uh, you know, different locations.

:

00:52:26,187 --> 00:52:28,392

And we wanna know about

'em 'cause we like people

:

00:52:28,792 --> 00:52:29,632

-:

Most of the time.

:

00:52:30,007 --> 00:52:30,577

-:

:

00:52:30,577 --> 00:52:31,597

Right on that note.

:

00:52:31,597 --> 00:52:32,147

Fuck ICE.

:

00:52:32,167 --> 00:52:32,947

Fuck Donald Trump.

:

00:52:33,007 --> 00:52:34,207

Fuck Kristi Noem

:

00:52:34,649 --> 00:52:35,339

-:

:

00:52:35,739 --> 00:52:37,089

-:

Fuck Steven Miller,

:

00:52:37,224 --> 00:52:37,524

-:

:

00:52:39,614 --> 00:52:40,979

-:

you know, is a bird legged ho.

:

00:52:41,379 --> 00:52:42,644

That's been my vocal.

:

00:52:44,470 --> 00:52:45,760

It's a whole song too.

:

00:52:45,760 --> 00:52:46,000

Like,

:

00:52:47,457 --> 00:52:52,077

I, I, I know the pers like, it

is gotta be possible to find

:

00:52:52,077 --> 00:52:53,607

the person who made that song.

:

00:52:53,607 --> 00:52:55,407

I don't know who, so I

can like, give credit.

:

00:52:55,407 --> 00:52:57,947

But yeah, it's just perfect.

:

00:52:57,947 --> 00:52:58,847

It's the perfect chant.

:

00:52:59,247 --> 00:53:00,267

-:

:

00:53:00,717 --> 00:53:03,657

-:

an O is such a fucking read.

:

00:53:04,057 --> 00:53:06,697

That's some middle school, like

if somebody called you that, that

:

00:53:06,697 --> 00:53:08,682

would send you to the shadow realm.

:

00:53:09,082 --> 00:53:09,712

-:

Did you see that?

:

00:53:09,712 --> 00:53:11,092

Me my posted the other day?

:

00:53:11,092 --> 00:53:11,722

Scientist.

:

00:53:11,722 --> 00:53:15,682

I'm going to name you the wedge fish,

uh, because you were shaped like a wedge.

:

00:53:15,902 --> 00:53:20,935

Fish bite, scientist, bony eared

ass fish, bony eared ass fish.

:

00:53:21,955 --> 00:53:23,785

That's what I wanna be reincarnated as is

:

00:53:24,005 --> 00:53:24,575

-:

:

00:53:25,572 --> 00:53:28,312

well from your lips to God's ears.

:

00:53:28,712 --> 00:53:29,822

Stay safe everybody.

:

00:53:29,822 --> 00:53:31,472

We'll see you back here next week.

:

00:53:31,502 --> 00:53:32,427

Say hi to your mom and Neil.

:

00:53:32,827 --> 00:53:33,397

-:

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QUEERNECKS
Queer Appalachian Stories & Culture.
Join the lively hosts of QUEERNECKS for a unique podcast experience exploring the intersection of Appalachian culture and the LGBTQ+ experience. Dive into engaging stories, humorous anecdotes, and thoughtful discussions on everything from Appalachian traditions and local life to current events, LGBTQ+ issues, and building an inclusive community. If you're looking for a podcast that blends authentic Appalachian voices with insightful queer perspectives, offering both laughter and meaningful connection, then welcome to the QUEERNECKS family. Subscribe now and be part of our growing community!
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