Episode 18

full
Published on:

29th Sep 2025

Was Your Bedroom A Collage of Red-Headed Women or Were You Straight?

You're invited to our Halloween Live Party!

Have you ever seen the hilariously terrible, offensively affectionate, 1988 self-proclaimed shitty movie Curse of the Queerwolf? It's one of those movies you spend the first 15 minutes trying to decide which slur it's calling you, only to realize it was sticking up for you. If it feels dangerous to go alone, take us with you! Join Queernecks for a watch party on Halloween at 8:00 pm EST. Queernecks is a podcast about growing up queer in Appalachia, hosted by two hilarious cultural studies profs. For access to the Hall-O-Kween Live party join the $2 Broke Tier @ https://ko-fi.com/queernecks

This episode covers memorable birthday stories, struggles with quitting smoking, and reflections on queer culture and celebrity crushes. From discussing the intricacies of dissertation writing to sharing experiences with tattoo art, the hosts provide an intimate and candid look at their lives. Plus, dive into their humorous take on scarecrows as well as insights into Appalachian traditions like forecasting winter using persimmon seeds. Don't miss their chat on favorite horror movies and the challenge of navigating queer identity in a heteronormative world. Tune in for laughter, heartfelt stories, and warm camaraderie.


00:00 Welcome to Queernecks

00:27 Birthday Memories

01:17 Quitting Smoking Struggles

03:41 Continuing the PhD Journey

07:24 Fall Vibes and Horror Movies

12:51 First Crushes and Celebrity Admiration

19:39 The Persistence of Print Media

20:17 Trivia Enthusiasts Unite

21:05 Celebrity Crushes and Queer Experiences

25:14 Cultural Appropriation and Queer Culture

30:30 Therapy and Mental Health

34:54 Appalachian Weather Predictions

37:14 Car Talk and Personal Stories

40:13 Podcast Wrap-Up and Announcements

Transcript
Beck:

Welcome to Queernecks, the podcast that puts the

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Yeehaw in y'all means all.

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I'm your host,

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Beck: Beck,

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Dash: and I'm your host.

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Dash.

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Welcome to today's episode.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

in front of me here.

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Oscar, you can sit here, but you've

gotta, we gotta make this work.

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Okay.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

you got a birthday coming up.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I do.

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I actually remembered that.

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I think it was yesterday.

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I forget about 'em.

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I, I forget everybody's birthday

actually, but I also forget my own.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

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Uh, yours is easy to remember

'cause it's Shana's birthday too.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

yeah, my parents forget it too.

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So mom called me one year on my birthday,

which this is when I was still in college.

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I was like, oh shit.

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She remembered and she's just

talking, talking, talking.

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And then she is like, what are you doing?

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And I said, well, me and Josh

are sitting here drinking a beer.

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in the background he goes, birthday beer.

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And she goes, oh, whose birthday is it?

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It's like, it's mine.

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And she felt bad, of course.

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So, I'm just saying I come by it honestly.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

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Birthdays were a big deal in my family.

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You always got cake and they took you

out to dinner and a present to unwrap.

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a birthday's not a birthday.

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If you don't get cake with me,

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah, I got

myself, I've been trying to quit smoking,

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: good for you.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah, some

days have been like no cigarettes at all.

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And then a couple of days

where I have smoked one or two.

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but snacking just

doesn't sit well with me.

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Like it messes my stomach up.

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So now I just feel sick all the time.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Do you wanna quit smoking?

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Not really.

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I

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really enjoy it.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: yeah.

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Then it's gonna be even harder for you,

because that's only really to, to really

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do it, is to want to, to want to quit

smoking more than you want to smoke.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah.

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cause all of the normal reasons I

think people have is, they want to.

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change the, lifestyle, right?

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Being a smoker requires a certain kind

of lifestyle and a routine and they want

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to change the financial aspect of it,

or they want to change their health.

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none of those work for me.

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Like, I would love all those things,

but they're not compelling enough.

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When I had quit before, what was

I started to find it annoying.

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It started to become not as

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fun,

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: burden.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah.

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It started to be like, I was just like,

oh God, I have to smoke another cigarette.

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I think that's where I'm at right now.

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like, I don't feel like

doing this anymore.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

when it gets cold.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah.

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And it could be a sign that I'm starting

to feel better too, like mentally.

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Starting to be like, okay, I

can, maybe I can get some, what

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is it you get from smoking?

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Is it serotonin or do dopamine?

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I don't know.

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All I know is the nicotine.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: the stimulant.

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It gives you some sort

of There comes another cat.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I had to

use the patches to quit, but I really

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wanted to, my dad had, by the time he

died, my dad had lung cancer four times.

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and his sisters both died of,

lung issues and Watching somebody

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die of, lung cancer is, rough.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: It is,

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Plus I didn't

wanna be a doctor that that was a smoker.

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I figured that would bei.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: yeah, I

was talking to, I had to go to the

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dentist this morning Yeah, I know.

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you always have to like out yourself

at, at whatever doctor you go to.

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Like are, they'll ask

you if you're a smoker.

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I'm like, why is that your business?

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But it's like, I know

why it's your business.

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I just don't want to tell you the truth.

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the answer, I guess to the question,

why do you wanna quit smoking

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for me is it's peer pressure.

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I want everybody off my back about it,

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: which I

don't think is a very good reason.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: No.

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It's a reason, but yeah,

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah.

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But man, when she got out that pressure

washer thing they put on, your gums.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Uhhuh.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

my gums are so tender now.

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Delicate little flower gums.

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Uh, do you wanna tell the folks

the good news or the exciting news

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah, I

have decided to continue my PhD.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: That news.

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Yeah.

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You know, I really put kind of my heart

and soul into thinking about it the last

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few days, and it's gonna be a lot of work,

but I lived through an extraordinary set

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of circumstances the last four years,

and if I can make it through that.

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I, I don't wanna change my

job, you know what I mean?

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Mm-hmm.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I

have to finish this thing.

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I really don't have a

choice in the matter.

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I mean, I could choose to change

careers and, and do all that, but I'm

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not gonna make the same kind of money

I'm making and et cetera, et cetera.

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If I try to, and I'm almost

50 years old, I gotta do it.

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And I got the full support of Dr.

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Nelson today.

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She's totally on board with me.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I

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told

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: she thinks

this is a great time because where

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I'm full time, I can get the tuition

voucher and that kind of stuff.

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so she said this is the

perfect time to do it.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: man, the,

uh, longer I know her cause I worked

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with her some when I was there.

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and I've begun like working with her

again now, coming back as a student.

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I just have a lot of respect for

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her

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: you, me both.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: a lot of, trust

in, In her having the students' back.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Yeah, she's wonderful.

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So stay tuned.

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I'm gonna be really busy, but stay tuned.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: well

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: at least

I have my own office that I can

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go right in, you know what I mean?

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On campus, I don't have to share my office

with other grad students or whatever.

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I have my own office,

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah.

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you're right there in the heart of it.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yep.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

It's, the perfect time.

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Because you can, you can use that

waiver and then you'll have support,

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the grad college there, they've got

writing groups that you can sign up

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to be a part of, and you can have a

little bit of accountability that way.

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you could do it this way

as well, but you're not out

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there on your own somewhere.

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And also I think, we don't

talk about it this way.

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For PhD programs, or master's programs.

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Some of them do that require large

projects at the end, like a dissertation.

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But it really is the fun part.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: If you say so.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

this was my experience.

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so let me say that.

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And I think the reason it becomes

such a slog, the dissertation becomes

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the thing that washes people out

is because you have to do it right

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on the heels of heavy coursework.

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So for me, taking a big break between

finishing coursework and writing the

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dissertation, made the dissertation.

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It was funner than anything else I

was doing in my, life at the time.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

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I think I have a lot to say.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Mm-hmm.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

had a lot of time to think.

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I think that I wanna also, I, I don't

know if I would, would I have to

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do IRB if I did a study on Facebook

on like comments or something?

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Or is that a textual analysis?

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I

didn't so I did an Instagram

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study of Instagram hashtags.

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and I did not do IRB because it's public

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Okay.

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Because I wanna talk about some of

the comments that are out there, and

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whenever you just even breathe the word

woman next to the word baseball and some

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of the reactions that you get to it.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Well,

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I don't

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I think the

answer's no because people, they're

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public comments, but there's a lot of

different things you can do with those.

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I mean, you don't even

have to quote them fully.

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You can, you could code them for keywords

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: True.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: there's

different ways to do that.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Okay, that makes sense.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: the, the

whole point of IRB is to protect

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the subject, It's a little piece of

like credibility as well, um, like

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securing the, validity of your data.

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it's a whole lot of ethics regarding

the safety and security of the subject.

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And Facebook, well, we know certain

things to be true about Facebook as

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a social construct, but it is not

considered protected population.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Right, or speech probably.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: No, it's,

I mean, there's probably a formatting

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for whatever kind of, citation

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I used a

Facebook post in my master's thesis.

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there's a lot of public history

groups that, that gather on

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Facebook, and I used one for my

hometown and some of the articles

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that they had there, but we'll see.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: is.

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It fall there.

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It's ooky spooky

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Yeah, everything's turning red

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and, and yellow and orange.

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There's trees.

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Do you remember where I used to live

in bg, right by the high school.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: line of

giant green trees, that turn bright

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red and then they all fall off.

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But it's beautiful when they all turn red.

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cause the high school colors

are red and white, I think.

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it was one of my favorite things about

the neighborhood that I lived in.

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And so I go that way home sometimes

now just to, just to see it.

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I noticed the other day

that it's turning red.

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They're about a third

of the way there, so,

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: There

are leaves on the ground here,

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but I don't notice trees changing

colors, which is interesting.

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but I think it's also that the trees just

aren't that visible here because it's,

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it's so flat, so you have to be by a tree.

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It's

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probably the same

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there though.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

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But I live kind of out in the, the

country if you can, for Toledo.

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I live out in one of the suburbs

that's very community minded.

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The biggest thing here is the Kroger.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Well

I've been watching, horror movies.

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My favorite time of

year is fall in general.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Me too.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: but

I love watching scary movies

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it's kind of chilly feeling.

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So I've been sitting in here with the

windows open watching scurry movies,

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and I watched weapons the other night.

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Have you seen that one?

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: No,

I'm not very well ver well

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versed on scary movies at all.

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Since Silent Hill, I

haven't really watched any.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I was

gonna ask you if it was you.

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I couldn't remember if

it was you or Shana that

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wasn't,

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

like the spooky movies.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: It, she doesn't

like anything that's gory or, or that

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kind of, we both like psychological

stuff, like murders and serial

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killers and like that kind of thing.

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But like Saw, I, I just can't, with

that kind of campy ass crazy weird shit.

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that's, that's pushing it for me.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I remember

when Saw came out, we rented it from

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the Blockbuster there in Richmond.

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and I was shook the twist in that movie.

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Like, I loved it.

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I thought it was so, just a really

interesting way to play with, That

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feeling of invasiveness or violation.

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I mean, he was just right

there the whole time.

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But, when I learned that they were making

sequels, I was like, I'm not interested.

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could be interesting after that?

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah, I didn't

watch any of those after the first one.

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That was enough for me.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I

fucking love Monster movies.

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I love zombie movies.

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. Um, but I also watched

Freakier Friday, that sequel

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yep.

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I saw that one too.

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I'm a big Jamie Lee Curtis fan.

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Anyway, um, I love that they

brought everybody back and,

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and the band and all that.

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I thought Lindsay Lohan was great in it.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

She, slayed Me, man.

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her physical comedy, it really brought

me back to her days as like a, child

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actor and stuff how much she lost, I

guess to, what happened to her with

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the pressures and things like that.

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And the way we treated, female child

stars in particular at the time that

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she was one, but also selfishly how

much we were deprived of her in doing

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like what she's clearly born to do.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Yeah, I really enjoyed it.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: why did

I totally forgot, or, or something.

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The Chad Michael Murray's infatuation

with Jamie Lee Curtis in that

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first

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Mm-hmm.

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' dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: it

had to be there 'cause they kept

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referencing it in this sequel.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Yeah, it was, I remember it.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I've totally

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blocked it

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

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Yeah, because it was Lindsay Lohan

in her body and she was totally

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flirting with him, and she got her

hair cut and he was with her, and she

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rode on the motorcycle and all that,

and he was like, your mom is cool.

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Like, he was really into it.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I love it.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

My tattoo is totally healed.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: That's awesome.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yes,

I still can't believe I did it

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: How long

had it been since you got one?

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: 30 years.

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I was 18 the last time I

got a tattoo and now I'm 47.

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So 29 years

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in very different circumstances.

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This one, I had a, a, a queer

woman do my tattoo and I thought

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that was badass, that I had the

availability to make that choice.

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' cause my other two were done by men

and I don't like either of them.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Both of mine

were done by, my college crush, this

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girl that I had a big crush on, both

of them were, uh, kitchen tattoos.

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So she did 'em at her kitchen table.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Oh, nice.

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I don't even think I knew you had tattoos.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah, look,

I've got the Starship Enterprise,

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Oh yeah.

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Yeah, I remember that.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: and

then I got David's initials.

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Oh, can't see 'em.

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They're inside my arm here.

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God, these

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cats.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I got mine too.

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That's where mine is, right

there on the inside of my arm.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

It's right there.

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And then I've got one on my left hip

and one on my, uh, right inside ankle.

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they're just stupid.

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They're totally of the

nineties and shouldn't be seen.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah, I think

I want to get one, but I mean, of all

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the like dumb purchases to make right

now and I would have to drive hours and

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hours to find someone who could do it.

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' cause they don't

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Right.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: can't walk out

into a cornfield and get one of those.

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beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Well, it only

cost me 80 bucks for mine, so I didn't

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think it was too much of an investment.

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dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: a

328

:

great deal.

329

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: yeah, because

it's so little, you know what I mean?

330

:

she made me six versions to choose

from, and I chose the smallest one.

331

:

cause I, I wanted to be not

even really all that noticeable.

332

:

I wanted to be just there

for me for when I need it,

333

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah.

334

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: cause I

miss my, I every day I miss my mom

335

:

and I don't see that ever changing.

336

:

at least I carry her with

me in, in a physical way.

337

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Um,

adding things to the wheel, I,

338

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Nice.

339

:

Hi, Pita

340

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: all

right, so let's give it a spin.

341

:

Lemme make sure I took off everything.

342

:

Oh no.

343

:

This one we had had done.

344

:

All right.

345

:

We're, let's give the wheel

of what have you, a spin.

346

:

Oh, this is a good one.

347

:

I am, I've been wanting

to talk about this one.

348

:

It landed on First Crush.

349

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: First Crush.

350

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: yeah.

351

:

Which I have trouble really

pinning down, honestly.

352

:

I, like I would love to have crushes.

353

:

I'm addicted to having crushes.

354

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I

remember mine very specifically.

355

:

cause I didn't know that to call

it a crush because it was a woman,

356

:

And I, I just really was a big

fan of Miss Tricia Yearwood.

357

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

that's how I interpreted it

358

:

too, is, is CEL celebrity crush.

359

:

cause real life crush.

360

:

Those

361

:

are,

362

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

was too dangerous.

363

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: And I still,

um, I don't wanna say it out loud,

364

:

you

365

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

366

:

I'm with you.

367

:

Yep.

368

:

Because what if by chance they

would hear, Nope, nope, we ain't

369

:

doing, Nope, we ain't going there.

370

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I

could say that it happened.

371

:

IRL crush for me did not

happen until high school.

372

:

because everybody, up until

that point was so cruel to me.

373

:

When am I gonna have a crush?

374

:

When the whole school is

literally hunting me for sport,

375

:

and I'm not gonna have a crush

on Jade because I was just so

376

:

happy to have her, like that, that

friendship was so goddamn pure.

377

:

There was never gonna be any

feelings like that in it.

378

:

, It was all celebrity projection.

379

:

So for you it was Trisha Yearwood.

380

:

How old were you?

381

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: uh, 11 ish.

382

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Is

383

:

she a homophobe now?

384

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: No, she

actually recorded a version of, she's in

385

:

love with a boy that was about a girl.

386

:

She's left saying it as

she's in love with a girl.

387

:

That, that made my entire

childhood heart so happy.

388

:

You have no idea.

389

:

Yeah.

390

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

thought I remembered that.

391

:

I thought I remembered something

about her with queerness, but I was

392

:

like, was it that she's an ally or

393

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: yeah,

no, she's an ally for sure.

394

:

yeah, I remember I wrote her

a fan letter and she sent me

395

:

back a couple of signed photos

396

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Oh.

397

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

it was very cool.

398

:

I had those until they got destroyed

a couple of, a couple of movies ago.

399

:

they were in my Hope

chest for a long time.

400

:

but yeah, I've always been a big

fan of, of redheads apparently.

401

:

Yeah.

402

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I think.

403

:

Okay.

404

:

So the, there was a lot that happened

concurrently, but two that I can think

405

:

of that were probably around the same

time, that may have been the earliest

406

:

was Lindsey Wagner in the Bionic woman

407

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

I don't know that,

408

:

one.

409

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: that,

410

:

seventies show.

411

:

Oh man.

412

:

She had the most incredible,

feathered, sculpted hair.

413

:

And she would run around and

kick everybody's ass because she

414

:

was, like the $6 million van,

like Steve Austin, but a woman.

415

:

so like, she was.

416

:

Conventionally attractive, but I also

found her kind of butch in a way.

417

:

Like she was really, like strong and

active and would wear, like sporty outfits

418

:

instead of really feminine outfits.

419

:

she wasn't in like skirts and

heels and things like that.

420

:

She was always in bell bottom blue jeans.

421

:

And she would wear, baseball tees.

422

:

so I was just like, oh my God,

she's, she was so androgynous to me.

423

:

And then of course she was an action hero

and she was always out people's asses.

424

:

Uh, and then the other person that I

was had a big crush on, I don't know

425

:

why I'm like stalling, telling the

truth about this was counselor Deanna

426

:

Troi on Star Trek, the Next generation.

427

:

I would just sit and

daydream about these women.

428

:

I had a really like imaginative world

for a long time when I was a kid.

429

:

I don't know if it was because I

enjoyed that or because I was so lonely.

430

:

I, and I was writing, I didn't,

they call it fan fiction now.

431

:

I don't know what they called it in

:

432

:

characters where I interacted with them.

433

:

I was, I was a part of this

like TV world that they were on.

434

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Oh, that's cool.

435

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I

always wrote myself as a boy too.

436

:

I also wrote, X-Files fanfic,

because I was super obsessed.

437

:

Just had a gigantic crush on,

I don't know if it was Jillian

438

:

Anderson or if it was Dana Scully.

439

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah,

440

:

I'm trying to think of other

people that I've had crushes on.

441

:

I've always liked Hot Donna

from that seventies show.

442

:

I wish she wasn't such a Scientologist,

but I always thought she was beautiful.

443

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

isn't she deconstructing now?

444

:

I

445

:

thought

446

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Is she, I.

447

:

haven't paid attention in a while.

448

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: cause initially

she supported Danny Masterson, I saw like

449

:

some things on YouTube that suggested

that she might be deconstructing.

450

:

I'm not sure listeners if

you know, let us know, but

451

:

yeah,

452

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

453

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: that

like husky voice and tall and

454

:

kind of like strong looking.

455

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: An athletic,

456

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

just women who are sporty and

457

:

gender non-conforming love it.

458

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yep.

459

:

I'm with you there.

460

:

And the red hair doesn't hurt.

461

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

Did you ever have a crush on

462

:

anybody who was not a cis woman?

463

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I mean, I have

a few husbands, um, in a very platonic

464

:

sense, I would say I wasn't really

attracted to them more their personas.

465

:

It's not like if they were in

front of me, I would like try

466

:

to jump their bones or anything.

467

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: None

468

:

of them is your hall pass?

469

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

470

:

No, no, not at all.

471

:

let's think, I always like Jamie Fox.

472

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Mm-hmm.

473

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: And

Shamar Moore from Criminal Minds.

474

:

I always liked him too,

475

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

they look very different.

476

:

trying to identify a type.

477

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: but they,

they both have outgoing, very charming

478

:

personalities and I like that.

479

:

I like somebody who's funny and confident.

480

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Fun.

481

:

Yes.

482

:

Humor.

483

:

Like if I'm not physically attracted to

you, but I find you funny, I can settle.

484

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Right?

485

:

That's one of the best things about my

relationship is that we still make each

486

:

other belly laugh all these years later,

487

:

and that's one of my favorite things.

488

:

We still know how, how to

get each other in that way.

489

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I think there

were men, I could appreciate their looks.

490

:

a while there, Brad Pitt

was everywhere and I.

491

:

I remember trying to, understand my

reaction to his aesthetic because I, I

492

:

just really, really wanted his wardrobe.

493

:

I wanted permission to look like him,

494

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah,

495

:

Jennifer Anderson was another one

of my big ones, so he had her, so

496

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: right.

497

:

Did you ever, I know someone who has like

men she would lie about like her celebrity

498

:

beards because you know how girls would

always be talking about who their crushes

499

:

are and stuff, and you have to join in

or you're suspected of being a queer.

500

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Right.

501

:

Oh, no

502

:

uh,

503

:

maybe Justin Timberlake, which he's

a terrible person now, so I don't

504

:

even know what I ever saw in him.

505

:

But back in the day, he was very

handsome and he brought sexy back.

506

:

So,

507

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: He did.

508

:

Right.

509

:

even though it never left.

510

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: right

511

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: mine were

the, the heart throbs of the nineties.

512

:

All the ones that looked

like they could be girls.

513

:

So

514

:

Devin Sawa

515

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Joey McIntyre from N

516

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

Jonathan Brandis, RIP.

517

:

it was a short list of just those

kind of androgynous looking tiger

518

:

beet cover dudes in the nineties.

519

:

And I'd be like, oh yeah,

he's hot or something.

520

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Right.

521

:

Oh yeah.

522

:

I got those magazines too.

523

:

Truly for the articles,

524

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Man

magazines in the nineties.

525

:

I fucking loved magazines.

526

:

I, I, I know they still exist and

I'm sure someone still reads them.

527

:

I never see it happen.

528

:

I never see anybody buy them, but

yet there's still racks of them.

529

:

At the pharmacy or at the

Kroger or whatever, like,

530

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I

get the Smithsonian magazine.

531

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: It

532

:

gets like delivered to you.

533

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: yeah.

534

:

It was only 10 bucks for a year.

535

:

And I love the Smithsonian.

536

:

I get a daily email from Smithsonian.

537

:

I love trivia and interesting

museum theology kind of things.

538

:

and they always send out

interesting articles.

539

:

for 10 bucks, I couldn't go

wrong, but I was a long time

540

:

mental floss subscriber too.

541

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Mm-hmm.

542

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I had

all the books, I sold all of them.

543

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: What

kind of trivia are you the best at?

544

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

General knowledge, not science,

545

:

but I know, old TV shows.

546

:

I know just general random shit.

547

:

I don't really specialize

in any given area.

548

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Well,

I am pretty great at general

549

:

Knowledge trivia as well, so we

need to have a trivia battle.

550

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I am in

551

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Uh, I don't

know what, for listeners, what does

552

:

the winner of Trivia Battle get?

553

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: one will

buy the other, a cupcake or something.

554

:

We have a place here called nothing, bunt

cakes and it, they're all bunt cakes.

555

:

Tiny miniature bunt cakes, and you

could get lots of different flavors.

556

:

It's the most random thing in the world.

557

:

Just one whole store.

558

:

And all they sell is bunt cakes.

559

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: someone

had a vision and they followed it.

560

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: They're a chain.

561

:

They're they, they're everywhere.

562

:

They're like the peach cobbler factory.

563

:

Have you ever heard of them?

564

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Uh, yeah.

565

:

Oh,

566

:

you know who, so this isn't a first

crutch anymore, but I just have

567

:

a lot more to say about celebrity

crushes because I had so many of them.

568

:

And I wonder if this is a, like,

closet queer kid experience of like

569

:

secretly coveting Well, and I, and I

know that like it's normal for kids

570

:

to do this in general, but I had.

571

:

Like I would make collages of magazines,

like I would get Wizard Magazine or

572

:

people or entertainment, anytime there

was a story about the X-Files in there

573

:

or Star Trek or something in there,

and I would cut the out the pictures or

574

:

the articles and make collages of them.

575

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I was big

about, like I covered my whole room

576

:

in cutouts and like my mom had to

go in with a razor to get all of the

577

:

yellow sticky tack shit off my walls.

578

:

'cause I would cut out pictures and

quotes and put up my own pictures.

579

:

on the my ceiling, I had a poster

board that had on my friend's

580

:

phone numbers on it so I could

lay in bed and call who, whoever.

581

:

My mom thought that was genius.

582

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

I think it's genius.

583

:

I had a one wall that was all Tori Amos.

584

:

I would stay after school 'cause there

was computers at my high school and print

585

:

off pictures from the internet in 1996.

586

:

Listeners, this was a time commitment

because I wanted the, full page

587

:

pictures and I, if you've never seen

a picture load pixel by pixel, like

588

:

you just don't know what it was like.

589

:

And I would sit there and print

off pictures of Tori Amos and then

590

:

take 'em home and cut 'em out and

make just a big collage of her.

591

:

And then I would make stuff and put it

up on my other walls and also things.

592

:

I had like collages of

Star Trek and X-Files.

593

:

I loved sci-fi in general.

594

:

It wasn't all about like cute girls

I've always liked science fiction.

595

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

I had a Steve Erkel doll.

596

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Damn.

597

:

Did it talk?

598

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: It did.

599

:

It said, got cheese.

600

:

Did I do that?

601

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Jesus.

602

:

You remember Stefan Arkel,

603

:

his

604

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah,

605

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

evil Quin, the TGIF uh, lineup

606

:

in the nineties was just it.

607

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: it

was 'cause I was always home on

608

:

Friday night or at my grandma's.

609

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: once

I started to like get in to be a

610

:

teenager, I got really into music.

611

:

And so it was, it went from being like

actresses to musicians and I got super

612

:

into like both Tori Amos and um, Ani

DiFranco, which for some reason why, why

613

:

is talking about this so embarrassing?

614

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Because you

were like the most typical lesbian

615

:

I've ever heard of in my life.

616

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: And I

guess I was like ashamed at the time

617

:

of having these, like infatuations.

618

:

I remember trying to tell mom

I'm pretty sure I'm queer.

619

:

And parents, they have this superpower

where they can just go, I disagree.

620

:

Like, you tell them something

about yourself and they, they

621

:

get to disagree with you.

622

:

They get to disagree with

what you know about you.

623

:

And it had taken me like weeks

to work up to telling her this.

624

:

And I was just like sobbing, crying.

625

:

I was so ashamed.

626

:

And she just said no.

627

:

And we didn't talk about it ever

again until I was in my twenties

628

:

and she said something like, you're

gonna break your dad's heart And I

629

:

was like, okay, I'll keep it secret.

630

:

Don't worry.

631

:

And she said that about transitioning too.

632

:

She was like, you're gonna

break your father's heart.

633

:

And I was like, why?

634

:

Why is, that is not the

flex you think it is.

635

:

And

636

:

also

637

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: is his

heart so tied up in your gender?

638

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

There's, I don't know.

639

:

I think where I was growing up, I

think my, well, I know my parents

640

:

were ashamed to have a queer kid and

just a lot of stigma came with that.

641

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah,

642

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: So they had,

they had some shit on the line too, like,

643

:

of this, of people finding out about this.

644

:

Like they were gonna be embarrassed.

645

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: yeah, totally.

646

:

That was the, the way that it worked.

647

:

When I came out to my parents, I think

it was the stigma of having a gay child.

648

:

That was probably the hardest.

649

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah.

650

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: And that

you didn't, they had a dream for

651

:

you and you totally shit on it.

652

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Well, and

then, and they failed you somehow, right?

653

:

Like

654

:

it's

655

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yep,

656

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

if you're queer, like

657

:

they

658

:

exposed you to something because not only

is it, a deviation, but it's a perversion.

659

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

660

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I think some

people still view, like, view it that way.

661

:

Like something you, you're queer

because something bad happened to you.

662

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: When I

came out to my parents, we were

663

:

literally in the porn shop, mom told

me to go get a, a lesbian porno.

664

:

I think that just would've confused

me even more because that's not

665

:

what lesbianism looks like in

real life, because sex is part of

666

:

being gay, but it's such a small

part of it for most of the time.

667

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: sex

is as much a part of being queer

668

:

as it is, of being straight.

669

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: for sure.

670

:

And there, but there's so much more to

the relationships and that, that people

671

:

just don't get our, our relationships

are just as complex and deep and, I think

672

:

deeper sometimes because you know how the

person thinks or, you know what I mean?

673

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: well then

you share something that is stigmatized

674

:

because I can tell you this, people

don't become queer because something

675

:

bad happened to 'em, but bad shit

happens to people because they're queer

676

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah, for sure.

677

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: makes

you, members in a shared experience

678

:

Straight people don't have that.

679

:

Straight people don't have a culture.

680

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Right.

681

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: know.

682

:

This is getting kind of tricky

though, because culture isn't, isn't

683

:

only for people who are oppressed.

684

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: No, but in my

class the other day we were talking about

685

:

race and privilege and all that kind

of stuff, and, uh, we got to cultural

686

:

appropriation and somebody asked me, um,

if straight people go to a gay bar, is

687

:

that, is that cultural appropriation?

688

:

And I wasn't sure how to answer that

because gay people absolutely have

689

:

their own culture, you know what I mean?

690

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

what did you say?

691

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I said, I

could see how you would think that.

692

:

I said, that's a very

interesting question.

693

:

I said, I don't exactly

know how to answer that.

694

:

because definitely gay people have a

culture of their own that's been forming

695

:

for the last a hundred years or more.

696

:

when we had like the, ballrooms

and, and that kind of stuff

697

:

happening in San Francisco and the

gay movement and all those things.

698

:

And there's a history and a shared

language and a culture, but.

699

:

It feels strange to consider it a, a

unique culture, you know what I mean?

700

:

So it, yes, in, in my

opinion, yes, you can.

701

:

Culturally appropriate gay

culture was final, decision there.

702

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: yeah,

I think, uh, I think any culture

703

:

can be appropriated, but, um,

nailing it down to what that

704

:

actually looks like can be tricky.

705

:

So I,

706

:

a straight

707

:

person going to a gay bar, no, I don't

think that's cultural appropriation.

708

:

If a straight person goes into a

gay bar and can't shut up about yes,

709

:

queen yes girl, it's how you perform.

710

:

cultural appropriation is a performance.

711

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: And the intent

712

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Mm-hmm.

713

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: matters a lot.

714

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: It does.

715

:

Right?

716

:

someone can accidentally, there's,

remember when like white people

717

:

were wearing dreads all the time,

and This was probably 10 years ago,

718

:

15 years ago now, when, when I was

in college, they were doing it.

719

:

They had no idea that what they

were doing was super offensive.

720

:

These were people who would've considered

themselves anti-racist people doing

721

:

anti-racist work in real life, they

would've been really crushed to learn

722

:

that what they were doing was hurtful.

723

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

724

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: but

they still need to hear, you know,

725

:

if we, if that conversation had

been happening where I was, they

726

:

would've still needed to hear it.

727

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

728

:

Well, I think it's important

that my students hear it.

729

:

That's why we talk about it.

730

:

You know what I mean?

731

:

I, I tell them the, the way to understand

cultural appropriation is imagine you

732

:

have done a school project and I give

you an F on it, And then along walks,

733

:

this white girl steals your project,

turns it in, and gets an A plus.

734

:

That's cultural

appropriation in a nutshell.

735

:

You know what I mean?

736

:

that's a white person taking credit and

the glory or whatever for something that

737

:

we have denigrated black people for,

738

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

that's an interesting point.

739

:

'cause you, you interject a,

political economy into that.

740

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

741

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Okay.

742

:

That's, that's helpful

743

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

744

:

A lot.

745

:

A lot of my students, like they get

it when we talk about it in that way.

746

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: right.

747

:

and here's the thing too, like,

uh, something like blackface,

748

:

that's not cultural appropriation.

749

:

That's just fucking blackface.

750

:

That's minstrelsy.

751

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

752

:

Yeah.

753

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: We're

754

:

talking about different things.

755

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: same,

lecture, same fucking lecture.

756

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Good for you.

757

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

yeah, we talk about blackface.

758

:

Why we don't use particular

kinds of language anymore.

759

:

and if you use it in my classroom,

you will fail the assignment.

760

:

And the third time you do it, I'm taking

you in for a student conduct violation.

761

:

'cause home we don't play like that.

762

:

there's just certain words

we don't use anymore.

763

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Right?

764

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: it's

all in the week that we talk about

765

:

race, as being a social construct

and all that kind of stuff.

766

:

but we talk about the history of it,

how it's dehumanizing and how it, the

767

:

legacy of those stereotypes have, have

endured in American culture and how unfair

768

:

and, and hypocritical they are really.

769

:

But when you know where stuff

comes from, it's easier to

770

:

tear it apart when you see it.

771

:

What's wrong?

772

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: The cats?

773

:

They're just, I don't know what

they want, but they're all over

774

:

me and they're chewing on my

775

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Is it dinner time?

776

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I maybe,

but I did feed them a snack right

777

:

before I sat down, but I, maybe they

778

:

don't care.

779

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Uh, yeah, I've got baby who's

780

:

been over here like 50 times.

781

:

I don't know what she wants.

782

:

'cause her dinners time

isn't until like eight, so

783

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Their schedule

has been so fucked up because I've

784

:

been off work it doesn't surprise me

that they're either acting out or they

785

:

can't keep their routine together.

786

:

I think they're a little tired of me

normally, you know, they get anywhere

787

:

from eight to 16 hours without me.

788

:

Here.

789

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Right.

790

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I

have to put this down because

791

:

it makes noise in the mic.

792

:

Don't touch it.

793

:

so cute though.

794

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

I've got the two littles.

795

:

Aw buddy.

796

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: He sits

with me like, during my therapy, I

797

:

have to sit in this chair for, you

know, hours and he sits here with me.

798

:

He's getting therapy too.

799

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah,

I do my therapy telehealth.

800

:

So we do the same thing though.

801

:

I'm getting an A plus

in therapy right now.

802

:

We went from every two

weeks to every month now.

803

:

So.

804

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

I am getting a F minus.

805

:

I went from a week to three

hours a day, five days a week.

806

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Well,

you'll get through it, baby.

807

:

I was, I was every week there for

a while, you know what I mean?

808

:

And you just have to

get through your shit.

809

:

'cause I am so thankful for therapy.

810

:

I wouldn't be where I am without it.

811

:

it, it really helped me

through some dark times

812

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: can't

say enough about, the importance of

813

:

accessing that resource if you need it

814

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: And it'll stop

you from doing a lot of stupid shit,

815

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: if I could

have had help earlier, my God, I could

816

:

have been living a different life.

817

:

I might have a retirement one day.

818

:

At this point, I'm not.

819

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I

820

:

finally got like $10,000 in my

retirement account, so there's that.

821

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

well, that's big money.

822

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

823

:

Woo, buddy.

824

:

That'll get me through six months as if.

825

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: well

maybe let's take a break and

826

:

hear from this week's sponsor

827

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: All right.

828

:

Let's hear it.

829

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: This

episode of Queernecks is sponsored

830

:

by Scarecrows icons of the cornfield.

831

:

Long before Pearl showed us

their sexual side scarecrows

832

:

have been serving looks 24 7.

833

:

Even though their wardrobe is mostly

stolen from your papa's closet, plaid

834

:

shirts, overalls, straws bursting

out like drag wig on a layaway.

835

:

It's a whole aesthetic.

836

:

They stand as the non-binary

guardians of rural America.

837

:

Neither alive nor dead.

838

:

fully here or gone holding their

place in a liminal space with

839

:

eyeliner smeared from crow poop.

840

:

They don't pick sides.

841

:

They just hold their ground.

842

:

Fabulous and steadfast.

843

:

Protecting pumpkins like professionals,

stillness comes naturally to them.

844

:

Yet every gust of wind transforms that

floppy hat into an instant runway drama.

845

:

Their silence reads, his judgment.

846

:

Their camp shines through button noses

and stick arms, and their presence

847

:

radiates both spook and style.

848

:

queer kids in the holler scarecrows

were often the blueprint that distant

849

:

figure in the cornfield could appear

fierce, mysterious, yet spooky enough

850

:

to spark a rural queer awakening.

851

:

So the next time a scarecrow leans

in the pumpkin patch, remember,

852

:

this is more than pest control.

853

:

It's a pageant spectacle.

854

:

It is Appalachian runway

in its cornfield couture.

855

:

remains silent, stylish, slightly

haunted, and forever fabulous.

856

:

Did you

857

:

ever make a scarecrow?

858

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Um, no, I never have,

859

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: It

860

:

is an

861

:

itchy experience.

862

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

863

:

When did you make one?

864

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: We had

to make 'em to keep crows outta the

865

:

corn at the, farm for those kids

that we hung out with all the time.

866

:

And use the same like techniques and stuff

to make things for Halloween decorations

867

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Gotcha.

868

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: that we would

put every, we might have killed people.

869

:

We would put those things on the road.

870

:

Now that I'm think not cool.

871

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Oh, I

have to get my thing ready here.

872

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: now, brisket, sh

if we make, we should make some stickers.

873

:

I was thinking like we should

make like, Queernecks stickers.

874

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Oh yeah.

875

:

That would be awesome.

876

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

just of Wenda or brisket.

877

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: I

think that's a great idea.

878

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Even if

it's just me that has them all.

879

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

No, you gotta share with me.

880

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: We can

sell things in this little and so

881

:

we could just list them in there.

882

:

I think that's where I'm gonna put I'm

gonna make a discord event for you can

883

:

make actual, like, calendar event things

in discord for this queer wolf party.

884

:

And then I'll just put that in the Ko-Fi

and then people can get it that way.

885

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Sounds like a plan to me.

886

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Oh

my god, my gums hurt so bad.

887

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

Oh, dentist, hell

888

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Although

they said I don't have any cavities

889

:

though, which I thought I did,

890

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: must

be nice to have good teeth.

891

:

I inherited shitty teeth,

892

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I,

I, feel fortunate all the time

893

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: yeah,

894

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: But she

895

:

goes, you like coffee?

896

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: You are like.

897

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Mm-hmm.

898

:

What gave it away?

899

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110:

I, I wish I liked coffee.

900

:

I like everything about coffee, but the

taste of it, I love the smell of it.

901

:

I love the culture of it.

902

:

I love caffeine.

903

:

I love coffee houses.

904

:

I love, you know, all of

it except the taste of it.

905

:

And I've, I've tried it a hundred times

and I just cannot learn to like it.

906

:

It just feels like I've been punched

in the nose every time I take a sip.

907

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

It can be bitter.

908

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yes, very.

909

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: All right.

910

:

Tell me about nouns.

911

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: All right.

912

:

This week's now of Appalachian

interest is the persimmon seed.

913

:

Now, who needs the weather channel

when you've got a persimmon

914

:

tree right in your backyard?

915

:

Around here.

916

:

We don't wait for Al

Roker to wave his arms.

917

:

In front of a national map, we

slice open a persin seed squint at

918

:

the insides and declare the fate

of winter with more confidence

919

:

than Puxatawny Phil in February.

920

:

Inside the seed, there's a shape,

a spoon, a fork, or a knife.

921

:

A spoon means shovel ready snow.

922

:

So grab your best flannel and

start stretching your lower back.

923

:

Now, a fork , that promises a

light winter, just enough chill to

924

:

poke at you, but nothing serious.

925

:

And a knife, well that one says icy

winds are gonna cut right through

926

:

your flannel and thermal underwear

combo like you're not even trying.

927

:

It's Appalachian meteorology

at its finest science with a

928

:

healthy side of superstition.

929

:

And let me tell you, mammal's pers seed

predictions have beaten al roper's big

930

:

city radar more times than I can count.

931

:

She never needed satellites

orbiting the earth.

932

:

She had fruit pulp, and that

was apparently all she needed.

933

:

But the real entertainment isn't

the forecast, it's the arguments.

934

:

Every fall you can find a circle

of grown adults standing around

935

:

yelling at a seed like it's the

result of a natural election.

936

:

I swear it's a F spoon.

937

:

Darrell.

938

:

No, it's a knife.

939

:

You need to do bifocals.

940

:

It's Appalachian's version

of climate science.

941

:

It honestly, it gets just as heated

at the end of the day, whether it's

942

:

a spoon, a knife, or a fork, winter's

still gonna show up uninvited.

943

:

You'll be salting the steps,

layering the flannel and praying.

944

:

The pipes don't freeze.

945

:

But here in Appalachia, we

don't just watch the weather.

946

:

We argue with it.

947

:

We joke about it and predict it with

the seed in our hand because sometimes

948

:

the best forecast isn't on TV at all.

949

:

It's sitting in maw's pocket

waiting to be cracked open.

950

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

Have you seen any seeds yet?

951

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: No, my mom's

best friend had a persimmon tree in

952

:

her backyard, so they always did it.

953

:

so that was a thing when I was growing up.

954

:

We always, always knew, but I don't

know anybody with a local one.

955

:

And that you have to have a

local one, or it doesn't count.

956

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I,

well, I saw somebody in one of the

957

:

Facebook groups I'm in post theirs,

and it was a sh it was a shovel.

958

:

It was a spoon.

959

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Oh great.

960

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: Yeah, I know.

961

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Oh,

962

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: everybody

out here too says they're like,

963

:

oh, he's gonna be a bad winner.

964

:

It's like, what the fu what was the

965

:

last

966

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: well this

was my first winter with an all wheel

967

:

drive, so there's that at least.

968

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

It's a game changer.

969

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: Yeah.

970

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: I moved up here.

971

:

I think everybody thought they was gonna

make fun of me about my car tell me the,

972

:

the way they kept asking, I could tell.

973

:

Like they were waiting their

turn to tell me that it wasn't

974

:

good enough for, Minnesota.

975

:

But am from Eastern Kentucky,

I have a five speed Subaru

976

:

I am shocked at how good it is.

977

:

I remember when they first come out

with all-wheel drive and it was garbage.

978

:

You remember this?

979

:

It was like, 20 years ago now.

980

:

I don't know, I just

remember in the eighties,

981

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: eighties

were 40 years ago, my friend, not 20.

982

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110: what

the fuck is this liar telling me?

983

:

Whatever.

984

:

my mom, my parents always drove,

Really cheap cars, like K cars,

985

:

although they had a Cutlass at one

point, that was pretty, pretty sweet.

986

:

They had cool cars when I

was really, really little.

987

:

Probably before we got super expensive.

988

:

they could still have cool cars.

989

:

Like my mom had a, five speed Mustang.

990

:

And my dad had a, a cut list

Supreme with T tops and vinyl seats.

991

:

But then very quickly it

all became cars and Vans.

992

:

beck_6_09-25-2025_160110: When my,

because my dad was a mechanic, we

993

:

had different cars every other week.

994

:

It seemed like we had so many cars.

995

:

I learned to drive into

Pontiac Bonneville.

996

:

It was a big old boat.

997

:

And then I got promptly

put into a geo metro.

998

:

dash_6_09-25-2025_150110:

It's like the opposite.

999

:

yeah,

:

00:38:29,295 --> 00:38:29,685

-:

:

00:38:29,798 --> 00:38:33,728

-:

Ford a star to driving the the geo.

:

00:38:33,728 --> 00:38:34,478

Very different.

:

00:38:34,478 --> 00:38:36,008

What's your favorite car you ever had?

:

00:38:36,008 --> 00:38:37,958

-:

probably my purple Hyundai accent.

:

00:38:37,988 --> 00:38:40,808

The one that I have now, I love with

all of my heart 'cause it has all

:

00:38:40,808 --> 00:38:44,378

the bells and whistles and it heats

up my ass whenever I want it to.

:

00:38:44,678 --> 00:38:46,838

And it has, it connects to my phone.

:

00:38:46,838 --> 00:38:50,348

So I have good radio all the time and you

know, I love all the bells and whistles.

:

00:38:50,708 --> 00:38:54,968

But before this car, it would've

been, um, my purple, Hyundai accent.

:

00:38:54,968 --> 00:38:58,778

It was four door, it had a spoiler

and it was iridescent pearl.

:

00:38:59,108 --> 00:39:01,808

it was a bright ass

purple color and it was

:

00:39:01,808 --> 00:39:02,498

fantastic.

:

00:39:02,498 --> 00:39:03,578

It was, it had a sunroof?

:

00:39:03,945 --> 00:39:06,315

-:

very normal looking to, I mean, it's

:

00:39:06,315 --> 00:39:07,545

normal, but it's also not normal.

:

00:39:07,545 --> 00:39:09,015

It's shaped like a duck head.

:

00:39:09,250 --> 00:39:13,570

The, profile view of a, Subaru

Crosstrek is really odd.

:

00:39:14,530 --> 00:39:17,770

on the inside, like the

the dash, the lights are.

:

00:39:18,190 --> 00:39:18,850

Bright red.

:

00:39:18,850 --> 00:39:23,050

So it looks like a, you're kind of

in a airplane cockpit a little bit.

:

00:39:23,173 --> 00:39:25,108

-:

that's what my best friend drives too.

:

00:39:25,595 --> 00:39:27,035

-:

I was like, oh God, I don't want

:

00:39:27,035 --> 00:39:29,495

such a fucking norm core vehicle.

:

00:39:29,495 --> 00:39:32,525

But the longer I have it, the

weirder it gets and I really

:

00:39:32,525 --> 00:39:33,875

am just growing to love it.

:

00:39:33,875 --> 00:39:34,895

I really appreciate it.

:

00:39:34,895 --> 00:39:35,645

-:

:

00:39:35,645 --> 00:39:37,055

-:

it's no geo metro, but

:

00:39:37,055 --> 00:39:37,805

-:

:

00:39:42,805 --> 00:39:43,585

-:

Well what do you think?

:

00:39:43,585 --> 00:39:47,485

Should we start, doing video so we

can start having some show and tell

:

00:39:47,485 --> 00:39:49,315

-:

that scares me, but, okay.

:

00:39:49,315 --> 00:39:50,275

-:

:

00:39:50,275 --> 00:39:51,990

-:

Yeah, I just don't like my face,

:

00:39:52,137 --> 00:39:53,127

-:

Well, I like your face

:

00:39:53,300 --> 00:39:53,840

-:

:

00:39:54,043 --> 00:39:54,553

-:

:

00:39:54,553 --> 00:39:55,573

-:

well, there you go.

:

00:39:57,315 --> 00:39:59,475

I won't be able to show

up with Bedhead anymore.

:

00:39:59,475 --> 00:40:00,105

-:

:

00:40:00,105 --> 00:40:00,195

you

:

00:40:00,195 --> 00:40:01,640

can just tell people

you styled it that way.

:

00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:02,810

-:

yeah, I slept all day today.

:

00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:04,970

'cause my, I woke up with

a pretty good headache.

:

00:40:04,970 --> 00:40:06,470

so I canceled classes this morning.

:

00:40:06,470 --> 00:40:07,550

I don't do that lightly,

:

00:40:07,550 --> 00:40:07,840

-:

:

00:40:08,011 --> 00:40:10,411

-:

on a day I have to talk to my boss, so.

:

00:40:11,374 --> 00:40:13,654

-:

give it some more thinking.

:

00:40:13,654 --> 00:40:16,474

I think that about, that's

our show for this week.

:

00:40:16,834 --> 00:40:18,034

Hope you had fun.

:

00:40:18,034 --> 00:40:19,384

Thanks for hanging out with us.

:

00:40:19,671 --> 00:40:23,421

remember if you haven't yet to

give us a little five star rating

:

00:40:23,421 --> 00:40:25,791

or write a review or both and

:

00:40:25,791 --> 00:40:27,231

-:

the episode, if you don't mind.

:

00:40:27,648 --> 00:40:29,083

-:

Yeah, you could do that too.

:

00:40:29,517 --> 00:40:32,727

send us a message if you have something

weird, some weird story to tell us.

:

00:40:33,368 --> 00:40:37,448

your first queer crush, and

did you tell anybody about it?

:

00:40:37,448 --> 00:40:40,178

Or did you intend to take

it to your grave with you

:

00:40:42,608 --> 00:40:43,298

no matter what?

:

00:40:43,298 --> 00:40:45,548

At least you didn't tell the

whole world about it on a podcast.

:

00:40:49,222 --> 00:40:51,652

The urge to delete all

of this is so strong.

:

00:40:54,584 --> 00:40:55,039

-:

They'll never know.

:

00:40:56,002 --> 00:40:58,248

-:

Marina Sertis is still fine though.

:

00:41:00,524 --> 00:41:02,274

Thanks to everybody who, who listens.

:

00:41:02,274 --> 00:41:03,234

We love you lots.

:

00:41:03,364 --> 00:41:05,014

Look out for the newsletter.

:

00:41:05,014 --> 00:41:07,294

Subscribe to the newsletter if you

have, and, and we'll tell you some

:

00:41:07,294 --> 00:41:11,314

more about how to hang out with

us for our Halloween party where

:

00:41:11,314 --> 00:41:13,624

we watch, curse of the Queer Wolf.

:

00:41:13,654 --> 00:41:18,814

And you'll hear me and Beck doing some,

some commentary, um, over top of it.

:

00:41:18,844 --> 00:41:22,740

Once I figure out how to make that

happen, well say hi to your mom and Neil.

:

00:41:23,100 --> 00:41:23,320

-:

:

00:41:23,479 --> 00:41:23,699

-:

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About the Podcast

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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