FOTI #26: Red Equal Sign

Fortnight on the Internets is hoarding for a crisis!

On this episode, we celebrate Easter with a preacher’s on-the-scene video of a kung fu grandpa in a Food Lion parking lot. We discuss the dire warnings of an ultra-patriot who tells us to hoard now — or else! And in our latest Eight Minute Explanation, we break down the “red equal sign” profile pic trend that swept Facebook this fortnight in support of marriage equality. With music from Slavic Soul Party and tons of great contribs from our Likers!

Four ways to listen:

• Click this link to listen instantly (or right click and “save as” to download mp3)

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If you subscribe or become a Liker, you’ll be able to get to new episodes faster than everyone else. You’d also be wise to follow us on our @FOTIpod Twitter account, where we often have fun interactions with the people and sites we talk about on the show…

Subway Sax Battle

Thanks to Liker Doan for discovering this “only in New York” gem. If you appreciated the work of Sax Man #2, aka Sapphire Adizes (and I apologize for most likely mispronouncing his name on the show) as much as I did — then check out his Facebook page for more Great Time.

Report Card

One of our favorite slates in a long time, thanks to our Likers and the wonders of the Internets.

#1. Kung Fu Grandpa in the Food Lion parking lot!

Didn’t take long for the narrator, Reverend Aamon R. Miller, to monetize the bejesus out of this. Buy a T-shirt! I hope the KFG is getting a kickback at least. That said, we loved this video.

#2. Stalking GUTS

This amazing tumblr takes advantage of the fact that the 90s Nickelodeon version of American Gladiators, GUTS, listed the full names of its contestants. They do an outstanding job of curating the photos to match the names that the competitors took on before attempting to scale the Aggro-Crag. It’s a horrible invasion of privacy and we love it.

#3. The Beach Boys Shred “I Get Around”

Watch this while you can, it’s already been taken off Youtube once. And there’s really no way to appreciate the glory of this video without seeing it. Dennis Wilson’s doofus-like clapping, the rancid strumming, and the wacked out voices. Props to Youtube’s Cody Jackson for this gem.

Our Musical Guest: SLAVIC SOUL PARTY

An incredible ensemble that turns traditional Balkan music on its head, infusing it with funky backbeats and Brooklyn attitude. For a great rundown on the band’s backstory, check out this great NPR article.

Here’s a nasty live clip of SSP playing “Jackson,” one of the tracks we excerpted on our show from their recent-ish album New York Underground Tapes:

To hear more of the band that inspired Sufjan Stevens to say, “It’s terrifying, exhausting, and way more aggressive than a lot of the punk music I’ve seen,” check ’em out on Facebook.

Internet Challenge Surprise

It’s Sold Out After Crisis, the website that asks: are YOU ready for the impending apocalypse? (Obamcalypse?) Proprietor/entrepreneur/patriot Damian Campbell plays on the darkest fears of every head of household with this 25-minute video that’s thoroughly compelling without actually being informative in any way. It’s an incredible video — like the UPS ads meets Cormac McCarthy’s The Road — that came to us thanks to past guest Brett Weiner. You should probably watch this video right now because it’s already been removed from the original site.

Even if this video is over the top, he’s right about the fact that we should all have a stash of non-perishable foods in case of natural or man-made disaster … but unfortunately, he doesn’t tell us WHAT foods to hoard! You’ll have to pay him for that — or just read on, because we don’t leave our Likers hanging…

We can’t say that this is Patriot Campbell’s list, but it’s a solid list of 37 items to hoard we found on the Internet, so it can’t possibly be wrong. Check out Happy Preppers for more deets.

1. Distilled water.
2. Canned liquids.
3. Dehydrated (powdered) milk.
4. Hard cheeses encased in wax.
5. Whey Powder or protein concentrate.
6. Canned & dehydrated meats.
7. Tea, coffee and bouillon.
8. Oils.
9. Whole wheat flour.
10. Wheat germ and Shredded Wheat.
11. Potato flour.
12. Masa Harina.
13. Corn Grits.
14. Oats and Oatmeal.
15. Bread crumbs and stuffings.
16. Pumpernickel.
17. Crackers.
18. Potato Flakes and au gratin potatoes.
19. Rice.
20. Pastas.
21. Raisins and dried fruits.
22. Fruit strips.
23. Canned fruits.
24. Canned veggies.
25. Beans and legumes.
26. Nuts, seeds and nut-butters.
27. Honey.
28. Iodized salt.
29. Sugars.
30. Spices and herbs.
31. Condiments.
32. Chocolates.
33. Vitamins.
34. Food bars.
35. Vodka.
36. Dry yeast.
37. Baking soda and baking powder.

8ME: Red Equal Sign

In a concise eight-minute segment, we break down the origin of this explosive equal-rights meme, the extent of its spread, our personal experiences with it, our favorite examples, and the question of whether it even mattered at all.

Here are some links we referenced in our chat:

• A solid overview of the memetic movement and its origins from Time magazine.
• Huffington Post breakdown of the Facebook data regarding who changed their avatar and when.
• The meme diversifies: Buzzfeed has some of our favorites.
• Backlash sets in — did this “slacktivism” even accomplish anything? The Atlantic Wire snarks.
• Legal analysis for the layman from Scotusblog on the Prop 8 case (gay marriage in CA) and the DOMA case (federal discrimination against gay marriage). We don’t know for sure, but it looks like the Court may keep Prop 8 dead on procedural grounds — meaning CA gets gay marriage — and kill DOMA on principle, meaning that gay couples can enjoy federal benefits if their states sanction their marriages.
• Next — a LOT more votes, elections, referenda, and battles over gay marriage, state by state! So keep that slacktivism AND activism up.

Shoutout to the Likers

You should obviously be Liking our Facebook page. Thanks to all the listeners and Likers for your support!

So many Likers to celebrate this fortnight, including these heroes and their incredible finds:

Thanks to Matt Moran and Slavic Soul Party for the great tunes.
Theme song by Snowplows: Check out their songs on Bandcamp!
Cover art by Vicious Rumors.