Topic_Shakur

I'm beginning to suspect a 'True Crime' has occurred to my study group partner. My suspect list starts with, Howard Kremer.

Eh hem...here we go again. Mailing Topics mugs and T-shirts to study groups 'all the time'? I guess 'we' don't qualify? Excuse me, I need to enter my subconscious for a moment. Ok...wow...that was intense. With guest David Wain, I anticipated a bit more 'purvey' such as in the 'Technology' ep, though, I'm not disappointed with the amount supplied. There was really SO much of this topic covered comparative to the previous two, that it makes me wonder if this was another one of those 'Mike's Study Group Hidden Challenge' eps.

Subconscious, live...here we go! Which is very on point with my fellow EFTSG member's unexplained absence. Is it just my subconscious, is 'he' still live? Hmmm...I hope this ep with shed some light on all of this.

Mmmmhmmm....riveting...yes! I wasn't quite sure where you were going with the following. Not only do I share this peeve, I also share the opinion of the MANY EFTSG Reader Mail PM's I received this past weekend who all praise your bravery and forthrightness! So courageous. If our 20% was a combination lock, I would say I just heard the second...click...click...!

Ah, yes...the pudding skin delicacy. A fine treat, once carefully crafted with love by my dear Uncle Lennox, until corporate greed turned his simple gift into a multi-billion dollar industry that pushed him over the edge...literally. We will still gather at the sidewalk where poor Lennox and his charitable desires coagulated. * Corporate greed = Pet Peeve I hear and agree with what you are saying about this topic and the consequences. It certainly presents a quandary. If we 'do' engage, we stand to chance a reputation degeneration, but if we 'do not', are we doing ourselves, the study group and the M's all a disservice by not pushing through that pudding skin to our allotted intellectual dessert?

Wow, yes! Illuminating view! There really did seem to be an unusual amount of chowder and not so much of the salty broth we've all come to expect from Topics. I would hope at this point in their careers as performers, the jitters would be gone. Although, one could hypothesize that this canned cranberry sauce they served us was a backup plan for if the audience was not a particularly perspicacious one, which clearly was the case. * Sound of canned cranberry sauce sliding out of said can = pet peeve It seems they've left us no choice but to dig our studious spoons into that congealed oily surface and hope that it yields the fine salty 20% golden bouillon beneath.

Right, right....of course, this begs the question, what if the pet's name was in fact 'Peeve'? For instance, "Why yes, this is my pet, Peeve." Well, I was about to concur until I read the following...and now I'm urging all those in or near Coconino County to take up on the wonderful and rewarding hobby of mosquito farming! "After an unusually dry spring, one of God’s most irritating creatures has taken to Flagstaff’s skies with a vengeance, thanks to the onset of monsoon season. Coconino County officials say they haven’t noticed an unusual level of mosquito activity, but in localized pockets across Flagstaff, residents say they are being eaten alive. - Courtesy ERIC BETZ, Arizona Daily Sun Staff Reporter" * Has walking dead visual after reading, "eaten alive" I'm always suspect of the aforementioned 'coy' nature of these two, especially when it comes to topics that they seem to go through with ease. Meaning, did they truly reach their 80%, or was this just another tease for us to discover that they nearly broke through the gelatinous layer that forms on a Topic chowder left sitting too long?

You are so right, I found myself doing the same. And how about a round of applause for the M's for acknowledging the distraction, yet being so professional in the way they were able to block it out and deliver another intellectual gem! Bravo! Yes, and I think it should be noted that Paul was an invited 'guest', not an observer like the attending San Fran Group (who really should know the rules/no rules/funny/ok, motto, if they are any kind of true TSG). And, within that white noise laughter was some very rich broth that they missed out on, so really, I guess the joke is on them. In fact, I'm having quite the belly laugh to myself about that! Once again, I must agree. They were certainly NO San Fransisco treat! And as it stands now, their conduct has landed them right on my 'pet peeves' list. But, just as the M's did, I feel it's our duty to push past the distractions and really get to the meat of this chunky chowder!

Hmm, right. You make a very profound point there. So enriching! A group, yes...as this latest ep mentions right out of the gates in some depth, is being of two or more figures forming a complete unit in a composition. Two or more...but I'll like to unpack that a bit and say that I feel there seems to be 'more' emphasis...on the 'more', in that definition. More links on that proverbial chain that my fellow EFTSG member has mentioned so eloquently. So, it would be safe to say that recruitment is currently going on for those who can share an enlightened look with these topics...and can follow the rules. Which, of course...there aren't any. But, there are strict guidelines. Just like any Topics study group you may have been in, or are currently a part of. I like to think of it as, "the 24/7 study group for when you're away from your physical study group®". What an ep we have here folks, we're being treated to a live show! This could do quite well, as 'Doug Loves Movies, etc.' has really taken off in the live realm. (not to cross pod-inate) I feel I should mention that it seems that by no accident they are in SF, perhaps to study up a bit more on trolleys in their downtime? As I listen to this, the first things that jump out at me are, I'm not sure what all the laughter is about? I mean, I know it's fine, but it just seems to be a bit misdirected. As I've not heard anything 'funny' happen, yet there's laughter. Perhaps it's the nerves of being a first time Topics audience. And I have to admit, when I learned it was live, I couldn't help but to feel somewhat certain that it would've ended up being 'somewhere' in Arizona, but what a pleasant surprise. And now back to the show for me!

I know the request was to keep pushing these topics, but I think we may have pushed this tug too far! It looks like we should both be living up to your avatar's stance, and watch over our shoulders. We've already made beef with the FTGs, and as much as I too feel the untimely demise of 'snacks' could've easily derailed this latest topic...crossing over the tracks of rival pods, are you crazy?! Or maybe...we're just crazy enough to chain ourselves until we get the truth!

Well played. I do believe we are pushing past the 20% now, just as requested! Perhaps it would've been more aptly titled: "Mary Jane, Munchies, and Mikes"

Hmmm, right. So interesting! Are you asking who funded the First Transcontinental Railways? Because I know you know who funded that. We've had many a discussion on this subject. But for those reading, I'll do my best to elaborate. I believe the massive amount of capital investment (over $100,000,000 in 1860 dollars) needed to build the railroad was obtained by selling government guaranteed bonds (granted per mile of completed track) and railroad company bonds and stock to interested private investors. While the train is certainly a fast source of transportation, it does seem to be in decline, as noted by the steady removal of the once thriving railroad tracks and subsequent transformation to walking paths. Well, after a heavy soul searching, mind expanding and investigatory retreat this past weekend, which incidentally landing me near Coconino County, it now seems so clear to me that M2 blatantly excluded what very well could be the last 20%, Tractor Trailers! Which, I might add, completes the Trilogy of, "Trains, Trolleys, and Trailers", the lost ep.

Well, you said it my friend, they are most certainly coy. So much so, that it would be foolish to completely believe this supposed 'lost ep' even exists! Though I do admire your train of thought there. What disception, intrigue and mystery this topic has delivered! Let us not get as trollied as the FTGs do, or let M2 tug us off of the tracks like a derailed train and remain focused on the topic(s) at hand. (trollied: Totally wasted/inebriated/intoxicated) This reminds me of the 'trolley problem', which was a moral paradox first posed by Phillipa Foot in her 1967 paper, "Abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect," and later expanded by Judith Jarvis Thomson. Far from solving the dilemma, the trolley problem launched a wave of further investigation into the philosophical quandary it raises. And it's still being debated today. Sound familiar? Further investigation (FTGs), philosophical quandaries (Topics)...and the plot thickens!

Yes, these gaudy grannies look to be nothing but pure representations of wicked behaviors. Shame on you grannies, shame on you. I would NOT recommend accepting a Werther's original from anyone in their faction! There is a small chance that more images may leak. However, my sources say the risk is overwhelming, as the meetings are heavily fortified with 'hurrycane' commandos. Yes, it is that serious. I believe this touches very strongly on a point that has been made several times in recent Topics eps. Which is, when study groups reach the 20%, do not stop there and dive into other topics. Well FTGs, we choose you! Now, on to your brilliant compendium. Hmm...mmmhmmm...what a titillating dissolution that is. So interesting. What I find particularly most interesting, and possibly equally suspect, is that while your superb detective investigation has indeed linked each of the three topics, it did so out of context to the heavily contested topic title. Which begs the question, does this render your research destitute, OR, does this make it even more valid since both Mikes disputed the title order and even claim to have a 'lost ep' recorded? And perhaps the title of said 'lost ep' could be, "Tugboats, Trolleys, and Trains"? Hmmm, indeed.

Stop, hold the train! An anonymous member of an Arizona sister study group to my own Pittsburgh Chapter has provided the following. Please, do not ask for any more details than that. I think it's safe to say that in 'this' case, a picture tells far more than a thousand words!