Wednesday, 11th November 2015

What happens to a piece of toast when you drop it on the floor? Obviously if you pick it up within 5 seconds, all us clever folks know the answer: nothing. You should just pick it up and munch away.

This is the universally acknowledged “5 second law”, and it protects us all from unnecessarily peanut butter wastage, or worse, from scoffing terrible, tainted toast.

Much like the theory of evolution and quantum mechanics, the 5 second law is unambiguously based on sound biological principles and rigorous scientific research. But sometimes objects - and people - become tainted in ways that are far more complex.

Would you try on Tony Abbott’s (thoroughly sterilised) speedos? OK even we think that’d still be gross. What about Hitler’s gloves? If not, why? What harm could these objects possibly cause you?

How’s about this one? Would you read a book that had been applauded by critics for decades if the author was later convicted of sex offences? Yeah that’s a biggie, eh?

We at KindaThinky feel kinda…awkward about all this whole taint thing, so naturally we figured you'd like to share that awkwardness with us live. With other people. And 4 guests. We promise, nothing will rub off.

Wednesday, 14th October 2015

In the olden days, trolls were ugly wee fictional creatures who lurked under wooden bridges near picturesque olde worlde villages. Olden day trolls wanted nothing more than to eat a goat (or on good day, the goat’s whole family). Ok maybe they’d also occasionally chow down on human or two. And when they weren’t enjoying a live chunk of meat, they were content to be left alone in the dark, thinking sour thoughts and grumbling about how horrible all non-trollie things were.

But then the gods invented the intertubes, and the intertubes begat social media, and social media begat real, live, interested-in-much-more-than-just-raw-flesh-and-brooding, trolls.

These modern day trolls are way worse than their ancestors. First, they exist. So there’s that. Second, rather than eat people, they want to shame and humiliate them. For many, this is a fate much worse than death. To be fair though, some trolling is just thigh-slappingly hilarious as well.

Here at Kindathinky, we really like the funny trolls, but we are fascinated by the dark kind as well. So why not come along and join us as we honour the ghosts of all billy goats-gruff, and unpack the mind of the 21^st Century troll. If you don’t, you will get warts.

Wednesday, 9th September 2015

If you’re like us (and we’re pretty sure you are), the world is full of people more worthy than you. See the person on your right? Five years ago they quit their high-flying, big-city finance career to teach underprivileged children in sub-Saharan Africa. And that person to your left? They just donated a kidney. Anonymously. To a stranger. Who didn’t even need it.

You’ve been there. You’re at a party, and you’re talking-up how brilliantly your new SUV handled the weekend’s blizzard conditions at the snow with 5 people and all their gear in the car. Then someone next to you nods sage-like, closes their eyes, and recounts how they only ever drive their Prius to church and back on Sundays. And they only use it then because they drive other people to church, too.

How can us mere mortals compete with that? The secret is, just don’t.

See, if you become more worthy, then they wont look as good, and that wouldn’t be fair to them. The worthy need us to reflect how super-awesome they are. By not being worthy, we are actually supporting worthiness. It all makes sense, right? So the best thing you can do to support worthiness in all its forms is to come to KindaThinky on Sept 9 and help us reflect the immense worthiness of our guests. Come on, you owe it to them. Do it for them…

Wednesday, 19th August 2015

Who doesn’t like a little extra, eh? We love a spot of abundance, a tasty bonus, and getting just a little bit more.

Why not eat that second slice of pie, add that spare room, and keep hoarding that superfluous cash? It’s a rare person who’ll refuse a tad extra, cos goddam it’s hard to say no.

While our planet might orbit in the goldilocks-zone sweet-spot of perfect balance between too little and too much, most of us living on the surface really just don't.

We lurch from too much to too little every ferkofting day: battling our EXcess, craving some exCESS. In these troubled modern times, it seems most of our problems come from having too much, never too little.

So what’s going on? How did we end up like this: swimming in our own trash, building triple XL houses, and living so long that all we want is to live even longer? What do we do now that abundance has become glut, spare become swamped, and oversupply just overkill?

More importantly, how do we make sense of where we’re at and whether we even like being here?

Well, we start by grabbing a primo waste recycler, a longevity expert, an architectural virtuoso and a pot-stirring priest. Then we mix in a few ales, a like-minded audience, and two hosts who are regularly referred to as the most aesetic* science communicators in the world. Finally, we repeatedly punch the more button until we've worked out exactly when too much might almost be (maybe) nearly enough.

*not out loud, or by people

Wednesday, 10th June 2015

Pain is just pooh, right? It distracts us, it costs us money and it needs to be avoided at all costs. Pain bloody hurts, and hurting is un-fun.

But at KindaThinky, we kinda secretly like pain (but not cos we’re, like, freaks or nuthin). We’re interested in pain cos there’s so many kinds. You know, like physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual pain. And probably others, too. We also know that some pain is good for us because we’ve been to the gym they told us there that pain is just weakness leaving the body. How awesome’s that!

So tonight on KT, we say no to the anaesthetic and start scratching below the surface of pain in all it’s fascinating forms.

Wednesday, 13th May 2015

Like all mega-educated, anglo-saxon, middle class, white males, we don’t believe in anything (ever) that isn’t four thousand percent supported by rigorous, double-blind, randomised-control-trials and reviewed by every relevant expert in the world.

But other people, sheesh… they’ll believe anything anyone tells ‘em. 

Of course we know you seasoned KindaThinkists are just like us, which means you’ve never even heard of some of the cray-cray myths and tales people buy into. But admit it, you’re at least a wee bit curious, entcha?

Join us as we light our skull-candles, gobble down some superfoods, avoid sitting on cold surfaces (you know why) and try and work out why it’s only the wives that have all the tales.

Wednesday, 15th April 2015

It’s not often you hear someone being accused of heresy. And when you do, it’s usually a jaw-slackening example of balls-to-the-wall, first-order religious hyperbole of the first order.

But we at KindaThinky spared no expense when we looked up the word on our Googles and it said heresy is “… any provocative belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs”. Suddenly, we realised there are heretics everywhere (everywhere).

So in the true spirit of the renaissance (or the enlightenment or something…), we thought we’d have a few beers and a nice chat about heresy with some like-minded deviants.

Wednesday, 11th March 2015

In world full of risk, uncertainty and pants-wetting danger, all we everyday chaps and chapettes really want to know is that the monsters are being kept in their cages.  And woah, are there a LOT of monsters to keep caged.

Start listing the things you want controlled and your head will get all twirly – there’s baddies and neighbours and financial advisers and sick people and strong people and guns and teenagers and traffic and physics and foreigners and diseases and … and, well heaps.

Not only is it exhausting keeping the monsters controlled, it’s at least as arduous agreeing on just who and what the monsters actually are. And that’s before arguing about how best to control the fekkers.

To kick-off KindaThinky season 2, we’re turning our all-seeing security cameras to everything controlly to check if things maybe aren’t quite as well ordered as we hoped.

Wednesday, 12th November 2014

How awesome is it being a creature of reason, huh?

We bloody love it, and we know you do too. Like you, we’re open-hearted, broad-minded, firm-buttocked and accepting creatures. We judge all arguments on their merits. We reflect on our own biases and let the facts drive them from us when we realise they’re based on evidence-free malarky.

And if you believe that, then we have a nice shiny bridge over Sydney Harbour we’re happy to sell you reeeal cheap.

Denial is everywhere. Denial is productive. Denial is comforting.

Denial is rational as all hell, but it is also totally, appalling and bowel-looseningly trashing many of the things smart people hold dear.

Sounds like something worth getting kinda thinky about, doesn’t it?