THE UNDERGROUND — ISSUE #91
Everything you need to know about in this weekly series: An explanation of why forcing positivity is bad for you, a look at the top space agencies, a Hot Ones challenge with former SNL star Jay Pharoah, and a new show that you should binge watch immediately.
At Social Underground we go beyond the mainstream stuff and see what’s underneath the surface. What should we get into, listen to, read, eat or watch? If there is something in our culture that needs attention that’s our job: Show you the underground things that you need to know about: Books, music, television, movies, comedians, art, and whatever else we can find to get you into something you never knew about. That’s The Underground.
1. How forcing yourself to be positive can be a very bad thing. Have you ever walked into a coffee shop and the people working there are way too happy? Hell, have you ever gone in anywhere and witnessed people being overwhelmingly positive? Does piss you off a little bit? Yeah, it does to me. It seems like these people are aliens who have no ability to show anything but false emotions to the customers. Maybe they even act that way in their real life by pretending to be happy when they are secretly suffering inside.
Pretending to be positive or happy doesn’t actually make you that way. If fact, it can actually be bad for you. I’ve seen it. I’ve dated a few people and have had friends who put up this front before finally breaking down. It was to the point where they just unleash all of their negative emotions in one instance like blood coming out of the elevator in The Shinning. It was actually in those honest moments where they get a bit of happiness because they were no longer hiding.
The video below explains why forced positivity can be a negative thing. If you really want to see someone who’s faking it be their real self… just let them sit in a waiting room for 2 hours. That one channel of daily talk shows we’ll cause anyone to swear under their breath.
2. Check out this informative infographic on all the top space agencies. A few decades ago, there was only a few countries capable of getting to space, but now it feels like there are dozens. It’s not just NASA or the Soviet Union anymore, but other agencies that want to reach for the stars. If only we had the ambition of the space race right now. We could be sipping beers on Mars. We’ll get there, especially with all the people now trying to make it happen.
The infographic below shows current and future projects currently underway by the major space agencies. Some of these are so far away that I wonder if the technology being put on these spacecraft will be obsolete by the time they’re launched. If you think about it, a craft being sent into space in 2022 that was designed now? That’s 6 years away. The amount technology changes in that amount of time in this day and age is a really big leap. I’m sure they know what they’re doing. I mean, they are scientists.
Check out all the cool space to look forward to.
3. Former SNL star Jay Pharoah tries the Hot Ones challenge. Jay Pharoah leaving SNL was another blow to people wanting to turn into SNL for comedy. He does impressions that are so spot-on that you can look away and think you’re actually listening to Denzel Washington talking. Not only can he do impressions, he can capture the exact same type of things that the people who he’s impersonating actually say.
The thing about Hot Ones is that no matter how hardcore a guest acts, they will come apart at the end of the show with the hottest wings possible. I never really understood the appeal of eating wings so hot that you activate your fight of flight reflex, but watching other people do it is thoroughly enjoyable.
Jay Pharoah is one of the only guests on this show that managed to get through them all with ease… or so he thinks he did. Never think you’re more powerful than the hot wing. The hot wing always comes in and brings you back down to earth. Then again, I can’t even use the hot sauce from Taco Bell.
4. The Path brings Aaron Paul back to television in the best way possible.
I heard about the Hulu show The Path over a year ago, but I didn’t really want to add yet another show on my list. However, Aaron Paul is amazing, and the cast that comes with this show is spectacular. I went into it without knowing anything about the show or anyone besides Aaron Paul starring in it. I figured it was about someone in rehab or something, but I was pleasantly surprised when it was about a cult.
Premise: The Path follows a family at the center of a controversial cult movement as they struggle with relationships, faith and power. Each episode takes an in-depth look at the gravitational pull of belief and what it means to choose between the life we live and the life we want.
By the end of the first episode I was hooked. Aaron Paul proved he deserves all the awards from Breaking Bad within the first 20 minutes. The overwhelming feeling of shady stuff bubbling underneath the surface haunts every moment of the show. It is a show about a cult after all. Luckily, you’re in luck: The first season is out now and you can binge watch it this weekend. See how I just came in and gave you a new show to watch without you asking for it? One episode in and you’ll dedicate the entire weekend to it.
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Jeff Sorensen is an author, writer and occasional comedian living in Detroit, Michigan. You can look for more of his work on The Huffington Post, UPROXX, BGR and by just looking up his name.
Contact: jeff@socialunderground.com