Special guest Mackrayz joins Don for a one on one interview style pod. The two go over how Mack was raised and the differences between his experience and Dons, the start of Upper Left and how they got to where they are, Macks personal views on Trump and the country, systemic racism, Confederate era statues and their place in this country, some of their favorite movies and actors and much much more.

Check out all of the Salt of the Streets pods on our SoundCloud or anywhere else you can get a podcast, all of our videos and more to come on our Youtube.

Find the UpperLeft music on THEIR SoundCloud and all of the social medias are tagged on Dons Twitter and the Salt of The Streets IG.

Another challenge falls on Salt of the Streets as Case Bohls, Biscuit and Drew Baby Drew take on the Century Club Challenge. Similar to the Power Hour defeated by Don and Case but with 40 more minutes and 40 more shots. Special guest host Tydell and Don go over experiences in high school and how they differ, the Vietnam War, a baby soon this way comes, a softball screwball, how a 9 year old should stay within himself, and is disappointment or anger worse from a parent?

Those not fans of the Power Hour episode and male youth antics should probably stay clear, but check it out anyway and let us know what you think. You can get the pod on SoundCloud or anywhere else you can get a podcast, look for the full episode video later on and find all of our videos on Youtube. Leave us a comment and we’ll get back to you.

I’ve decided that starting this week I am going to do a 12 part blog post series about the Jordan Peterson book ” 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos”. Each week I will go through the book and give a very brief description of the chapter and then what I took from it and how I have or intend to implement its lesson in my life. I have learned an incredible amount from Dr. Peterson and think that most people would be able to do the same thing if they could overlook the untrue things they probably have heard about him. I have said many times, and will continue to say, that I fully believe Jordan Peterson is and will be regarded as one of the most important and influential thinkers of our time.

The first chapter of Dr. Peterson’s book is “Rule 1: Stand up straight with your shoulders back” a fairly simple but important piece of advice. It’s in this chapter that the highly critiqued comparison is made between humans and lobsters. Something I did not have a hard time understanding, we are compared both on the levels of the insane likeness of the serotonin systems in humans and lobsters but also in the hierarchical social structures we maintain.

I not only found this chapter entertaining but also very helpful. Being a person who has struggled with weight and battled depression a large portion of my life I immediately began to draw commonalities between my own behavior through school and the behavior exhibited by a defeated lobster. Not ever completely confident in myself I looked at the ground when I walked and did not exude confidence regularly. I have gotten slightly better about this as an adult but probably not as good as I should be. After having read this chapter I immediately implemented it in my life.

Any time throughout my day if I find myself looking at my feet when I walk or slumped over while talking to someone I stand up straight and press my shoulders back. I lead with my chest and think about the things I know I’m good at. I saw the difference right away. I by no means work in a hostile work environment but the amount of negative interactions I had at work decreased. Even being outspoken as I am, I felt even MORE comfortable sharing my opinion without over concern for feelings or perception of who I am. It reminded me of a piece of advice I’ve given many times, you set the standard for how people will treat you.

Whether it’s relationships or friendships, if you allow people to treat you like shit and take advantage of you, that’s exactly what they will do. If you walk around with a sense of confidence that does not seep into arrogance, people will have less to say about what you are doing or why you’re doing it. No matter what, act like you’ve been there before. After having implemented this successfully I adapted it to my own style, I now do my absolute best to put out into the world the type of respect I feel I deserve. That’s all I really want in this world, respect. Respect for me, for my family, for my life, for my loves, for my feelings, for my decisions. This book is an incredible tool in my journey to control and mastery of my life, and this is a valuable first lesson.

-Donavan

This week Don and Offie take it easy while they kick back and watch the Hall of Fame Game and discuss how easy it is to be misinformed, the rarities of a black punter and kicker, the pro and cons of young fiery candidates like Joey Gibson and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the logic based argument for being pro-life and the place of religion in politics, the possible implication of term limits and shrinking the government.

Check out the podcast on SoundCloud, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts or anywhere else you can get a podcast. The Pre Shows and Full Show Livstreams are all on our YouTube! Leave us a comment and a review and let us know what you think!

Being that Saturday was the 31st anniversary of the birth of Colin Offenbacker, it only feels fitting that he is the focal point of this piece. Many of you have probably heard on the podcast or other places how Colin and I “found each other” for lack of a better term so I don’t need to explain it here. Three years ago we were just two guys trying to make it through a work week by having engaging conversations. Now? He’s one of my best friends.

For many many reasons I would not be able to do what I’m doing without him. I rely on Offie for a lot of different things. For the last three months we have only recorded at Colin’s house, except for special occasions, so right off the bat he saves me the hassle of always having my dinning room clean. He has set up an amazing set for us that in my opinion does a great amount to legitimize our very much amateur operation. He also does all of the editing of both the audio and video versions of the cast and learned to do so after I didn’t want to. He is always providing me with information I don’t have regardless of how much research I have done, consistently challenges my ideas and makes me reconsider my position and how well I can defend it.

I can honestly say that Colin is one of maybe four people that could even begin to get a handle on my increasingly unpredictable stances on the matters of life. It’s that simple fact that lead us to choose him and his wife as god parents to our child. As different as Offie and I are as people whether it be how we were raised or what we have done with our lives up to this point, I couldn’t feel any more certain that were something to happen to Jordyn and I (God forbid) that Colin and Carolina would be willing and able to help instill in my child the same morals, ethics and value in critical and free thinking that I believe is so incredibly vital to survive and thrive in this country.

I have different friends for different things; My best friend in the world, Trent’n is my all purpose best friend forever. Colin is my best friend that has conversations with me that I don’t have with anyone else I know. I share information with everyone that I know, but Colin is the only person that I share conversations like this with. He is the only person I know besides my own therapist with who I can discuss topics that few others are able to look at objectively enough to not be offended. The views that Colin has almost always end up in the same place as mine, but for very very different reasons. The first person I go to when I think I may be looking at an issue wrong is always Colin.

At the risk of sounding incredibly big-headed, I see in Colin the rare but, in my opinion,  vitally important qualities I see in myself and look for in other people when deciding my own opinion of them. How honest are they? How open minded? How willing is the person to take an objective look at the topic we are discussing and possibly be persuaded the other way? It is qualities like these that I feel will be necessary for America to come out clean on the other end of this period of destructive political strife and partisanship. These things are unusual enough that when a large enough group of public figures with those qualities were identified they were labeled “The Intellectual Dark-Web”.

It’s these things that I identify in Colin and credit him greatly with bringing them out in me. The same things that made us choose him for the Godfather of our child and that we are trying to share with the world around us through Salt of the Streets. Happy Birthday, buddy.

– Donavan