[intro music] [Cristine sings to intro music] Ben: Hey, what's up? Holo, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of SimplyPodLogical, a Simply Nailogical podcast. Cristine: Holo.
B: Just so you know, Cristine can't hear the music while she's dancing in the intro; we always do that in post.
C: I cannot.
B: So it's funny that we never sync it up properly. C: So it's not just that I'm a bad dancer, it's also that I'm not actually hearing the music. B: All right. So today we're doing a little Q&A "Ask Me Anything," reddit-style podcast.
C: Without using reddit.
B: But not on reddit. C: Using everything but reddit.
B: Hey, did you know actually you have a ... There's a subreddit on reddit, obviously,
called Reddit Laqueristas, I think, and I've noticed there's like a lot of posts about people trying Holo Taco. Anyway, I think they're ...
C: That's where you found the popsicle nail one,
B: Yeah, yeah.
C: which I shared recently. Anyway, I thought a little shout out to the nail art community on reddit, because there seems to be quite a few Holo Taco fans. C: I'm not on reddit very much. I'm not good at it. It's like the one platform that I never got into.
B: You're not good at it?
C: That and Tumblr: could never get into it. B: Well, most people just like lurk on reddit and don't actually post anything, so like it's kind of like me. But anyway, so today we just wanted to answer your questions about anything and everything. So ... C: What is the meaning of life? Will we have the answers today? I don't know. Listen to this hour to find out.
B: I think we've realized on like past podcasts, too, like we've done some like heavy serious topics and we'll get through like five questions because we give like these 15-minute answers to each one. I think today we just want to like kind of get through more questions a little quicker. C: Yeah, and we didn't want to do another very heavy, serious topic, although like they went over really well. Thank you guys for all the support on the last two
B: Yeah.
C: on the nail polish community and then influencer sponsorships. It was like more heavy content, I guess you could call it, and we appreciate that you guys like were really looking forward to it and found it very interesting, but then we wanted to take this opportunity to just like whatever questions you want, you know. We'll just ... We'll answer them.
B: We want to balance. We like talking about the more serious and honest conversations, too, but, you know, sometimes you just need to talk about hummus as well. So. C: Oh, is that what this podcast is about? Is that the alternative title?
B: No, that's going to be an entire episode down the road, I think.
C: Disgusting. B: All right, let's just look at the questions. All right, first one from Ely Rolando: "Have you ever met a celebrity or famous person?" I guess YouTubers don't count.
C: Do I count?
B: Well, have you met yourself?
C: No, for you.
B: Oh, me? C: When I was a child actress, I met Gena Rowlands who is the grandmother in "The Notebook." B: Okay.
C: So that's how you .. that's where you may know her from.
B: That's ... yeah. C: And I also met Mimi Rogers, who played Elizabeth Hurley's mother in the original Austin Powers. No one knows what I'm talking about.
B: Yeah, these are pretty obscure names at this point.
C: But when I was a child, they were famous. B: I guess I'll say ... You know how they say like you shouldn't meet your heroes, like the celebrities, the people you look up to, because you might meet them and they might not be good people? C: Is that what people think of me when they meet me at VidCon?
B: Probably. But I was really excited to meet Jenna and Julien's dogs when they invited us over one time.
C: They're your heroes?
B: Well, yeah. I had really high expectations for what Kermit would be like in real life and he did not disappoint. He was so nasty.
C: He sat on my lap and drooled on my dress. B: All right. So I'm just kidding, but, you know, there was one celebrity encounter we had last time we were in L.A., which I think was the most recent time we were there for VidCon over a year ago. And we stayed at this hotel in West Hollywood near the Sunset Strip and we went to a little smoothie spot for breakfast. Do you remember this?
C: Yeah. B: And we were just like sitting there drinking smoothies for like twenty minutes and like right before we got up to leave, we realized the whole time that Emma Stone was at the table next to us. C: Yeah.
B: Yeah. And like we didn't bother her or anything. I think she realized we realized who she was like right at the end and then she kind of also got up and left. Which kind of made me sad, because I think we can empathize with this a little, but she's probably used to like "People recognize me. They might try to take a picture. They call their friend."
C: Yeah. B: It must be ... it must be pretty weird to have to deal with that.
C: I was deliberately like, "Oh, my god," I realize who it is, and then, "Act normal! Act normal! Don't point your phone at her. Don't like go say anything to her." Like that's how my behavior kind of turns when I see a celebrity; I almost feel like "pretend they're nobody," because that's how they ... how I think ... B: Is that you projecting how you would want to be treated?
C: Yeah. They just want to be ... Like they're just normal person eating a smoothie, you now. Like it's not a show.
B: Sometimes you just want to drink a smoothie in peace. C: So I was going out of my way to like just look normal. Quick! Act normal! Your crush is coming, act normal. B; All right. Next question: "How are you guys doing? How has your mental health and physical health been affected since quarantine has started? Any suggestions on how to help maintain positive mental health?" C: Nope. B: You've no advice?
C: I have no tips. We're doing okay. Like I'm just being funny. It's been ... it's been hard. I think it's been hard for everyone and thinking back like a month or two ago we did a podcast on what to do when you're home and bored and that was kind of our first quarantine podcast when this all started, and I remember thinking like this is going to be over soon, right?
B: Really? Did you think that? C: Well, I feel like that's how people were acting, because it was kind of fun and weird and sort of like not exciting, that's a bad word, but just like when anything kind of different goes on, you just get all weird and excited about like the difference, and then you don't adjust to it yet, because you're still dealing with like "Oh, now I have to deal with this new thing." B: Yeah. I think it's been harder on ... Like you're really a creature of habit: you like your routines. And I think it was hard for you for a while to figure out what your new routine is, but I feel like you've sort of fallen into a schedule now that works for you, and maybe that is advice.
C: I still set my alarm. B: Yeah, I don't know why;
C: I set my alarm,
B: it's annoying.
C: and I'm up before 7 in the morning. B: Why?
C: And Ben sleeps until ...
B: Like 9: that's barely sleeping in. C: Usually later.
B: Not true.
C: I am watching you. B: You watching me sleep? I don't know if we have any ... I think we're doing fine. I think I noticed your mental health suffering a little bit early on, I would say, and I've noticed something about us. It's that like when I can tell that you're going through a hard time, I like really overcompensate by being positive. C: Yeah.
B: and like to try to like help you get out of a funk. And then as soon as I realize you're okay, I sort of like "Okay, now I can relax."
C: Then you're in a bad mood. B: And then ... I'm kind of in a bad mood all of the sudden.
C: And then I'm annoyed that you're in a bad mood. I'm like "Ben, what's wrong? Just smile." B: It kind of seems like we're never both in a bad mood at the same time, because we kind of try to lift each other up when we notice the other one isn't
C: Yeah.
B: feeling the best. C: If I could give some tips for how to deal with quarantine or just this life of sameness, B: Groundhog Day?
C: is try and make yourself a schedule, because I find it's easier to to do things if you've personally committed to them. And I know no one wants ... Like everyone thinks "Well, why would I make myself a schedule? It's just me. No one's in charge. It's literally like just at my house."
B: Well, a lot of peo--- Most of the people listening to us are probably still have things they need to be doing and work they need to be going to. C: Right, but you're less accountable if no one's physically there observing you or you're not physically in the classroom or whatever it is. You still have the same work to do but maybe it's harder to get stuff done, because you're not physically in the classroom. For ... that's just for students' example.
B: Sure.
C: And I find that, too, because I'm not physically at work, which is where I would be sometimes during the week, right? So, yeah, just making yourself a schedule, waking up at the same time that you would, have some checkpoints and milestones that you want to accomplish, and then save yourself a little bit of fun. Maybe it's like making a cup of tea.
B: So fun.
C: Maybe it's watching a YouTube video. Maybe it's you're going to take your dog for a walk later and like save that for after you've accomplished like, you know, one or two elements on your checklist.
B: I think it's really telling that your advice for how to maintain positive mental health is just all about being productive. It's all ... That's always the thing with you.
Everything with you is about being productive.
(C: But I said you could have a fun element.) C: But like I'm trying to incorporate having fun, too,
(B: B: You know what's good for your mental .... )
C: because like presumably you have things to do in your life. B: Yeah, but it's also important to, you know ... There's so much serious shit going on right now, I think it's important just to check out. Like if you're just watching the news all day, you're going to go insane, you know.
C: That's a good point. Don't watch the news all day long.
B: Turn on Netflix, watch "The Floor is Lava," and just like ... like shut your brain off for a few hours.
C: Yeah, that's a good point. When quarantine first started, we had the news on all the time like in the background, just, you know, seeing what's going on. And I think that was really depressing. B: Yeah, I mean, some things are important to know, but, yeah ...
C: Right. Like we want to know, but also maybe turn it off after an hour.
B: Especially ...
C: They're saying the same stories at a certain point. All right, next question: "As Canadians who work with the Canadian government, what is your perspective on how the U.S. is handling Covid-19 in comparison to how Canada has handled it?" B: So we ... We're not going to answer this as people who work for the Canadian governmen, but we'll give you our personal feelings on it
C: as Canadian citizens living in Canada. B: I think like the main thing we want to communicate with this is, it's pretty shocking the difference in how politicized wearing masks is in America. So like we'll watch American news channels and we see the viral clips on Twitter of, you know, middle-aged women storming into grocery stores and throwing a fit because they're asked to leave because they're not wearing a mask I'm not saying that's not happening in Canada. It absolutely is. I just think to a much lesser degree. C: And the way it happens and at least the narratives around this happening is really quite different. There was an article recently about in Toronto, which is like the biggest major city in Canada, there was a small group of people, I think forty people is what they said, who were protesting the use of ... or having to wear masks, which were now made mandatory on public transit in downtown Toronto, which is a very populated city.
B: Yeah, biggest city in Canada. C: And so they were ... Their shirts and like slogans said like "Hugs over masks" and that's what they were doing. They were like, we'll offer you a hug instead of a mask. And that was their approach B: It's so stupid,
C: It's just so different.
B: but it's a much more friendly way of protesting, I guess. But, no, I guess that's more about how the population and everyday people are responding to it. The government responses ... I'm not sure how much we really want to comment. I think it's pretty embarrassing to see how leader-- political leadership in the States is handling this crisis.
C: Yeah, and I think a lot of Americans agree with that statement. So like it's not a surprise that we as Canadians, you know, we wish the American response were different, because it affects us, too. B: Yeah, we'd love to, you know, like ... To get ... Like they've done opinion polls on whether or not Canadians think they should reopen the Canadian-U.S. border, right? C: Right.
B: And it's hard to get opinion polls that like have almost unanimous agreement, but overwhelmingly Canadians are like
C: No.
B: "No, we should not open the border." You guys clearly haven't gotten this under control in a meaningful way. So. C: Yeah, and recently I was ... saw this on the news the other day, when they were talking about reopening filming projects like, you know, in Hollywood everything's still kind of shut down and how are they going to continue? And a lot of production companies are talking about relocating shoots to other countries where restrictions are lifted, because it's just been managed differently, and it's becoming more safe. So all of a sudden, what are you doing to have these like giant American production companies moving outside of America, which was once ... B: Well, what countries are going to let them in, though?
C: Good question. That I don't really know how that's going to happen. But if they were in theory able to, what used to be like the hub, the central hub of "Everyone goes to America to shoot productions and that's the land of opportunity for the entertainment industry." What's happening now? B: I don't know. It really depends how long this lasts when we get a vaccine. Anyway, this is too heavy and serious a topic. Let's just ... C: We also don't know what's going to happen.
B: Well, yeah, we don't have a crystal ball. Next question:" Are Menchie and Zyler acting any different now that you are home a lot more?" C: They are obsessed with us. More so.
B: So these are our two cats, in case you're new here. Yeah, they've gotten very used to us being home. I'd say Zyler in particular.
C: Yeah. B: So like the other day we went out for a drive somewhere and we weren't gone that long and when we came back he was just like howling at the door. Like I guess if he hears the car leave and we're both gone, he assumes that's like a bigger deal than us just walking out the door and walking somewhere.
C: Yeah, it's weird. B: But it was just kind of sh-- Well, he's smart. He knows when we take the car or when we just leave for a walk, but, yeah, they've gotten very needy and used to us being around. I'm a little concerned as things go back to normal and there's, you know ... Like we're not going to work right now. Like our employer, the office's shut, everyone's expected to work from home, if they can. And, yeah, when that changes, I think the cat ... It's going to be a big change for the cats and probably a lot of people with pets out there. C: Yeah, to all of a sudden ...
B: They've gotten really used to their owners being home.
C: pets might have separation anxiety, if all of a sudden their owners aren't there.
B: And I might have separation anxiety, too. C: From me?
B: From the cats.
C: From the cats. Okay. B: All right, next question: "Are you back to the day job, like in the office?" So yeah, like we just said.
Both: No. C: Yeah, right now the federal Canadian government at least has basically not laid out a back-to-work plan. Like ...
B: Yeah, at this point we have no idea when that will be.
C: Sorry, a back-to-the-office plan, not work. Most people are working remotely from home; so they're just like connecting remotely to the network and doing what they need to do that way. Or they may have their work computers at home and things to do it that way. But like I haven't been back to the ... I haven't been in the office since March; neither has anyone on my team. B: Yeah, so I think ... I guess there's two sides to this. In some ways it's, you know ... Woah. [unintellgible][
C: Menchie.
B: Hey, Menchie. I In some ways, we're finding out there's a lot of work that just CAN be done from home, but I think on the flip side a lot of people are realizing that mental separation of going to work, to like "This is the place where I work on this and my home is where I get to not have to think about those things," C: Yeah.
B: is probably more important to people than a lot of people realized.
C: It's important to me. I definitely miss having an office and I find it really hard to work from here.
B: Mm-hmm. C: Because look at this face; look at Menchie. B: Yeah, how can you work when Menchie's around?
C: Yeah. B: Next question: "If you had to create a bubble household with another YouTuber and their partner/family, who would you pick?" This is the YouTube Hunger Games. Who are you going to pick?
C: Who's in your Covid bubble? B: I've got an answer, but I want I want to hear yours first. C: So I'm assuming the bubble household thing, this question may have come from someone in Ontario or Canada, because like that's what our government is telling us to do right now, is pick these like social bubbles: like pick ten people that don't come near anyone else except for the ten people in their social bubble. B: Yeah, you should be limiting yourself to these social circles that don't see anyone else other than those ten people, for example. But I think this is more universal question. Just if you're stuck quarantining in a bubble with another youtuber or YouTuber couple, who would it be? C: So obviously our friends: ThreadBanger,
B: Why are you so reluctant to answer the question?
C: Rob and Corinne, Safiya and Tyler .... Wait, how many people are in my bubble?
B: Is there a limit? C: Well, like we probably don't want it to be that big.
(B: Who would be more responsible?) C: You don't want the bubble to be that big, right?, because the bigger it is, the bigger the risk that anyone go outside the bubble. We don't want that, so we have to be very selective in our bubble. B: So I don't know about any of those people, but I'd love to be stuck in a household with Claire and Brad Leone and maybe Sohla from the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen,
C: What? B: because I feel like we would just be eating so well. You know those series of videos where they're like trying to make gourmet peanut butter cups or gourmet Ben & Jerry's?
C: Yes. Gourmet hummus? Is that what you're going to request? B: We would eat so well, if we just lived with those people. C: Okay, so I see you're thinking about this in a strategic sense, whereas I was thinking of friendship. B: Heh-heh. Friendship's overrated.
C: Okay, Ben. B: All right. Next question: "What has been your favorite part about doing this podcast?" C: Spending time together. B: We spend a lot of ...
C: Just kidding B: What? I don't know; what's your answer? What's your real answer? C: It's been fun to have less stress on ME to not have to like make a joke every two seconds, and I feel that pressure when I'm filming main-channel videos. And I know I shouldn't have to, because no one's sitting there like "Cristine, where's the joke? It's been two seconds!" No one's actually thinking that. But it's really hard to get that out of your mind when so much of your channel identity is just like
"joke, weird, meme, something silly, cut."
B:Even though that's pressure you put on yourself, yeah, I understand there's that expectation there. And, yeah, I guess getting ... This podcast is also something ... I don't think people appreciate or understand how much time you spend on Simply videos in post-production, in editing them.
C: Yeah. B: This podcast, you know, like we'll change some camera angles after the fact or maybe adjust the audio a little bit, but it's basically a live conversation and I think it's been so much less of a mental burden that we don't really have to listen or like you don't have to do some elaborate editing process with these after the fact, that makes a big difference in your willingness to do them.
C: Yeah. So we may spend an hour and a half or so filming/setting up and then we'll spend maybe about twice that time each just rewatching it, color correcting, uploading it and everything else like to get it actually finished. So that's a much lower like filming-to-editing (because there isn't really much editing) like ratio than with Simply, where it's like I'll film for maybe five to six hours, but then I'll edit for days.
B: Yeah.
C: Yeah. All right. I mean, I wonder if the podcast is something you could see yourself doing longer than Simply videos, too. And I think it's been refreshing for people to see like a more real version of you, in a way: not that like you aren't being yourself in Simply videos, but I think you put so much pressure on yourself to be in like an entertainment mode that it's, You know, I think it's just healthier for you to just be like a real person having a real conversation sometimes. C: I also like this podcast, because I see your comment, like comments from you guys, the audience, in a different way than I see them on my Simply video. So like simply videos, it's like, you know, people ... the top comments are usually like jokes about lines that I said or something like just joking about how Cristine is so weird or "she's actually doing nail art, hahaha," whereas the comments on this podcast and when we ask for questions are very insightful, like there's some really interesting ones, and you guys have a lot to say. You've clearly like reflected on things that we've said in the past, so I really like that kind of more deep-form conversations,
B: More meaningful.
C: more meaningful engagement. So that's been really cool, because i'm kind of learning like about you guys, too, and knowing like what you want to hear. B: I wonder how the audience would react if you just started like doing the podcast or continuing to do the podcast consistently and less main channel videos. I wonder how the audience would respond to that. C: Don't scare people like that. B: All right, next question: "What is a common misconception people hold about each of you? (Love the podcast! I listen with my husband every week)" Thank you, J Nicole Forbus What what misconception do people have about you, Cristine? I think at the outset like people think I'm dumb, you know, if you just watch my nail videos. Or like the girl who, you know, put a hundred layers of nail polish on or that kind of thing.
B: Sure. C: But that's an obvious conclusion to kind of come up with, and the media has, you know, perpetuated that conclusion in the early days.
B: Well, I mean, we ... Do we ... Like if you're putting out videos of you eating nail polish,
C: What else do I expect, yeah. B: It's maybe not completely unreasonable for people to just sort of write that off as frivolous.
C: Yeah. But it's still a misconception B: Yeah. You know, absolutely.
C: Another misconception is that people in the beginning actually thought I was like a licensed nail tech or like I had actual nail knowledge and I never did. B: I don't really know if I have an answer to this. I mean, I think it's interesting the extent to like as a kind of public figure on the Internet, if you make a joke about something one time, people might sort of grab it and run with it and it becomes like sort of exaggerated how much it matters to you. And I could think of like silly examples like bananas or like hummus and like we sort of play into these as jokes, right? But like the banana thing like I'm like made a couple jokes about bananas or I drew bananas on your nails and then like all of a sudden like everything's about bananas. But like a more serious example is like I've made some critical comments about the beauty community. It wasn't really that much. I don't think I said anything like insane or crazy, but in a certain corner of the internet, I noticed there's like a lot of comments about like now wanting me to comment on beauty guru drama all the time or, you know, as if like I'm a drama channel. And I think I sort of regret making jokes about that, because I don't really want people to think of me as the guy who's willing to say mean things about beauty gurus. I think like at first we wanted to ... We feel like some responsibility to call out bad behavior on YouTube as people with a bit of a platform. And I think we mostly did that and like I regret if I contributed to like a situation and made it more negative than it had to be in terms of like beauty guru gossip and drama. I think my main concern is the young people watching content of people promoting facetune and like the sort of embodiment of the worst aspects of this sort of vapid superficial beauty guru or YouTube culture. But I don't want to be the guy who's like known for being mean to beauty gurus. C: So you think that's the misconception about you, that people think you're negative?
B: I mean, I WAS negative, so I'm not even sure it's fair to say it's a misconception, but I just feel like it's interesting to think that like just making a few comments or jokes, the Internet can sort of run with that and sort of make that your identity.
C: Your idenitity. Yeah. No, that's true in all aspects, you know; things you say, like you have to be careful, I guess. It's kind of a lesson.
B: Maybe I should be a little more careful. C: But people love shady Ben.
B: I don't want to get deposted in Tati's lawsuit, you inow.
C: Oh, my god. B: All right. Next question: "What do you think about YouTube's different communities and why the beauty community is the most toxic of them all?" C: All right, Ben; forget everything you just said. Tell us your real feelings.
B: It's kind of baiting me. I mean there is a conversation going on right now about "Is the beauty community more toxic than other communities on YouTube?" And I think a lot of smaller makeup channels are sort of pushing back on that characterization. Is that fair to say? C: Yes, because the beauty community is not just the three people that you hear about in the news causing the current scandals, right? B: But the thing is, it's not really just three people. I saw ...
C: That was an example. B: No, no, no. But like I see what you're saying and a lot of people are saying this: like maybe it's just some of your most problematic people with huge platforms that are sort of giving the whole genre a bad name.
C: A bad look. B: But I don't know if that's true, because I think there's a long history of beauty guru influencers specifically acting poorly and I wonder if there is something about ... C: You could say that about YouTubers in general. B: But I mean, like do you hear in like the ASMR community about like top ASMR artists like talking behind each other's back and lawsuits and racist pasts and ...
C: I don't know, maybe; like I have no idea. B: Maybe it's just not as big. But I do wonder if there's something about ... I think there's something fundamentally superficial about makeup, right? It's about changing your appearance in a very superficial way. Maybe that's sort of undermining the artistic aspect of it ... C: Yeah, I was just going to say I think people would reject that, although I can see that from a outsider perspective, because you're not someone who wears makeup. B: But does it not seem to you that some of like the biggest people in the makeup and beauty community are just sort of celebrating the most superficial aspects of what it means to be beautiful? And are we surprised that those people then have pretty superficial values? C: I wouldn't call just using makeup and like the skill of, you know, putting on blended eyeshadow, I wouldn't call that superficial, because I really do believe in the artistic and like creative component as just a means of expression and it's fun. It's like when I paint my nails, is that for vanity? Like not personally. Personally it isn't a vanity project for me, it's just I love the creative expression of like layering different colors. And so I can really appreciate that from a makeup perspective and I've been someone who's played with makeup colors and done like crazy eye shadow. I do think at the same time, though, that even though there's an artistry and a creativity which I fully respect and I believe like you can put on as much makeup as you want, have fun, I also don't want it to go too far, to the point that young people feel like they have to put on a certain amount of makeup or they have to make other more serious modifications to their face to fit a certain standard of beauty, and that's where you start getting into this vanity landscape where it's about superficial looks and behavior.
B: I guess it's hard from I don't really have an appreciation or understand where that line is. C: Well, it's like you've seen me do crazy colors on my eyes. Is it because I'm superficial? No. Right? So I'm ...
B: Then I don't know why you do it. C: Well, because it's fun and it's cool. It looks cool. Like it's artistic, right? You can appreciate and believe that when I've done crazy banana-colored eyeshadow, I was doing it because it was fun, not because I'm, you know, think I need to appear more beautiful from a superficial manner, right? C: But you're also not someone who has devoted their entire artistic outlet or passion into makeup specifically, so I'm not sure if you're the best example either. I guess ... C: But the fact that I can do it without it being a vanity, superficial project proves that there are people who do it for similar reasons, right?
B: Sure, Sure. And I think ... Yeah, I can think of some examples of smaller people who don't seem to be, you know,, embodying the worst aspects of that sort of superficial influencer culture, as well. I guess one thing I'd add to this. I saw an interesting observation from Australian beauty guru Chloe Morello (is that her name?).
C: Yeah.
B: You know her?
C: She's funny. B: Okay. She tweeted out something the other day that ... like that most of the toxicity in the beauty community is from MEN who are prominent in the beauty community, and I don't think that's a coincidence either. So I think maybe there's different expectations for men in beauty than there are for women. C: Yes, I did see that and I found that interesting. There is also far less men in the beauty community. So are we just biasing our assessment of that because there's just less men to observe in the community at all, so we're noticing the toxicity more there or is it because the largest beauty gurus at this point a couple of them are men.
B: And why are they men? It seems to me, though, there's much more talented female beauty gurus, but it's almost like there's different expectations for men to some degree.
C: Maybe different expectations of behavior in what we're willing to forgive people for.
B: But also talent. Some of like the biggest male beauty influences aren't particularly talented from what I've heard from people who seem to know makeup.
C: Well, let's be fair. We're not really judges on the talent level of makeup gurus. All right, let's just get off the makeup talk. Okay, that's enough makeup talk. Tea time with Cristine and Ben's over. Next question Oh, good. "What are your thoughts on Jenna, Marbles leaving YouTube and YouTube burnout in general?" C: This was a highly requested question.
B: This was the most liked comment. It feels like something we couldn't just ignore. People want to hear what we have to say about it. I also want to be just very mindful about, you know, Jenna is an adult who chose to address this the way she wanted to. I don't know if she would appreciate people using this as a topic for content on YouTube, so I don't really want to dwell on this too much. I think like both privately and publicly I hope Jenna and Julien know like we have a lot of respect and admiration for what they've done online and I guess like the first thing that comes to mind when I think of that video Jenna put up ... For anyone who's not aware of this, I imagine most people are but, so Jenna put out a video recently saying she's probably not going make YouTube content anytime soon or maybe ever again. and she apologized for some insensitive content she had made many years ago, Including some racially insensitive jokes. Is that a fair characterization or overview?
C: Um-hmm. I guess I'll say like totally respect her decision to do that. I think a lot of the conversation is about like whether or not she was cancelled or not. I think that's what a lot of like the Twitter conversation was after the fact. C: Yeah.
B: And you'd see people complaining like "Isn't it so sad that Jenna Marbles was canceled over like jokes she made ten years ago?" and often you'll see people respond like "She wasn't cancelled; she's just taking ownership and accountability for things that she felt hurt her audience." I think I'm more inclined to agree with the latter interpretation, that Jenna is just a very kind and empathetic person who felt a lot of guilt over the fact that anyone might have been offended by her content, but I also do ... I would ask people to consider that, even if there wasn't like some outcry for her to address this, just knowing how nice of a person she is and how caring she is about her audience, even if she just saw like a handful of comments of potentially people who didn't even really care, they were just trying to get an influencer or a famous person to apologize for something, like you kind of have to question people's intentions as well. It makes me really sad thinking of that video, because she basically leaves off saying like "I really don't want to think my channel made people feel bad," I think is the kind of core message she left with. And I ... That's just so sad to me, because I think so many young women in particular look to her as just such an immensely positive and responsible figure on a platform full of irresponsible figures. And to think of how much good she has done for people, I really hope she doesn't leave YouTube thinking that she had some sort of negative influence
(C: Because she didn't. Yeah.)
B: because I just really am NOT will--- I'm not in any of the categories she would have offended with those old jokes and content she deleted years ago, but I just have to think her positive influence outweighs those mistakes.
C: Mm-hmm. Yeah, and I feel the same way and I feel like there's probably a lot of Jenna Marbles fans listening to this podcast, too. I know we have a lot of audience overlap. You guys love ... If you love me you probably love her. I love her. I love her content. Obviously she's been an inspiration to me since I started my youtube channel, and I like remember saying that in a video in 2015. As a fan of Jenna, you know, I respect her decision ultimately. Whatever makes her feel like better and what she wants to do in her life at this point. And I think the best thing you can do as a true fan is respect her decision: like appreciate, you know, what she wants to do with her channel and especially not make her feel bad for leaving or getting mad at others for causing her to leave, because she is a grown adult who made a decision that she felt was right for her. So, you know, this isn't about getting angry at people, Jenna or others, it's just about respecting her decision as a content creator to take a break and do what she wants. And like Julien said, she's going to be Jenna now. Not Jenna Marbles, but like just, you know. Yeah.
B: Just a real person. She's been doing this a long time.
C: She's a real person. B: Yeah, and I feel like that probably contributed to ... Yeah, I really hope she doesn't feel any sort of guilt about not making content and please don't make her feel guilty with comments. I think
C: Yeah.
B: They have such a respectful aud-- It's kind of insane how positive an audience she has and I think that really says a lot about
C: About them. Yeah.
B: both her and you. Yeah. Anyway, love those guys. Moving on. "What are your opinions on so many YouTube creators being cancelled because of past problematic videos?? So I guess just adding on to this, I saw ... We saw quite a few questions about this and just sort of our thoughts on cancel culture in general. I think it's a tricky topic and one we kind of want to be careful what we say about it and ... Like what really is cancel culture? Like what you'll often hear when you're having a conversation about cancel culture is there's often this retort of like "Who has really been cancelled?" And I think there is some irony in the fact that a lot of big figures complaining about cancel culture are people with big audiences who, you know, like are you really cancelled if you still have some giant platform and you're publishing books and things, you know what I mean? C: If you're still at the height of your fame and the controversy is just making you more infamous, are you really cancelled? Like is the concern over cancel culture kind of overblown in the sense that, how many people can you actually point to that have been quote/unquote cancelled? And what does that really mean, right? Although ... like I guess I'm kind of arg-- On the flip side, I think some people have this idea of like "No one's really been cancelled. Like look at someone like Louis C.K.: he can still make money." But then I guess I wonder, when people want to be cancelled, are they literally thinking that that person should like never work again? Like should that person just be like, you know, live in a hut in the woods and like should never be seen or heard from again? Like what does it really mean to cancel someone?
C: Yeah. I guess that's kind of a goal that I would like people who are encouraging the cancellation of someone to ask themselves. Like what what do you ultimately want and what are you comfortable with in terms of like this person that we're trying to cancel? So, for example, when I think of this it reminds me a lot about about criminology. So public shaming, right?, and using that as a way to deter crime. And ultimately when someone gets punished for a crime that they commit, questions in the justice system are asked like, "Does the punishment fit the crime?", "Will this, you know, cause deterrence of others to not commit the same crimes?" and "Do we want the person to reintegrate into society after they've servced their full punishment?", right? These are all questions that are asked in the justice system and you try and figure out like what is the most appropriate. Although there ... I'm not saying there is a perfect formula, right? Obviously it varies, totally, especially by country and just by your moral beliefs, but there's at least some methodology or like theories on how to approach this and people can reflect on what makes sense and do we want the person to come back into society, and if we do, then what are the best steps to get them to that place after? B: Yeah, so like in crimin--- It's been a while since we've been in school talking about these theories of punishment.
(C: Yeah, thinking back ten years.) B: But, yeah, the theory of like reintegrative shaming and the idea that punishing someone for doing wrong or committing a crime Is much ... The punishment can be much more effective if you do it in a way that reintegrates them into society. So they'll have things where it's like ... Like what were they called? Like the victim circles, where like part of your punishment is having to like sit down with the people who you victimized and hearing their victim-impact statements. And like, you know, actually listening and learning. As opposed to the flip side: a theory of punishment that just says, "Oh, someone did something wrong; let's put them in prison for X number of years," and then they're allowed back out at the end of the day ...
C: At the end of the term with no real reintegration efforts necessarily, right?
B: Yeah.
C: So do we want these people to come back, and if we do, do we want them to be in a better place? Either ... whether that's more educated in understanding the harms of their crimes caused and so they don't do it again.
B: Yeah. I guess it's just something for you to think about. Like if you're participating in a movement where you think someone needs to be called out publicly for something, I think it's worth asking yourself like what your actual objective is in doing it,because I think ... Like I am somewhat uncomfortable with Cancel Culture quote/unquote, because there is definitely an element of people just getting excited at the prospect of participating in like an online mob of cancelling someone. C: It turns into a sport.
B: Like when you see hashtags of like "this person is over party." Like what really are your intentions at this point or are you just having fun participating in this exercise of power over someone who's probably in a position of power? C: Yeah. I think, obviously when people do something wrong they should be held accountable, especially if they are public figures and that is the best way to like get them to address it. But at the same time, what do we ultimately want of this person, right? Do do we want to shame them and like have them completely disappear and never give them a chance to understand? B: And in some cases it might just be to exclude them from the platform or privileged platform they have access to now. Like if that's your argument, I guess that's fine. And maybe that makes sense in some cases. C: Right, I'm not saying one is right or wrong, I just want to articulate that these are like tougher questions that you have to ask yourself about whether or not you're comfortable with the idea of like this person being completely ostracized and what it would mean for their life. Like just if you're comfortable with that outcome, then that's your perspective.
B: Because like you can ... I can think of a lot of viral clips of people doing really reprehensible things and then it goes viral on Twitter and all of a sudden that person's life is ruined. And in some of those cases there's some satisfaction in that, because it's like "Yeah, that awful person is getting their comeuppance," at the same time part of me always thinks like we might be seeing the worst thirty seconds of this person's life and now for the rest of their life, any time they're meeting someone on a date or applying for a job, the first thing people will think when they think of them is like "Hey, aren't you that person I saw in that thirty-second viral clip of you, you know, yelling something offensive at someone in a park?" You know what I mean? So ... C: And there's no due process on Twitter so you don't really have the chance to have a defense in a meaningful way, like comparing to the justice system anyways, not that that's perfect either.
B: No, definitely not.
C: But it's just ... B: Like we could have a whole podcast on cancel culture. I'm not sure we were really prepared to have that now, but I think fundamentally at least for me like I'm a huge free speech person. I think people's right to express their thoughts is sort of like a fundamental right through which all other rights come from, so I'm very staunchly supportive of free speech and
C: As long as it doesn't harm groups.
B: as long as it's not like a call to violence against people. There's some obvious limitations there. But it is a little bit worrying that there seems to be a bit of a trend from progressive people that's a little authoritarian in its trying to silence any voices that disagree with that sort of progressive orthodoxy. I think that criticism is overblown by a lot of people. So like from my perspective, I think people should be free to say whatever they want to say, but that doesn't mean you're free from the repercussions
C: The consequences.
B: of saying, or the consequences of saying crazy or offensive things either, right? C: Yeah, that's a good point. So there's a balance here and it kind of ... you almost have to judge it on a case-by-case basis. But it does concern me to some degree that people sort of enjoy cancelling people as entertainment. C: Yeah, when it turns into a sport, I don't think that's a good direction for society, because what's the goal there? The fun is just in seeing other people get hurt and maybe your argument is "well, they hurt other people, so that's fun." But does an eye for an eye wo-- make the whole world blind?
B: Okay, Gandhi. Okay. C: No, but like that's one of the principles of criminal justice, too.
B: Yeah, I know.
C: You can't just put everyone in prison in theory, right? So ... I think someone would refute, though, that like we're talking about people in positions of power. Like there's an inequity here already, right? So I think it's just trying to even the playing field. But ... I don't know. It's really interesting times. Maybe some YouTubers don't deserve the platform they have, because they've done terrible things. I think it's a very subjective thing; I don't know who gets to decide that.
(C: But doesn't that mean that ... C: Well, audiences. Audiences have the power to like subscribe or, you know, unfollow. B: Yeah, but unfortunately, what we see is audiences seem very willing to support pretty terrible people, right? C: Um-hmm. But that's on us. I mean as a society, it's on US who we've made popular and continue to make popular by watching them and giving them attention So we all kind of need to accept responsibility of that as well. If we're so mad and upset that someone is popular or someone was voted into something, you know, we did that.
B: I will say like I'm not going to tell anyone they shouldn't not be offended by things YouTubers have or haven't said ten years ago, because we're not in the category of people that would be offended by those jokes in most cases. But a part of me has to wonder, from a very pragmatic perspective, Is it really strategically ... Like what is really being accomplished by attacking YouTubers for videos they posted ten years ago? Is that like achieving any sort of meaningful reform in terms of things that really matter to black and brown people in terms of like their, you know, their increased chance of being pulled over by police? Or like there's some meaningful reforms and conversations that I think really have to happen, especially in America, but in Canada, too, and I almost wonder like being obsessed with "Social media star once rapped along to a song and said a racial slur eight years ago." If that's where you're directing your attention, is it not a bit of a distraction?
C: Maybe it's because that's the only place attention can be directed and it actually work, like in terms of like this blowing up on Twitter or whatever, because it's not easy to change police policies, you know, or like the the real issues on the front line right now? B: That just says to me it's almost a distraction from that like more meaningful work that actually has to be done.
C: It's not a distraction, it's just maybe what's available. B: All right, anyway ...
C: What's more within reach.
B: We're not going to solve this on this podcast. All right, next question: "Ben, what's so great about hummus? is it nutritional ...
There's a change of pace!
C: A palate cleanser, everybody. B: So hummus is just delicious. But, you know, Cristine will make fun of me
(C: It's just disgusting.)
B: for eating an entire tub of hummus in a day. I just want to be clear here and clarify when I'm talking ... We're talking about a pretty small tub, right? C: Ummmm?
B: Like I looked at the nutritional info. I don't have it in front of me right here. But, you know, it's like maybe like 400 calories of hummus. So if that's an entire meal, that's fine.
C: But you don't just eat hummus as your meal.
B: Yeah, I often do. C: No!
Okay, here's the thing about Ben.
B: Uh-oh. C: Ben's going to make a video and it's going to be called "what I eat in a day" and it will last twenty seconds,
(B: Just a pile of hummus.)
C: and it will just be hummus. B: All right, enough of that.
C: I come downstairs and then he'll turn around and there'll be a bowl of hummus
B: She catches me.
C: and he's finishing: he's cleaned the spoon and the whole bowl is empty. B: Yeah. There's worse things to be addicted to. C: Okay, I like ...
B: Don't I support your tea addiction and you're giving me a hard time for liking hummus a lot? C: But I drink a reasonable amount of cups of tea a day.
B: No, you drink an unreasonable amount of tea a day. C: Ahh! I don't think so. I drink like four. Four.
B: For someone with like crazy hobbies and addictions and 5,000 nail polish bottles downstairs
(C: I just want ...)
B: you're giving me a hard time for eating a lot of hummus. C: I just want you to have a balanced diet. Just looking out for you.
B: Oh, yeah. C: You've got to, you know, make sure you have some diversity in your pood ... pood? your food ...
B: My "pood"? Your food pyramid. What is that the Health Canada calls it? Your food pyramid. B: I don't know, dear.
C: Can't just eat hummus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
B: It's the hummus period, that's what I follow. Pyramid. Did I say period? It's the hummus pyramid.
C: Yeah.
B: All right, next question: "Who is your Canadian celebrity crush?"
C: If you don't say me, I'm leaving. Oh, do you count? Are you a Canadian celebrity? C: According to Google.
B: I thought we decided YouTubers don't count.
C: YouTubers aren't cool enough.
B: I mean, Ryan Gosling's my answer, right?
C: He's my answer. Pick again.
B: We're not allowed to have the same answer.
C: Pick again.
B: All right, Elisha Cuthbert. Okay, next question. From Simply Norris Logical: C: Do we have another family member?
B: "When you started YouTube, did your friends and family support you?"
C: I didn't really tell them. B: I think it's, yeah, just more the case like they didn't really understand what it was until it clearly turned into ...
C: Until they saw me on the news or something, like in an article. B: Until they saw the Maclean's article.
C: Yeah.
B: Like I remember my ... I remember like my dad is like not a very talkative person, kind of old-school guy, and like I don't think he understood it for a long time. And then one time I'm spending a little time with him and he goes like "Googled your name and
C: Something [unintellgible] B: found Socialblade," and he just like gives me this nod, like "Good for you." Like, okay. I guess it changes once your family realizes it's like this lucrative business thing and not just like some weird hobby I was supporting of my girlfriend, right?
C: Yeah, my grandmother still doesn't get it. When I talk to her on the phone, she'll be like "You're still doing that nail thing?" and I'll be like "Yeah." She goes, B: "Why don't you go back to school?"
C: No, but then she'll ask me "But you still have your government job, right?" And I said, "Yes. Yes, Grandma." And she goes "Well, good." Just like, okay. I would love to get your grandmother, both of them, on this podcast.
C: Oh, my god. Nightmare. All right, next question:"What TV show has made you guys ... What TV show have you guys enjoyed the most while the world is in shambles?" What have you been watching lately?
C: Well, when quarantine started we watched "Pandemic." B: Yeah, that wasn't a good idea.
(C: That was a mistake.) B: Like I was saying earlier, like you need some entertainment that's just like shut-your-head-off stupid. Like "The Floor is Lava" was a good example: that show so dumb and bad, but I watched all of it. C: We watched "Ozarks" ... "Ozark." B: Yeah, but that's another dark show.
C: I love dark shows.
B: You watch some dumb content, too, though. C: I watch mostly dark shows. So I'm watching "Billions."
B: Yeah.
C: I watched "My Brilliant Friend." on ... I think it's ... I don't even remember if it was Netflix or Crave, but it's based on an Italian novel. It's really good. I'm watching "Animal Kingdom" right now, which is not about animals. It's about like drugs and crime.
B: It's not about tigers. But, yeah, I watch a lot of dark like Netflix.
B: I guess we do. We watched ... We just watched that new "Unsolved Mysteries" reboot on Netflix. C: Um-hmm. I watched those while I was swatching.
B: Yeah. I like to put on shows while I'm swatching, because I find that just helps the time pass. It's a lot of time to be spending in my basement painting my nails and taking pictures, so it helps to have something on. But, yeah, I like the dark like psychological thriller content. B: Okay. Next question: "What was your favorite movie as a kid?" C: I don't remember. B: For me it was "Transformers: More than meets the eye." Do you remember that cartoon with the robots? C: I don't really remember like watching movies. B: You didn't ... That's so weird. You didn't watch movies as a kid? C: I mean, like I probably did, but I don't remember them.
B: You don't ... Like I think most people from their childhood have memories of like that big-deal movie that came out when they were like between eight and twelve years old. C: Like what? What are some examples? We're the same age. B: I don't know, for me like "Jurassic Park," when that came out that was a big deal.
C: Hated that one. B: Everyone was talking about it.
C: I ran out ... I didn't watch it. I remember it being on and then I'm like, "This is a stupid." B: Really? That was so ... That movie kind of holds up in terms of its special effects.
C: No.
B: Or like "Toy Story 2," I guess. When that came out, it was like
C: Buzz Lightyear!
B: amazing technological advancement. C: Yeah, okay, I've seen that.
B: You are so weird. You didn't watch movies as a kid? C: I just ... I mean, like I did, but I don't remember it fondly. It's just a movie [unintelligible] B: I remember I would watch like The Transformers cartoon movie over and over again. Like the new Transformers Michael Bay movies are awful, like some of the worst movies you'll ever see, but that 90's cartoon movie is so good. But like, spoiler alert: they kill like the main good guy like early in the movie, like almost right away,
C: Why?
B: and it's just like tragic for
C: So you were crying? like eight-year-old Ben watching, like they killed my robot hero.
C: Oh, my god, they killed your robot. B: The movie is ... You know what's interesting about that movie, too? The bad guy is voiced by Orson Welles, who is known for like making what a lot of critics consider the best movie of all time, "Citizen Kane." And it's his last credited role in a movie, is this cartoon robot fighting movie and apparently he didn't really realize it was a movie. He thought he was just doing the voice for a toy commercial. C: What? How could he not know that?
B: He was kind of getting old and you know what? There's an argument to be made that Transformers, the show and movie, was basically just a long commercial for people to buy the toys. How do you not have a movie that meant something to you as a kid?
C: I don't know.
B: That is so weird.
C: I was busy playing "Go Fish." I don't know. B: Did your parents let you watch ... like did they just not let you watch movies?
C: No, no, I watched movies. I just like don't think of these as valuable memories. I don't know. It's just a movie. I probably forgot about it. B: I think it might be because I was like the youngest of three siblings, but I think my parents were a little too lax in like what they let me watch, so I remember when I was like ten years old,
C: You watched a porno. B: my best friend and I went to Blockbuster or whatever and we rented "Silence of the Lambs,"
C: Uhh. B: or they must have rented it for us. And that is not a movie you should be showing a 10-year-old. And I remember after my friend went home his mother spoke to my parents and like he wasn't allowed to come over to our house any more. C: Not at that house.
B: Yeah.
C: Showing the kids the gore. B: All right. Cristine is just a robot that can't relate. Maybe you should transform. Next question:
C: Okay. "Are you planning to host some guests on Simply PodLogical? Can you name some of them?" C: Yes. We would like to have ...
B: Yeah? Who's your dream guest? C: Dream guests or like realistic guests? B: They're not the same person?
C: I don't think so. But, realistically, I think we want to have my sister, Jen. B: Yeah, that's someone we could actually have on.
C: And she is in our social bubble of ten people. B: My brother as well, he's around.
C: We'll have your brother, Matt. So we'll talk about math. B: But let's assume the world kind of goes back to normal at some point in the next year.
C: Um-hmm. B: Who are people you'd actually like to have on the podcast? C: I mean, I think it would make a lot of sense to have people that we've worked with before. Like that makes sense to have ThreadBanger on, or to have Safiya and Tyler on. But again, like these things are ... Are they going to fly down ... fly up to Ottawa? I don't know.
B: I figure like ... Here's the thing. I've seen people asking like "Can't you just do interviews on Zoom?" and we could, and we know how we could do that, and I think those people would be willing to do that. I think there's such a difference in terms of having a conversation with someone in the same room as you. I'm really reluctant to do it that way.
C: Yeah, I agree. B: And the one guest we had on was that Dr. Njoo, the Deputy Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, and like even that ... That was a really cool opportunity and we're glad that happened, but like even having that conversation ... Like only one person could talk at a time. C:Right. Like we couldn't really interrupt him and like the audio was only like one person at a time.
C: It was like delayed a little. Yeah. B: It was weird, right? Like we don't want to run into that again.
C: Yeah, you'd rather not do that, so we want to avoid that if we can, but what ... who do you want on?
B: Man, I can think of ... Like, yeah, obviously our ... Like Safiya and Tyler would be really good, because I know they did DeFranco's podcast, but I think they were very nervous, and they spent most of their time playing like the newlywed game and just answered a couple questions. C: We could play a game!
B: We could,
C: Let's play games.)
B: but I'd love to just hear about like their trajectory and how they ended up ... They're very interesting people that I think would just have a very interesting conversation. They should just start their own podcast, frankly. C: Yeah.
B: So like them, I'd love to talk to like Julien. Let Jenna take a break from the internet and I'd love to have Julien on.
C: He could teach us about Aries cooking, B: He could cook for us; maybe he could make me some hummus. I'd love to have like Mykie and Anthony Padilla and figure out why they're so angry at YouTube all the time.
C: Okay, Ben. B: Who else? I'd like ContraPoints, really interesting channel I've recently discovered.
C: Oh. I didn't know you watch that. B: Yeah, I've recently gotten into that a little bit. I think there's some topics that I would feel a little bit weird touching on the podcast without someone who was maybe more versed, well-versed in that topic and I think they are very ... They're a really interesting person that could have some very interesting conversations. I can think of like a lot of people we could have on here C: Yeah, ithat's a wide, wide range. B: And I think inevitably we will get to the point where like we'll just sort of sick of talking to each other C: Yeah.
B: And this podcast, I think, will ...
C: You don't think we're at that point? B: Not quite, but maybe you feel differently. All right. Next question: "What is the most money you've ever spent upfront on a video?" Maybe the car.
C: The car.
B Painting the car with nail polish. C: Yeah, because we bought a literal car.
B: We bought a car.
C: It was like a thousand-something dollars. B: Thanks to Rob for actually picking that up for us.
C: Yeah, we had to wire him the money. B: Yeah, I remember we found like some very used, old V.W.
C: An old Jetta. B: It barely ... It barely started, right? It had trouble ... Like Asheville is a very hilly city. That's where we filmed this video. We could not drive that car up steep hills.
C: Yeah. B: Remember?
C: Yeah, we we bought a car. It was $1000 or something-- B: I think it was 2000.
C: Was it two? I can't remember--to paint with nail polish and essentially like destroy. B: And then we do--- Ultimately we donated it.
C: Ultimately it was donated to charity. B: I think they just sort of scrapped it, but ...
C: Yeah, it was donated to charity for scraps, not to like ... We didn't ... The car was not given to children. You know what Imean?
B: Yeah, I think the guy just towed it away. C: So I think that's the most expensive. Can you think of anything that rivals like $1000-2000? B; No, I think that's ...
C: Because we don't really spend that much on making content compared to other YouTubers like like MrBeast or someone who does some wild and crazy things. Yeah, my content generally doesn't cost that much. Obviously, when I'm reviewing Amazon products or testing things like I purchased all those.
(B: A lot of these little things add up,) B: but, no, I can't think of another giant ... like the coffin. We also sent to ThreadBanger.
C: The coffin. The coffin was, I think ...
B: The coffin was more expensive than I thought it was but ... C: Good point. I guess, yeah, there's a few of those examples, maybe, but nothing too crazy and nothing that cost more to make
B: Than a video paid. C: Yeah, nothing that cost more than the video returned on investment. So ... B: No, no. Yeah, you're not making that sort of content. If anything we don't have enough deductible expenses. C: Ben's looking for business expenses. You think you could fit hummus in there somewhere? B: I don't know if we could justify that. From Miss Nadia: "Do you guys like camping?" Have you ever been camping?
C: I went to overnight camp for eight years. B: Okay, I guess that counts, but you're not like sleeping in a tent.
C: No, it was like in a cabin, but for a week throughout that two-month stay or whatever is was, we would go actual camping, like on a canoe trip in tents. And I didn't like it.
B: You hated it. I cannot imagine you camping at all.
C: But you know why I hated it? Because there was this one time, at band camp... No. It wasn't band camp. It was just a normal overnight camp.
B: Yeah. But I was, I don't know, eleven years old and we were on a canoe trip like in Algonquin Park, and for a week with a bunch of 11-year-old girls and the people who packed like the food and our counselors ran out of food. They just didn't have enough food. B: That's responsible.
C: And we had to ration a tiny granola bar between like a few of us and some of us just started crying. We're like "We want to go home," but like you couldn't, because there wasn't really cell phones. And so we had to keep portaging into the next station where they could find, I don't know, like a park ranger to call someone to like let them know that there's a bunch of 11-year-olds who don't have food. But we ended up crying. We're carrying 90-pound canoes on our back. Meanwhile, like we ARE 90 pounds. And we started eating grass, I remember. B: No.
C: I swear to god, we ate grass B: Yeah, that sounds ... Okay, then it makes sense you don't like camping.
C: Anyway, after that, not sleeping, black fly bites everywhere, we were crying when we got back to the camp. We all called our parents and complained and like wanted to go home. Okay, but that builds character, right? Isn't that what they say about experiences like that? C: Right, but it also made me not like camping after that experience.
B: I get that. I think we're more ... If anything we would do like glamping nowl,
C: Oh, okay. B: which is like you sleep in a nice bed in like a hut somewhere in the middle of nature. Like that's something I could see us doing.
C: I have a bad back, too. So, honestly, like I would not be good at sleeping on roots.
B: Aww. You're so precious.
C: No, I'm just old. B: My ... I have a sister. Have I talked about that on here before? Anyway, she's like kind of a hippie. She used to work in Algonquin Park.
C: Mm-hmm. B: So I have some fond memories of going up there to visit her and I think just, you know, she knew things about the park and certain trails and we would go up there sometimes and she would show us ... Like there's there's an unmarked ... There's a really famous artist, Tom Thompson, died a long time ago,
C: Um-hmm. The group of seven. he's part of the Group of Seven ... Was he actually in the Group of Seven or was he like a predecessor to the group? Anyway, really famous Canadian artist was famously buried in the park in an unmarked grave that not many people know about. And I remember, so like I've ... We sort of like wandered into the woods. Like it's off a trail. You just have to know where to turn off a trail just into the woods and you can find it. So I've these sort of nice memories of going to Algonquin Park when I was a teenager in my early 20's, howling at wolves and stuff like that, you know. But, yeah, we're not really camping people now. C: I don't think Menchie would make it very well. Menchie wouldn't do good, no. Not up for it. All right, next question: "Have you had any horror stories since you've become popular? Any crazy fan stories? How do you handle those situations? And how do they affect you?" C: I'd say overall, we are very lucky that we haven't had some of the like worst horror stories that you hear of people's houses being broken into or like serious criminal stalking stories. Lke that hasn't happened to us to the point where we were calling 9-1-1 and fearing our lives B: Well, yeah. I don't want to exaggerate and it's probably better just not to even acknowledge certain things, but we received a letter once through your fan mail that like I I did call the police and just do a criminal background check on the return address from which the letter was sent. And I don't want to get into why it was really weird and those are just some of the things you kind of have to deal with as a internet personality.
C: I'd say the most uncomfortable I've ever been is when I felt like I was being followed t my car at work. B: Yeah, I remember this. I wasn't there, either.
C: No. You weren't. I pretended to be on the phone B: Yeah. It was some like teenage girl, though, wasn't it?
C: Yeah. So, yeah, I wasn't in fear of my life Or that wasn't my perceived [unintelligible]. B: Still, like it's not about your personal safety, it's just the feeling of being followed or someone like taking a picture without your knowledge It's just sort of a creepy thing you never really get used to, I guess. C: Yeah.
B: And you shouldn't get used to it; it's weird. C: And I guess I ... I'm very ... Like when we've gone to VidCon and we've gone to formal meet-and-greets like it's really great to meet fans and take pictures and hug everyone and, you know, do all that and that's really exciting. But I guess when I'm like in my hometown going to my job and just walking to my car after, I got so uncomfortable and like almost hyperventilating to the point that I walked around my car, I didn't actually go in my car, I went back upstairs to like the parking lot and just like went outside, and walked down the road because it was clear to me that they were following me and I don't know what they want to do. Like are they going to take a picture of my license plate? Are they going to follow me home? And I guess the uncertainty, the unknowing like of what this person's intentions are, it could have been completely harmless, but I didn't get the impression that they were just, you know, trying to come up to me and say "Hi," because they were hiding at the same time. So that's why I was uncomfortable. I much prefer someone ... Please, if you ever seen me in like another world after quarantine, Please I am so happy,
B: Just say hi.
C: just come up to me and say "Hi, Cristine. Like do you mind if we take a picture?", because I will say yes. I mean, sorry, I will say "Yes, I'm happy to take a picture," but what makes me uncomfortable is when people are trying to hide the fact that they're trying to take pictures of me behind my back without my knowledge or that they're following me. I think anyone can relate to that. What if someone's just following you to your car? B: I think that's very fair. And I would just add that like 99% of interactions we've had with people
C: are positive.
B: have been totally fine.
C: Yeah. Yeah. B: People generally sort of get it and know how to behave.
C: Yeah. B: Okay. Next question: "If Ben could style Cristine for a day and vice-versa, what would you choose?" I'm talking hairstyle/color outfit? On that note, would you ever do a style swap vid like Safiya and Tyler? I'd love to see Cristine rock belted dad-trousers and a cap, ha ha." Okay, Lucie. C: i don't know Ben. What do you think of my style?
B: I'm not sure I remember that Safiya video. Like I remember her dressing as Tyler, but did Tyler also dress up as Safiya? I'm going have to watch this video again. I don't know, Cris. I want you to be comfortable
C: Aww.
B: however you want to dress, sweetie, C: In pajamas with cat ears.
B: but if you ever wanted to dye your hair blonde, I wouldn't complain about it. And if you ever wanted to, you know, put on something cute, a little black dress, I wouldn't complain about that either. C: I just want to be comfortable, because we're not going anywhere. We're literally at home.
B: Good point.
C: Like why would I wear anything else? B: Yeah, okay.
C: And, you know ...
B: And how would you dress me?
C: I don't mind your dad style. I mean today you're a little youthful, you've got a hoodie on. That's unlike you. Who are you trying to be? Me? But normally, you've got your your dad polos and your your khaki shorts, your golf shorts and your white socks.
B: Well, do you think I should dress more hip? C: I don't care.
B: You just don't care; okay.
C: Whatever you want [unintelligible[. B: All right, I think the answer is we're not going to do a style-swap video then. C: I would totally wear what you're wearing, though. B: Next question: "Can you get TikTok again? We need you on there."
C: Well, I hear TikTok might be banned. So. B: Yeah, I'm not sure if that's true or not, but I think there are some legitimate concerns about having that app on your phone, so please ... I don't think you should download it again.
C: I downloaded it for a video two years ago. Remember when I made a main channel video on like slo-mo glitter falling TikToks?
B: Glitter, yeah. C: Yeah. That was before the current hype of TikTok. It was before it got taken over by musical.ly.
B: Was it musical.ly then or was it TikTok? C: No, it was TikTok, but it hadn't really picked up as it has today, but I haven't used TikTok since then. B: Okay. So, sorry, you're not going to see Cristine on TikTok.
C: The answer is no. Sorry, guys. I'm only on like seven different social media platforms; I can't handle it.
B: Don't you get enough of her? All right. Only a few left; let's try to lightning through them: "How does the pressure of being an influencer to millions of people's opinions and actions affect you?" C: It definitely affects me. I think about it a lot. B: Isn't the strategy to try to think about it as little as possible, though?
C: But then you make mistakes. B: But if you think about it, it's just too overwhel--- Like you can't just go around thinking "What are millions of people going to be thinking about this?" either, right? C: No, but it means you need to ... you need to be responsible and make sure you're confident in like what you're going to say how, people are going to react. These are all things you need to consider before you say it. Whereas like if you're just talking to your friends, you don't spend hours thinking "Okay, what is this person going to react if I say ...." You're just ... You just say it.
B: You have an obligation to be responsible because you are a role model, whether you want to be or not, but at least for me I felt like I got a lot more comfortable on camera once I stopped thinking so much about the fact that millions of people might see that.
C: Yeah. Sorry, yeah. Those are two kind of different questions, I guess, but I see what you mean, yeah. In the beginning I think I was really nervous that so many people were seeing this. So I'd be more sarcastic and weird just out of nervousness.
B: And now you're sarcastic and weird C: Just out of normalcy.
B: because that's who you are. All right, next question: "When quarantine is over and it is safe to go back out into the world, where will your first trip be?"
C: Tell us, Ben.
B: "Any vacation ideas?" C: Tell us.
B: I mean, yeah. Okay, so we're assuming the borders open again. I don't ... I'm going to be pretty reluctant to travel for a long time until we really see that we're out of the woods. At this point I'd be more inclined just to, you know, like, you know, rent a really nice cottage somewhere or just go somewhere a little more ... with less people. Like maybe we'll just like go to some resort in Vermont or something like that. Or, you know, I saw some article about like Fiji is advertising like themselves as a destination for rich people to go to avoid people. I think it would be pretty funny to go to Fiji.
C: But we have to go to an airport to go there. I know, here's the thing. Like this is assuming the world goes back to normal, but I can't even let myself think about that, because I just feel like we're so far away from being able to do anything. C: We might do more vacations in Canada. Like that might be a realistic one. Maybe in the winter if things in Canada are opening up a little more. Maybe we go out on a winter vacation. I don't know.
B: Another winter. Go back to Banff. I don't know. I don't want to get my hopes up too early.
C: Aww, Ben. One day you'll have your vacation again. All right, oh, and last question: "Any Holo Taco sneak peeks for the PodLogical fam?" C: Ooooh.
B: Okay., Cristine sips her tea.
C: I've been dropping hints for Holo Taco's first anniversary collection. I've already said that it looks good over black. B: Okay.
C: I've already mentioned that there's three limited edition polishes in this collection.
B: There you go. C: And you kind of saw a black-and-white picture of the box, so you know it's a box of three. But I'll drop another hint, B: For anyone who made it to the end of this podcast.
(C: just for you guys.)
C: Yeah. It is a tribute to our best-selling polish. B: Okay. So people might be able to guess. Three piece, good over black, tribute to something that's sold very well.
C: That is our all-time, to this day best-selling polish. B: Okay.
C: What could it be? B: I mean, they're going to find out and this comes out on Tuesday.
C: They're going to find out on ... Oh, no, we haven't told them the release date yet. But you're going to find out soon.
B: Very, very, very, very soon.
C: Yeah. B: Okay, not to be super promotional.
C: I am very excited. It's our one-year anniversary. B: Yeah.
C: You remember what that was like, Ben? Our one-year anniversary?
B: I can't believe it's been a year. So I ... We think C: No, I mean OUR one-year anniversary.
B: Oh. I don't ... C: We didn't do anything.
B: We don't have a ... We don't even have a date we celebrate as ...
(C: We don't have a date. No.) C: Just ... Years just roll into ...
B: Every day is a celebration of our relationship.
C: Right. B: But, no, yeah, it's really exciting that Holo Taco's ...
C: Yeah, I'm so proud of it.
B: survived the year. It's been super rewarding and successful and a lot of work and a lot of learning. And so we think, we're pretty sure the next episode is going to be about Holo Taco. So we'll be asking for questions about that shortly, so keep an eye out for that. But, yeah, sorry to Anthony Padilla. We were going to have him on today, but we ran out of time. But maybe we'll be able to get him back on another time. But thank you, everyone, for listening to us just answer questions about anything. Maybe you should do an actual reddit AMA at some point if there is an audience on ... C: Well, I already ... I've already done like a Q and T in my main channel videos, which is kind of the same thing, isn't it?
B: Yeah, but it's always for like content for YouTube. Like maybe we should just go on like the nail polish forums on reddit and answer nail polish questions or something.
C: Should I or is that dangerous?
B: Ooof, I don't know. B: Yeah.
C: Hope you guys enjoyed this kind of chillax, random questions. It's kind of fun sometimes to just sit back and relax. We should play a game one of these nights.
B: Sit back, relax, Max, and so cool: shootin' some b-ball outside of the school. Yeah, it was a good time.
C: Yeah, leave some comments down below for different games that we could play on this podcast.
B: Games? C: Yeah, I think we should play games.
B: I don't come here to play games.
C: I would like to play a game. I want to have fun.
B: Okay, all right. Thank you, everybody, for tuning in.
(C: All right, everybody.)
B: We'll see you next Taco Tuesday. Stay safe. Stay classy. Stay out of trouble. C: Social distancing.
B: All right. C: All right, everybody.
B: See y'all later.
C: See y'all later. Bye!
Why did he choose that blue North Face sweatshirt, that style of glasses, that haircut. Hair is hair, clothes are clothes. One could argue everything we do to enhance our physical image is superficial.
Ughhhhhhh why can't we like makeup without being called superficial? Let us have this hobby in peace please 🙄
Love me a good dose of "man condescendingly dismisses feminine thing he can't relate to as superficial".
Ben is every guy I went to college with who would pretend he cared about feminism and then say something outrageously sexist and play it off like “I’m just calling it like it is!”
anyone who says makeup is "superficial" is completely outdated and prehistoric to me. he can't even grasp why men are at the top of the beauty industry which means he's completely oblivious to how the patriarchy infiltrates every facet of human life. how could he possibly see the beauty industry as anything more than the one dimensional "women who put effort into their appearance are superficial, therefore must be dumb." his wife (gf?) makes more money than him for 'superficially' painting her nails and that must eatttt away at him.
So I guess Ben won't live off any of the money Christine makes from Holo Taco and her YouTube channel? Since it's so superficial and leads to toxicity.
that dude has gamer male redditor energy
Profit off it...then trash the community. Where have I heard this before?
ben gives me slight "hi, i'm a white dude who likes to play devil's advocate bc other people's struggles are theoretical to me. it's fun to debate ur rights! i'm here to exhaust u so I can stop progress & maintain the status quo, which serves me. i like to centre my voice and perspectives when discussing a cause that means nothing to me" energy