Boomboxes, Books, and Avoiding the Mud: My Weekend Detox

What happens when we intentionally disconnect from the digital world? This intimate morning reflection explores the transformative power of putting down our phones and engaging with life directly.

After becoming overwhelmed by online negativity and divisive discourse surrounding recent events, I made the decision to step away from social media for the weekend. What followed was a revelation in productivity and joy that many of us forget is possible in our hyper-connected lives. From quality family time at a newly discovered restaurant (The Flying Biscuit) to shopping excursions that took me slightly outside my comfort zone, the weekend became an exercise in rediscovering simple pleasures and accomplishment.

The episode weaves personal experiences with broader observations about our relationship with technology and media consumption. I share book recommendations for "The Thursday Murder Club" series (far superior to the film adaptation), reveal fascinating trivia about the iconic boombox scene in "Say Anything," and discuss concerning research about Ozempic users abandoning their treatment regimens prematurely. Throughout these seemingly disparate topics runs a common thread – the value of mindfulness and presence in a world constantly competing for our attention.

As we navigate increasingly complex and sometimes disturbing news cycles, including the recent incident in Utah where two men were arrested for planting an explosive device under a news van, perhaps the greatest self-care practice is knowing when to step back. Join me in exploring how periodic digital detoxes can help maintain our mental health while still staying informed about the world around us. What Bible verse brings you comfort during challenging times? Share your thoughts and join the conversation.

Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!
Start for FREE

Thanks for listening! 

Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. 

Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!
Start for FREE

Chapters

• 0:29 Taking a break from online negativity
• 1:53 Weekend adventures and shopping trips
• 3:41 Book recommendations and productivity
• 5:30 Say Anything's iconic scene revelation
• 7:09 Concerns about Ozempic weight loss
• 8:56 Utah bomb incident near Kirk event

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:15

Well, hello and good morning, Happy Monday. I hope you had a good weekend. I hope you took time to put down your phone and go play and take in all of what the world has to offer. Most of you did so. I just had to step away from the internet for a little while and get away from all of the awfulness and the negativity and just the horribleness of what's going on out there in the internet world, and I just don't understand why people on the right conservatives want to continuously pimp out and promote the people that are evil and nasty and ugly, who are celebrating a death, an assassination of Charlie Kirk. I don't know why people like us on the right who want to promote that. I don't understand that, and so I just had to step away. Every time I would pick up my phone and scroll like three times, I would see all of this awfulness and I'm like you know I can't. So I put my phone down.

Speaker 1: 1:39

I got a lot done yesterday actually, we had the grand cam on Saturday, which is always brings joy to my heart, always and then yesterday we got up and had breakfast with my husband's brother and his wife. We went to a new restaurant. It was actually pretty good. Not pretty good. It was really good. I would go again. I didn't even know it was there and I pass it every day when I go home from work. It's called the Flying Pig or the Flying Biscuit. I keep wanting to say pig. I think it's the Flying Biscuit. Yeah, that's it. It was really good. It was good and I would go again. Was really good, it was good and I would go again.

Speaker 1: 2:22

And we talked about how far away of a drive it is. It was like 15 minutes. I drive longer to get to work or 20 minutes. Come on, it's not that far away. But you know, we have our little areas of the community where we don't like to go out of right I mean, I'm sure you do too Like we live in what they call the valley, because it's, you know, in between the foothills of the Appalachians, whatever. And so to go to another, I have a Target, I have everything I need, I have a Kohl's, we have a grocery, everything we need, drugstore, everything we need, right there where we are. But if you want to go to TJ Maxx, then oh my gosh, you have to drive another five whole minutes to go over Airport Road to get to TJ Maxx and by golly, that's what I did yesterday. I ventured out, went shopping. I got my fall clothes. I feel like a little kid on the first day of school with my new clothes. I got a whole new wardrobe. I got all the same pairs of pants, just different colors. But I did branch out and get a little bit different blouses and tops and let me tell you, it was all inspired by Helen Mirren's wardrobe from the Thursday Murder Club.

Speaker 1: 3:34

Now, if you want a good, clean, entertaining with older actors, I suggest the Thursday Murder Club. However, I would like for you to read the books first, or at least listen to them. Good, clean, fun. The books are a lot better, and I found out he has another one coming out in that series and I've already pre-ordered it. Can't wait to get it. I love the book series. I like the book series way better than the movie. The movie was good, but the books are way better. I highly recommend them. It's called the Thursday Murder Club and there's this whole like four books in it, and now he's got a fifth one coming out.

Speaker 1: 4:10

Okay, I did not mean to go down this rabbit hole, um, and I wanted to finish telling you about my weekend and so I went shopping after that and then I came home, cleaned out the car, gave it a good wash, vacuumed it out, wiped it out. So now I have a nice, clean car. And then I cleaned out my closet, donated a lot of my older clothes, so got a lot done. Amazing what happens when you put down the phone and go actually do some things. Get physical and go do some things, be productive. All right, but I did have some stories for you this morning that hopefully would be okay for you. Apparently, jd Vance is going to fill in on Charlie Kirk's show today. They're going to keep that podcast going. I guess they're just going to have people fill in for him. So JD Vance will fill in for Charlie Kirk today.

Speaker 1: 5:02

Okay, so the Emmys were on last night. I forgot about them. I know Maureen Callahan did a live YouTube thing on it and I wish I had remembered that, but I forgot it. I had forgotten about it. I wanted to watch the Maureen Callahan live YouTube making fun of it, but I forgot. I was watching the Marvelous Mrs Maisel again. Because again I have to get my mind off of what's going on. I can't be, I can't get in the mud with you guys. I'm sorry, I can't do it.

Speaker 1: 5:32

All right, so Say Anything. Director reveals how he tricked John Cusack into filming iconic boom box scene. If you are familiar, if you're a Gen Xer, you know this movie Say Anything. At the very end there's a scene and I don't know when it is, it's been a long time since I've watched it John Cusack's getting out of the car and he holds up this boom box in front of our house playing a certain song.

Speaker 1: 5:57

Well, cameron Crowe dropped a major bombshell about the most iconic scene in say anything. The gist of the story is John Cusack did not want to do that scene at all. And I'm thinking well, you're an actor, not the director. You're paid to act, you're paid to be directed, so you're supposed to do what you're told. You can't be a little prima donna like that. You come to, you sign the contract, you have the writers, you have the directors. If the director wants you to do that, by God, that's what you do, all right, but anyway. So Cameron Crowe said he had to trick him and say well, this, we're just going to film an alternating scene in case this, you know, this other scene doesn't work out. So just wanted to let you know that little, little little trivia thing there.

Speaker 1: 6:46

All right, top concerns about ozempic-like drugs has docs worried. All of the benefits are lost. I'm going to tell you something. If I wasn't such a wimpy, scaredy cat about this, I would probably take Ozempic to help me lose weight, because I'm tired of eating healthy and working out. I'm not really tired of that, but oh, it's hard sometimes. It's just hard and it's frustrating at times. And if I wasn't such a fraidy cat to get this shot, I probably would do it, but I'm too chicken. So surveys show that nearly 12% of Americans have turned to Ozempic I would say it's a lot more than that and Wegovy or similar drugs to lose weight with prescriptions more than tripling since 2020.

Speaker 1: 7:32

But new research suggests that many users are unknowingly sabotaging their progress with one simple mistake. I wonder what that is. In the study, scientists in Denmark analyzed data from 77,000 first-time users of semi-glutamate-based GLP-1s who didn't have diabetes. They found that more than half had stopped taking the drug within a year of starting treatment. Nearly one in five quit by month three and 42% had abandoned the regimen by month nine. I wonder why this level of drop-off is concerning? Because these medications aren't meant to be temporary quick fixes, so they lose the weight and then they quit taking it, I guess, is what they're saying, and they want you hooked on these things forever and ever and ever to get your money. And I have noticed, though, that the people like I, where I work people have lost weight and I can already see they're starting to gain it back. You can tell the ones that don't take it anymore because you know why because they didn't change their lifestyles. All right, I'm not going to finish reading that because I'm running out of time here.

Speaker 1: 8:42

Okay, so two men. This is kind of related to the Utah the thing with Charlie Kirk, the assassination, but it's not about the case. It's about something else, excuse me. Two men arrested for allegedly planting a lighting bomb under Utah news media vehicle near campus where Charlie Kirk was assassinated. So what in the world? I don't understand what is happening. Two men allegedly planted a bomb underneath a news van in Utah on Friday and tried to ignite it, sparking a massive evacuation and federal probe. Well, I would hope so. Okay, get ready, get ready, ready for the names. Here we go. Adeeb Nasser, 58 years old, and Adil Justice, amey Nasser, 31, were arrested Sunday night. Well, at least they caught the guys arrested Sunday night when authorities turned up at their front door in Magna, utah, less than an hour away from the college where famed conservative pundit Charlie Kirkut was assassinated.

Speaker 1: 9:51

Last Wednesday, an incendiary device found underneath the news media vehicle parked next to an occupied building. The explosive had been lit but apparently malfunctioned. Thank God, the FBI assumed jurisdiction over the investigation as soon as the incendiary device was confirmed to be real, given its worrying placement under a media-affiliated vehicle in such a public setting. In the last two days, federal authorities traced the threat back to Nasir. I wonder how they did that. Squad members parsed through their residence after obtaining a federal search warrant and uncovered more hoax weapons of mass destruction inside, along with illegal drugs and two firearms which Adeeb and Adeel weren't permitted to own as restricted persons with known narcotics use.

Speaker 1: 10:53

What in the world? We need more on that story right there, don we all right? Well, I guess that's it for now. I need to come up with a question of the day, which is I think I have done this before, this question I have, but I want to do it again because I think it's called for please share a bible verse that will help people through this time and that's all I've got. Thanks for listening. Love y'all. Bye.