Podcasts

MDC S4 E03 | Dark City (2-Mar-2024)

Do normal people have dozens of flashbacks, seemingly every day of their lives?

In society today, how common is belief in ‘objective reality’ and ‘linear time’?

If your people were dying out, how far would you go to try to save them?


MDC S4 E03

Dark City

Recorded: 2-Mar-2024
Published: 4-Mar-2024


Participants

AP from Darwin
NativeNewYorker
from New York
WarriorMonk from Borneo


Spoilers and stuff

Naturally, this episode is loaded with discussion about the film in question, which might spoil it for those who haven’t yet seen Dark City for themselves.

In saying that, there’s plenty of context given for all of the topics touched on during the call.

Even if you haven’t yet seen the film, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy the conversation.


Part 1

Main topics: Where do memories come from, why do flashbacks happen.


Part 2

Main topics: Why do some folks ‘wake up’, how people react to new information.


Part 3

Main topics: The use and abuse of ‘love’, what we do with our ‘time’.


Was this a good episode?

If you think so, then let us know in the comments section below.

A lot of time and effort goes into producing content like this.

Consider showing your appreciation by sending JLB a tip ?

Or just leave a comment below, it means a lot to me.


Links

Intro track – here.

Film clip – here.

Outro track – here.


Relevant JLB material

JLBA #113 – Falling Down the Rabbit Hole [Series] (2024)

John le Bon chats with Lez Luthor about the War Hoax.

Bonversation #42 – Lez Luthor [2] (29-Feb-2024)

 

Article #52 – The Conspiracy Ego Trip Framework (24-May-2019)


Credits

If you enjoyed this call, here are the people who deserve your thanks.

The Members of johnlebon.com:

Without these individuals, this website would not exist.

That’s a fact.


Production notes. MDC S4 E3. Recorded 2-Mar-2024, published 4-Mar-2024. Exclusive to Full Members. Set to public temporarily for RER listeners 19-Oct-2024.

5 thoughts on “MDC S4 E03 | Dark City (2-Mar-2024)

  • Up to episode 2:
    Sorry I couldn’t be there & I am struck by the honesty on display.
    Only available for a limited time & I’m grateful to JLB making it happen.

    Waiting to see what other comments appear …

    • Regarding the prologue: Seen as a mistake and withdrawn from Director’s version/cut. Who agrees?
      Why does the doctor phone John Murdoch at the beginning? Is he controlling what happens to John ? Is there a direct phoneline bypassing that geezer on the desk where he’s been staying for 3 weeks …

      There’s the fairytale ending which so captivated NNY. She’s taking him to Shell Beach- for real??
      The song you closed out with: Sway aka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/¿Quién_será%3F

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iaBJ-I0YyY
      Norman Gimbel did the English lyrics: This Mr Gimbel has form imho …

      “Killing Me Softly with His Song” is a song composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel. The lyrics were written in collaboration with Lori Lieberman after she was inspired by a Don McLean performance in late 1971. Denied writing credit by Fox and Gimbel, Lieberman released her version of the song in 1972, but it did not chart.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Me_Softly_with_His_Song

      In 1971, Gimbel and Fox signed 19-year-old singer-songwriter Lori Lieberman to a management contract, taking 20% of her income—double the usual amount. Aged 44 years, Gimbel began an extra-marital affair with Lieberman which would last several years.[6] Gimbel said that he relied on Lieberman to inspire his songwriting creativity since he had passed the most creative days of his youth: “Now I need a reason to write, and Lori is one of the best reasons a lyric writer could have.”[7] Lieberman was inspired by a performance of Don McLean to write some lyrics for a song; she shared these with Gimbel who fleshed out the lyrics while Fox wrote the music. Lieberman, Gimbel and Fox collaborated on the song’s title, adapted from Gimbel’s notebook of ideas. The song became “Killing Me Softly with His Song”, which Lieberman recorded in 1972 in the folk style. Gimbel and Fox produced the song and took full writing credit, cutting Lieberman out of future profits.[6] Roberta Flack heard this version and remade the song in her own style in 1973, creating a hit. The song was very profitable for Gimbel, and won him his second Grammy Award for Song of the Year.[8]
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Gimbel

      When JC sings this song near the beginning of the film, a raft of associations appears for me: And anyone else who knows the same stuff. Was that accidental/intentional by Proyas? I wonder …

  • bmseattle

    Re: memories/flashbacks

    I am on the end of the spectrum of having many flashbacks/recalls from my past.
    I can’t even begin to quantify it, really, it’s so common.
    Some are prompted by environmental factors, I’m sure… but most are seemingly random or spontaneous.
    I used to assume that everyone was like this, but I now realize that I am somewhat unique in this way.
    Also, it is not uncommon for me to remember things about other people that they, themselves, have forgotten.
    I’ll bring something up that a friend or acquaintance has told me about themselves from the past, and they’ll say “oh yeah… I forgot about that”.
    Or we share an event or circumstance from our collective past that, and when I reminisce about it with them, they have completely forgotten about it.

    Re: Benefits of learning/sharing “the truth”.

    I have my own reasons (which I have attempted to express here in the past), about why I feel that trying to discover “the truth” is beneficial to me.
    My reasons are, of course, my own, and might not “make sense” to others.

    I assume that everyone here, willingly paying money, to be on JLB’s site, has determined that it is a net positive to delve into these topics… even if they can’t eloquently articulate what that benefit is.

    JLB has stated that he views this existence as a “test” of sorts, with a subsequent judgement that is in some way based upon sufficiently “helping” others, as opposed to “hurting” others.

    I would argue that he is “helping” those that choose to be here (meaning JLB.com) in their quest to learn “the truth”.
    It is not up to JLB to understand their reasons and judge whether they are truly being benefited, as that is up to them to decide, and they are here willingly and can leave at any time. He might even disagree with their “reasons” if he learned about them. I say that is irrelevant and, ultimately, not for him to worry about.

    It just so happens, that JLB actually has direct evidence that he has helped people… specifically demonstrated in his recent “white pill” podcast about avoiding birth trama.

    So… if he is being judged in his efforts of offering truth to people who seek it out… and offering information that people can use, specifically, to implement tools to produce a safer life for themselves and loved ones, then I think JLB can be judged in the positive.

    Now… JLB also brought up in this current podcast, his desire to “be happy”.
    He alluded that, perhaps, knowing these truths is a net negative, in the “being happy” department (for him, at least).

    I would suggest that there will be moments where “being happy” and “helping others” in the same instance, cannot be reconciled.
    So, one must, in those cases, choose which is most important to them… or, if a perceived judgement is important to them, then one must forgo “happiness”, at times, in order to “help others”.

    The thing about “helping others” is… there are many qualifiers that are difficult to know.
    For instance…
    Is it important that you yourself know when you are helping someone and how much… or how many you are helping?
    (Ie., Is the number of people you are “helping” important? Or is helping just one person “ok”? And do you get “credit” for the help, even if you never know how you helped, or if you even did?)

    Is the time frame in which people are “being helped” relevant?… or is it sufficient that someone, sometime in the future might be helped? Again, perhaps someone you will never know about?

    Is the intention of helping others sufficient?
    Or do only results matter?

    Does the “help” need to be apparent to the recipient and something they approve of or think they want/need… and/or do they need to be asking for it?
    Or is unsolicited “help” ok?

    “Help” is such a vague concept, and we can never really know the ultimate repercussions of the ‘help” we give another… so it seems as if your intentions are “good” (from your perspective), then that should be “judged” as “good”.

    But, then again…what if your “good intentions” lead to unforeseen tragedy to the person you tried to help? What then?

    The more one examines the idea of living one’s life trying to do good, or help others, the more sticky things get.

    this is why I am more drawn to the “philosophy” of “do what you want so long as you don’t impose your will upon others or prevent them from doing what they want”.

    This philosophy doesn’t necessarily preclude one from trying to do “good”, or “helping” others, if they ask for it or need it, of course.

    One can decide they want to “be happy”, and even “help people”, with this philosophy… so long they aren’t imposing themselves upon another against their will.

    I actually believe that JLB is adhering to this philosophy…at least in the case of his website and offering his research into “truth” to those who seek it out.
    He is not imposing this knowledge upon others… he is only offering it to those who seek it out.
    He cannot know, ultimately, if it is benefiting them or not… but he is allowing them to decide for themselves what is to their benefit, and they can react appropriately as they see fit.

    Now… whether that makes JLB “happy” or not… only he can know.
    I will suppose it is a “net positive” for him, until the day he shuts down the website.

  • WRT rubbing one out – hat tip for an unexpected, but hilarious ‘interstitial’ by WM – which prompted a memory cascade of the numerous times I’d leveraged old experiences (or imagined) in real time, as a means to an end, even during monkey business with someone else – for whom the moment wasn’t quite satisfactory, and I needed to summon old partners or fantasies with (insert xyz) to properly execute and conclude the performance : )

    WRT what people do …from my observations across time and a wide array of people, including yours truly, it’s largely spent working, and if not actual productive work, some form of pretending to work, communication with co-workers, colleagues / clients and friends during the day, staying current in one’s field. a full audit of waking hours would including eating prep, eating, excreting, traveling to and from home, consuming content, practicing reproduction, managing money (paying bills, looking up investments, chasing ious), life management tasks (shopping, cleaning, organizing / decluttering, laundry, dishes, et al), making plans (i.e. researching flights / hotels for future trips)… parents obviously babysit or occupy their time thinking of / preparing for their children(s) needs.

    *good artists i’ve met often spend a considerably more focused / committed allocation of their time working on their craft, much more so than ‘knowledge workers’.

    alas, what else is there to do whilst waiting to die? i remember reading a book by Felix Dennis, who seemed from afar to have f…k you money and harems of companions, yet decided to leave the ‘scene’, tend to his garden, and write poetry until his final days. and i’ve heard many wealthy people say similar things….that it gets boring to just bask on the beach all day or globetrot to parties or sit inside all day proverbially wanking it. so they go back to work in similar form or fashion.

    wrt parallel versions – if a PC has free will / agency – and possesses the uncontrollable characteristics so often contrasted with bot-like NPCs – perhaps the parallel cannot revert back to believing in fake stories, but is there not a parallel version of PC X, Y or Z right now? if they only decide to think/manifest that reality into existence? e.g. if one makes different decisions with what to do with their time, that new version is in fact a potentiality – within reason (e.g. most are not likely to law of attract being a starting striker in the next World Cup).

    i don’t think these things are so binary, like 1s and 0s in the gameplay code. ‘cus even if one questions things and cottons onto authority deceptions, i would wager a lot of other foundational elements to one’s persona is fairly consistent throughout their life (programmed). and there’s clearly gradations among NPCs to make them noticeably distinct from each another. same goes for ‘PCs’. the world is replete with wildly ‘productive’, ‘successful’ people, who demonstrate they are different to their fawning audiences of lifelong consumers. sure they still believe there are people up there floating on the ISS -but are they not exhibiting many of the traits of a PC, compared to let’s say an ACT realm PC – hip to the hoaxes – but doesn’t possess (or at least exhibit) many positive characteristics of the supernormie PC?

    wrt whether the ‘truth’ is worthwhile, useful, ‘good’….this question has been posed and discussed so many times here. and while many affirmative answers have been given, evidently none are satisfactory – from diet to birth decisions to career choices. hence I’d respectfully suggest tabling this internal dilemna – and just go with ‘the truth’ NOT being necessarily a good thing, until something moves the needle.

    wrt to a factoid (and possible Matrix ‘synch’) I learned prior to the call – the doctor (annoyingly played by Keifer) – was apparently based on a real doctor -who wrote this:

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/287490.Memoirs_of_My_Nervous_Illness

    thx to all for the call!

  • I spend a lot of my day by myself doing physical tasks. And, then spend most evenings alone.

    Especially during physical, monotonous tasks (and even more so when I’m not listening to anything) , I have a lot of reoccurring negative moments come into my mind. Some from years ago, some more recent interactions. Almost always involving arguments, slights, etc.

    Sometimes, I do reflect on wonderful, or funny moments as well.

    I’d say almost all of my random memories fall in these two categories.

    If I quantified it, it’s at least an hour and a half a day. Probably more. I haven’t thought about it too much.

    Very interesting.

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