rant · moment 21 of 22
High School Popularity Rules and Punching Up
from Lou Balls · #7
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
2 minTim continues his satirical popularity guide, describing his teenage drinking habits (Van Gogh vodka, Grey Goose) and his rule of only 'punching up' with jokes, including a yearbook anecdote about roasting a teacher.
- 54:27Tim cultivated a Frasier-esque character in high school by drinking Grey Goose and talking to parents' friends, which made him interesting and likeable.
- 54:44To be popular, you have to drop your loser friends — they won't become rich and famous, though one might.
- 55:08His yearbook noted he had natural humor without making fun of anyone; he roasted concepts and ideas, never people.
- 55:34His rule for popularity: punch up at authority, never punch down at people.
- 55:46Everyone has something to offer — money, looks, drugs, a high alcohol tolerance, or the willingness to die and receive empathy at their funeral.
- 56:10Tim argues that learning to build alliances and loyalty through popularity is genuinely important, not just cynical.
FrasierGrey GooseVan Gogh