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Johnny Gabris
This is a headgum podcast. It's January, so I'm assuming you're ready to optimize your nutrition this year, but you're also, maybe, like me, a little lazy. Nothing against lazy people, but with Factor they get Chef made gourmet meals that make eating well super easy. Dietician approved and ready to heat neat in two minutes. I've always loved that expression heat neat and it works great with Factor. I heat it up in the oven. I'm sure some of you have microwaves. I don't, but it still works very. It's very easy to do. It arrives fresh and fully prepared, perfect for any active, busy lifestyle. They got keto meals. They got 40 options across eight dietary preferences on the menu each week. So you can pick meals that are tailored to your goals, like Calorie Smart, Protein plus, or Keto. I have the keto meals, the Protein plus, that's the next one I want to get on. You, luckily can get it for 50% off plus free shipping. Also smoothies, breakfast grab and grow snacks, and more. The smoothies are awesome. I went through a whole sleeve of them not too long ago. So eat smart with Factor. Get started at FactorMeals.com mighty50off and use code mighty50OFF to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. That's code M I G H T Y50OFF@factormeals.com mighty50OFF, 50% off plus free shipping on your first box. What's up, shitheads? Welcome back to the final episode of High and Mighty, episode 500. Holy shit, it feels good to end things. It's me, ya boy. The number one fuck boy, Johnny G from the south shore of Nassau County, Long island, standing 6 foot 2, 304 pounds. He's down. It must be the two weeks of no weed, which you'll hear all about in this 500th episode. Also joining me in the High Mighty studios, spiritually in the sky, it's young Artie, my dog, my nearly silent co host, my homie, my brother, my lover, my son. He has gone on to the big podcast studio in the sky where he's licking the calves of wonderful character actors from around Hollywood. But more importantly, Arty, the showcase. I can't go on without you, brother. So I am ending it here right now. Also joining me in the Heidi Minor. Hey brother. Oh my goodness, it's Jackson, Maine from A Star Is Born, Johnny G. I just want you to know I put out a bowl of your favorite snacks and I'm gonna go in the garage No, I know what that means. I've seen the end of your version of the Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper. No, that's right. It's all wrapping up now. And also joining me in the High and Mighty Studios, a series of guests who, you know, who you love. They'd all live on the. On the block if it was High and Mighty Street, a children's show. Although this could not be a children's show. It would be illegal. It's the 500th episode of the podcast. I'm closing my eyes because I'm getting emotional. It's time to wrap this fucker up. Thank you, shitheads, for years of listening. Almost 10. Thank you to everyone that's ever worked on this show. But without further ado, it's time for the 500th episode. And our first guest is the most important in my life. It's a quick one with the number one fuck girl in my life, Tiffy G. Tiffy G. The owner of the Sweetser Life and the owner of my heart. How's it going, babe? Honey, I am so honored that you reluctantly are having me on for one last go. I was ending the podcast so I didn't have to have you on, but then you brought up the idea of being on the 500th, and I said, fuck it, fine. You just had to roll with it because that's what husbands do. Yeah, you got to just say, yes, you do, because happy wife, happy wife, happy life, as they say it is. Been a crazy run. 500 episodes. You've been on a few. You've listened to a number of them. You've listened to half of one through my office door many times. But here you are on it to end the end of an era. The end of an era is July 10, 2015. Looked it up. That was my first episode. Dropped. Wow. I'm trying to think, like, how old are 20? 15 was eight years ago. 10 years ago. 10 years ago. Nine and a half, technically. Yeah. Oh, my God, baby. I was like, 33. Jesus. Age when I started. Yeah. We had only been out here for a few years. Yeah, it's all. It's all in there at the same time. You know what I mean? Like, it's. It's so crazy. It's all, like. It kind of all coincides together, really. I'm so proud of you. Oh, thank you. And I'm so happy for you to be, you know, having had the success, but now deciding that it's time to move on to other things and to give yourself more time. Yeah. No, I. That's. Those are the things I'm excited about, too. I'll miss screaming and chatting with people, but I'm sure I could do that irl, no problem. Yeah, I think you're consistently doing that, so I think this is just one less way of doing it, but I'm just not going to be recording it, so that's perfect. Yeah. No, for those of you that can't see what's happening, which is actually all of you. Yeah. Right before we recorded, I said, babe, come on in the office. Let's go. And you said, hold on one second. I thought you were going to get a drink for yourself. No. You ran and got a box of cremains, as they call it in the industry. We have Artie's ashes sitting on my lap, and in my mind, he's licking my legs. Yes, he's licking the lotion off of your legs. All the lotion off. You did. Then go back out and get a drink. Which I thought was funny. Is that the ashes were priority. The cremains were priority. Well, news flash, she hasn't taken her Adderall yet today. Oh, I'm so glad to have you on. Now wind me up and let me go. Oh, boy. Oh, please, have some coffee. Yeah. If I go to lean forward, you have caffeine, which she does not need. This is. This is really weird. A part of my life that I thought. But it's one of those things where it's like, it can't be forever that you do this. Yeah. Hell no. I mean, it could foreseeably, but, like, not this specifically. Right. Things. Things need to. Like Mark Rennie said in one segment, or I guess for listeners, he will say in one segment. Spoiler. It's nice to end things. It is. And I think ending on your own terms even more specifically. Absolutely. You're like Seinfeld, basically. Yeah, I'm true. Yeah. I'm pretty much Seinfeld. Just as wealthy, just as successful. I went to a high school prom, but I was in high school. Not like seinfeld, who was 30. Oh, God, sorry. I didn't age well. Yeah. But no, this is why I'm so excited for you. As someone who chose to end a portion of what they were doing or really what was my career like. You're not moving on to something entirely new, so to speak. Yeah. I will actually even continue to podcast. Yeah. Or will you? But I will only have to do one a week for now, not two a week, which will be nice. Yeah. But it really is something that's like, very bittersweet and emotional for lots of reasons, and it's not easy to do. But what I've learned and through most things is, like, you. You end something and you go into something else, and the new opportunities, people that you're going to be able to meet, speak to, because you are going to be doing new and different things. Right. And I know this afforded you a lot of that, but, like, it's also affording you more time to do other things that you want to be focused on. So I'm really excited for you in that regard. Me, too. There's just so much stuff I want to do career wise, creatively, but also in. In real life. Yeah. And so just having, like, one less thing to do a week for a little while, I will hopefully free up some of that time. And I can be, you know, not that, like, high and mighty was directly in the way of me doing martial arts or me traveling or me getting more better at Spanish or anything like that, but it does feel. No, you did all that while doing this. Yeah, but I just, like, have more time to, like, spread it around, you know, and, like. And I'm looking forward to just. I'm sure I'll fill my plate in a heartbeat, but I'm looking forward to having, like, one less thing for the time being. Yeah, no, absolutely. And I know. I think. Am I the first one? I mean, I am technically the last person that you are recording. You are the first person in this finale, but you are the last. My last high and mighty interview ever right now. So honored. Yeah. So I don't want to, like, ask you too many things, because you're probably gonna be getting into a lot. Yeah. But I think people care about your perspective more than they care about Betsy and Mano's dumbass. Maybe. Though I don't think I do. I much rather hear from them. Is there anything in retrospect, because you have gone through everybod that you haven't addressed or would like to address or say? I feel like I covered. Like, I. I've thanked everyone. I've thanked all my guests over the years. At the end, you'll. I'll thank you, the listener. But I. Not me, the listener. I don't listen. No, no, no. Because I have listened. You're not one of the listeners. That's fair. You are. But you're, you know, you're spiritually important to the podcast. Yeah. You just have to be asked to be quiet when I'm recording, and that's how you participate. Yeah. It's a lot. That's a big effort for me to be quiet. I had to get my own studio because I'm not quiet enough. Right. I didn't get my own studio to record out of. We had to get you your own studio to get you out of my area. You're a fool. You could have done it first, but she thought of it, folks, so she got a studio, and you remain down here. That's the way I look at it. I have my castle up there. An entire apartment to myself, essentially. Nice. I've also asked every single guest this. I know a little bit more about your personal life than a lot of my guests, but we're doing a lot of looking back in this episode. But I also want to take the opportunity because it's the beginning of a new year and I'm turning over a new leaf. Yes. I want to look forward for everyone, for ourselves as well. Is there anything in 2025, whether it's already on the calendar or an idea of what you want to do, not resolutions or anything like that, but is there something you're looking forward to, as small as it may be or as. Or even if it's just at this point, a hypothetical? You know, it's a great question for many reasons. And I honestly, at this point in my life and the state of the world, I just want to remain as calm and happy as I possibly can and as positive as I can, because I think it's really easy to not be. I'm very fortunate that I have you in my life for many reasons. You are my ride or die. I have a wonderful family. My business is doing well enough, you know, But I, you know, I really do actually have a hard time looking too far ahead in the future. No. I knew this would be a hard question. Yeah, it is always a question for me. It's hard for us in general to talk about the future. Yeah. Get you a little overwhelmed or a little. Kind of. I get overwhelmed, but not because I just really am a person that is like, no matter what the situation is, I'm like, I'm going to figure it out and I'll make the best out of it. And I'm pretty resourceful, so I don't think too far ahead because I think everything is, especially right now, way too unpredictable. Right. But I will say, if I had to, yeah, I would. Just for the record, not asking you to predict the future, just something which I can do. I know. We know, but what would you want to do or look forward to in the New Year. Like. Like, it could be small. It could be in relation to what? Honestly? Yes. As I sit here with Arty's ashes on my lap, um, you know, I really went into a deep depression when he had passed away. Um, that was our baby for 15 years. I am someone that even longer than this stupid ass podcast already was part of. Way longer than a stupid ass podcast. Uh, not way longer, but in dog years. Way longer, technically. Right. Um, and in light of what's going on out here in Los Angeles with the fires and so many animals being displaced, while it might not be the ideal time for us, still in a mental and emotional capacity for various ways of not wanting to replace him, of having. Wanting to do certain things without having a dog, having that freedom for the first time is getting a new. Adopting an animal when things settle down in the next few weeks. And it's something that we're both looking forward to. Yeah, we're both looking forward to that. And I think what's so lovely about it is it's something that you and I are really fucking good at together. We are amazing dog parents. So I think this is. I. I believe. I think we are also amazing dog parents. We are. We are. We give so much love and attention, and we're so good at training and just the things that I think make for core, solid dog owners, you and I are. And the fact that we're going to be able to, you know, help out an animal that doesn't have a home currently. When I said we were going to adopt, somebody asked a child or a dog, and I was like, slow your roll. I was like, what do you think? I'm like a dog. We're talking about. If you maybe heard. We're talking. We're not. I'm not sure if we're ready. I'm excited to get a dog. We're wondering if we're ready. If we're wondering if we're ready for a dog. You think we're ready for a fucking child? That will not be happening. Love, kids. Not for me. For various reasons. We are both good, amazing dog parents, but we are even better human aunts and uncles. We are. We are wonderful aunts and uncles. And truly, quite frankly, being an aunt is, like, the greatest joy in my life. So I could only imagine how wonderful it would be to be a parent. But for me and my anxiety and just our lifestyle in general, my level of responsibility. I want. Uncle is perfect. Oh, yeah. No, uncle's perfect. I recommend art and. And ask questions and be curious with the kids. But when it's time to be like, they're in trouble, I'm like, hey, you got to reprimand them. I can't say shit to these kids. I hate when I have to reprimand them when I'm home. And I will do it. Oh, I don't mind. I'll do it. I'll do it. Because they. Because I'm a dog. I'm just dog trainer. Mind where I'm like. I'm like, all right, we gotta nip this behavior in the bud. You can't do that shit. I literally do to them, okay? And they look at me like, what? And I'm like, listen, this is how I'm used to spray. Spray em in the face with water. Shake a can of nickels at him. We never even did that with the dog. No, no, actually, we only sprayed Artie with water for excitement. Cause he liked. He loved it. He loved it. And then you're making me think of when he wasn't doing well the last few days. And I did it to help him play, and he was not happy, and it broke my heart. And I started cr. Crying thinking about the fact you're like, he didn't want me to spray him and I sprayed him. I'm like, babe, it's totally fine. Terrible. That was gonna happen regardless. Yeah. No adopting a dog. And for me, someone who does have adhd, who really bucks any sort of kind of, like, structure because of it. I need it. And the dog gives me structure because I have to get up. For the record, everyone, if I don't have work going on right now, which I don't because it's A, slow, because it's right after the holidays, and B, what is going on out here? I won't get out of bed until 10, 11 o'clock, and it's not good. And I don't like that part of my brain doesn't want to have to get up because it's not saying I don't have to get up right away. And with the dog, I will be getting up once again at, you know, 7:00 in the morning to walk them. It's. It's inspiring to me. I need it. I need it. It is helpful for my structure, my schedule, everything about my mental well being and my heart and soul to the core. No pressure to the forthcoming dog, but you are important to Tiffany's mental well being. Get your shit together. You don't. We don't. This dog that we're adopting to help them doesn't Realize that they're actually your emotional support at all already. Totally was. Accidentally. I didn't realize. And I think that's something I have said to people. I'm like, I don't think people realize how much more we need them than they need us in so many ways. Yeah. Because we don't have children. Right. That's a true symbiotic relationship. You both need each other pretty hard over there. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was something I brought up in, like, couples therapy, where I was like, listen, that dog was a great substitute for the amount of, like, love I love to give. And more importantly, that I like and need to receive. I am needy. I like to be loved up on. And you are you. You fulfill that by, like, a thousand fold. I'm just that needy that I need more. So I was like, heads up. That dog really gave a lot. So you're gonna step up, Gabrius. Yeah. And you have. Yeah. But now it's time. That's why we're going to 101 Dalmatians to hopefully, maybe eventually you'll have enough love to. To survive. I would. I would have, like, five dogs if we had a house in a yard. If we had a yard, I would love to have, like, a pack. Yeah, totally. Absolutely. But, you know, we. This. So, yeah, one dog. Yeah, one dog is enough. Is plenty. Yeah. And I'm looking forward. I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to revealing the dog on social media. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I love. We should do a huge reveal that just reveals it's a dog. Not even, like, boy or girl. That's cute. That's fun. When does this come out? Like, we pop a balloon and it just, like a stuffed animal dog comes out or whatever. We're like, oh, my God, it's a dog. You're saying it's right after the holidays and things aren't super busy. But before you get out of here, this episode is coming out at the end of January, which is the beginning of your busy season. It is so Valentine's Day, everybody. In case anyone doesn't know at this point, although she's been on talking about it before my guests bring it up. I talk about it frequently. Yeah. Tiffany has left the entertainment industry to. She's one of the lucky ones who got out to move on to floral design. And I would call it art using flowers. And you should get this for your loved one this Valentine's Day. You guys, please do. Because it's gonna be. You're gonna be too busy anyway. But people should be reaching. It's hesweetser life on Instagram. Take a look at what she's capable of and you'll start seeing stuff as she's promoting what she's gonna be doing for Valentine's Day. So if you're local to Los Angeles, she's got you covered. And if you're not, there are potential answers to that question too. So even if you're outside of la, but you do appreciate beautiful floral arrangements and have a few bucks, you might wanna check it out. Oh, thank you, love. Yeah, I was getting so many people reaching out about me shipping and I can't ship my fresh stuff or bajillion reasons. But I do fully preserved pieces, so things that last forever and everything is, I like to say, couture. So I asked everyone to send me photos of their house for whatever it is that they're, you know, where they think they want to put it. So I can take all that in and design something that truly is one of a kind and fits your house perfectly and your aesthetic. I do wreaths, I do arrangements, etc, and like I said, this is just my toe dip into everything else that I want to end up doing, so. Right. But for now, yeah, this is. You do a lot and end events in Southern California. So if you're all sorts of events, private parties, gifting settings, tablescaping, weddings, anniversaries. I've done funerals, I literally. Children's parties. Yeah, everything. So if you're looking for some whimsy and some art to jazz up your situation, especially as we're coming into Valentine's Day, if you want to get your sweetie something nice, I hire Hell no. It's sexy shit. It's not nice. It's sexy shit. Okay, perfect. I say flowers could fuck. Mine would. Okay, well, there you go, folks. I don't know if there's a better plug than that. Tiffy G, thank you for taking time out of your busy day because we're supposed to be packing to leave home. So if you. I'm glad you took a little time out of your busy day to talk to me here on. Oh my gosh. Thank you. This was an honor. I'm so proud of you. If we were drinking right now, I'd say let's go pop some champers. Yes. And I would like nothing more than to smoke a joint. But as the listeners of this episode will hear, I'm on two weeks off right now. Another thing I'm proud of you for. I cracked at 11 days with everything going on and with smoking, not with drinking. I'm holding off on for a while, but yeah. So I love you. I'm so proud of you. Listeners, get ready because you have such an amazing cornucopia of guests that are about to come up. Yes, yes. And then always listeners, if you're listening to this episode for the first time, I have 499 other episodes that they're not that topical so you can listen to all my old shit as well. And do you want to hit them with your final bi Shitheads. Yeah, you guys, you're forever shitheads in my hearts and gabrises. So thank you all for listening to my husband ramble on even when I don't. Bye shitheads. Tiffany has to listen to me irl, which is probably worse than the podcast, so give it to her. Shitheads. Stay tuned. We have about, I think 15 more guests coming up, so strap in. Bye. High and mighty via hemp 2025 is upon us. A new you, a new year full of new possibilities. But don't let the bad times of 2024 bring you down. Reach new heights with Via. Trusted by over half a million happy customers. Swiss Army Knife of wellness Harnessing the natural benefits of cannabis to create high quality wellness products. Whether you're looking to improve your sleep, focus, recovery, pep in your step or just get a little high, Via has something for you. I really enjoy the sleepy time gummies as you guys have heard from me. I I enjoy them big time for chillaxin and unwinding before bed before I brush my teeth, have my last little gummy treat, scrub them teeth and then get into bed. I really in I think I've gotten some good results from them and if you're they have zero THC products too. 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Okay? So I'm obsessed with Chubby's. All of their bathing suits, lined and unlined, have great, great patterns and all that. Oh, the other thing I wear a lot of Chubby's is their workout shorts because I like the built in spandex and the phone pocket and I like their length. Obviously you got to show a little quad if you're going to the gym. And if you're like the ultimate training shorts. That's the ones that I wear. They have the split side seams so they don't, you know, constrict your legs. They got that extended liner and they have a. It works when you're squatting. Deadlifting. Running. I ran the hood to coast, which was like for me, a total of 15 miles over three legs. And I wore Chubbies the whole time. And I'm telling you, I got no thigh rash. I can't speak to like the mechanics behind that. And my body is specific. But for me, XXL from Chubby's fits like a glove. And Chubby's is here to help you take on 2025 in style, starting with the comfiest, most versatile gear you've ever worn. For a limited time, our friends at Chubby's are giving our listeners 20 off with promo code mighty20 at checkout at Chubbyshorts.com that's 20% off your order with the promo code mighty20. Support our show and tell them we sent you. No matter where the new year takes you, Chubby's has the gear to keep you comfortable and looking your best. Also joining me in the high and mighty studios from Bleep Bloop and the Jeff Rubin. Jeff Rubin Show. It's Jeff Rubin. Hello. Hi. Thank you for having me. Hello, sir. This is particularly interesting because we haven't really talked in a while either because we had a huge fallen out. Occasional texts we have, like right, right there. Like if one of us plays a game we like or a good movie, like there's some texting. But I have not seen your face in some time. And it's great to see you. Yeah, it's great to see you too, but I wish we were Going to see some the Last Witch Hunter together or whatever the fuck. Well move back to New York. I still go see plenty of garbage movies. Oh yeah, same here. Same here out here though, unfortunately. Jeff, I'm. This is the final episode of High and Mighty and I'm talking to a bunch of people that were integral in its run, in its 500 episode run, nine and a half years. And I thought I had to talk to you. You've done an episode. But more importantly, I pretty much modeled my podcast after yours. So first of all, you've said that to me before and it is insanely flattering because I love this podcast and I'm sad to see it go. And like, so that is an enormous compliment to me and thank you. But I guess I have a question about that, which is I'm wondering why you're ending it and if it's similar to the reasons for why I no longer do my podcast. I can't say I ended my podcast because I never like did a formal thing like you're doing now. It's sort of just like faded a little bit. But part of the reason was because my podcast, which I miss, I miss doing and I miss this show. Like I loved my podcast, you know, like I made. I miss your podcast, I miss your podcast. But I made the show. Like I loved my show. Like I wasn't making it. I would have been my own number one fan, you know, like I was really making the show I wanted to make. And I would imagine you would say something similar. Like this show feels like it's very much like I assume you have. You feel the same way. That's what I took from. That's exactly what I took from you. So this is hugely, again, huge compliment. But the problem with my show is that, sorry, I'm just adjusting the levels on my mic. Cause I haven't done a podcast in a while. Yeah. But the problem with my show is that each episode was like a bespoke thing, right? Like I'd have to like track down, think of someone interesting and track them down. And I did something like 200ish of them. And if I did another one, it would have been like my 201st best idea, my 202nd best idea. And I was like, it was hard to keep coming up with interesting people to talk to, you know, like I'd really like run. Cuz each one I tried to make them all different or whatever. And like it was hard to keep coming up with them. And I'm wondering if I have no idea we have not. I know this is ending, but is. Is that part of the reasoning for you? Is it a similar thing? Yeah, it's a similar thing. There's like now I of course, zoomed out a little and I'm like, oh, I'll talk to my fellow comedians about something that isn't comedy. I was not above that, but I would do it. I think you. I did less, especially as the years went on. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I. Yeah, but honestly, the workload is the same reason you start, like, what? I was inspired by your podcast when Jake and Amir came to me and we're like, hey, you should do a podcast on this company. We're launching, Headgum. I'm like, I don't want to do a podcast. They're like, well, you can make it whatever you want. And I was like, oh, the only way I would not get to 500 episodes if I had any other concept of a podcast. You know what I mean? Like, if I had to, like, but I just wanted the most like you the. The most. And this is derogatory, but I mean, it is a compliment. The most self serving podcast ever. I'm like, hi, I think you're funny or interesting. Talk to me for an hour about a predisposed topic. And as someone, and I think you're similar, who likes to learn new things or experience new things or go super deep on a small thing that they just got into. I thought this was the ultimate opportunity. But like, you're saying it's getting. I have not missed one Thursday in like 10 years and I have a few bonus episodes and it's just like, it's. It's taking a toll. And yes, we have a strong listenership. Shout out all the listeners, but like, not enough to make serious money on ads, you know, so this is more of like a passion project. And so as the passion is still there, I'm like, I gotta do some other stuff with my time. Well, you have other podcasts. First of all, like, you're still, like, we'll still hear from you, which is great. Yeah, we're still doing action. Bo might have something new this year in 2025, which will be announced at a later date. Who knows? But yeah, it's like one of those things where I was thinking about winding it down. It was the end of the year and I looked at my episode numbers and I was at 495 and I was like, well, it feels like 500 is the right way to end this end. 501 would be annoying. So I just. I thought 500. So all these things lined up and I was like, fuck it, I'm going to end it. It's. It felt like, how would I ever end it? You know what I mean? And that got to me where I'm like, am I gonna do this until I die? And who knows? Podcast, no one will cancel you. You can just keep doing it. It's not expensive to produce or anything. Right, right. Can I tell you an end, Something interesting with my old podcast? Maybe it's interesting the listeners decide it will be to me, but yeah, I actually have a hard drive. I have like a hard drive storing everything and it was running out of room and there's like a terabyte on there that is the old like RAW recording files. I'm not Saying like the MP3 is like the final product. I would never get rid of those. But I'm talking like the stems, like the raw recordings of like AI. Yeah, yeah. With like the guy who invented Dothraki or whatever, you know. One of my favorite. One of my favorite Jeff Rubin episodes is that language expert who invented Dothraki language for Game of Thrones. Amazing. He was incredible. And I love doing that. I remember doing that episode actually, and like having the feeling I was doing stand up at the time and like having the feeling, doing the episode that like, I was having a good set of stand up, you know, like. Yeah, you felt like. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I remember distinctly doing that episode and being like, this is fucking good. He was a great guest. And you fucking went in. It was so that. That was like a truly inspirational episode. I'm like, this is. Jeff is learning. I'm learning. I'm having a blast. And I'm learning through like pop culture. Like, fuck, yeah, let's go. Well, that guy was good because he had a skill that could be demonstrated over the phone, you know? Right. That's another really good one. It's not like a juggler. Yeah, yeah. Like I had like a card is cardistry, which is like card manipulation. Not like it's related to magic, but it's a little different. It's like an esthetic, which is really cool. And I really like that one too. And there's video. I even put video of it on my YouTube channel or whatever. But like that, you can't, you can't. It's not the same. Talking about another really good one for that is the Memory palace guy. I had the guy, the memory champion and we just like, I read him a 20 digit number and not only is he like, maybe it's a 30 digit number. I don't remember. I'm not the memory champion. And he not only recited it, but he actually like walked through how he was doing it. Like his, like his system, like as he was doing it, which was really fun. So anyway, I have like a terabyte of the raw, like the, the raw recordings of that. And there's no reason to have that. Like, I'm not gonna go back and remaster them. But I still couldn't quite bring myself to delete them, even though I needed the space. And this was like the obvious largest chunk. And I actually bought a new external hard drive just to dump those onto and like put them into cold storage in my closet, never to be seen again. My children can deal with them like after I die or whatever, you know, and just be like, what is this? This doesn't read on my like new VR holo computer. But I couldn't, I couldn't quite. I spent like a hundred bucks to do it, even though I knew it was not needed because I. It was hard to throw them away. Yeah, it was hard to throw them away. Yeah. And I guess another thing that was inspirational about your pod, but also something we have in common, which I think is part of why we're friends, is that we are kind of like polymathic in our tastes. Like an example I'll give is that you are like a video game nerd, a magic nerd. But then you also really enjoy camping. I gotta tell you, I've not been camping in a few years now. You know, I have gotten into it in the last few years. Truly kicked off. Maybe you took it from me. Yeah, truly kicked off from you. Because, I mean, I have some friends that did it out here. And then I was like, take, take this with a grain of salt. I'm like, if Jeff Rubin camps, I can camp. You know what I mean? Like, it wasn't like you were some mountain man that I was friends with and you were like, no, it's a lot of fun. You hang out in the woods and do drugs. And I was like, I will say are my. My 3 year old shouldn't be 4 year old kid is talking about camping. So we're like, okay, maybe it's time to like crack that open again, you know, like, maybe we'll get to do that again. Probably drugs. Yeah. Streeter used to say, our old mutual friend Streeter used to say that it made simultaneously the most sense and no sense that I liked camping. Like, it was like it was Like a Schrodinger's box, you know, like, it didn't make sense. And it also made the most sense at the same time that I was into camping. That's a great. That's a great call, because that is kind of what I was just like, well, yeah, then I can camp. Like, fuck this. Like, I got. Well, I'm glad. I mean, yeah, it's harder here on the east coast, but I still do it some. I still like, you know, try to go hiking and stuff, but it's just, you know, it's harder out here. I miss that about L. A. You already got your kid into close up magic. Now it's time to get your kid into camping. I do. Yeah, exactly. We did. Yeah, I did. My kid did witness a magician. I have a great recording of him seeing the magician for the first time. And I was like, I was. It was very exciting for me. That was. That was so. Yes, I actually did do that. He will play that at his off Broadway show when he's doing magic. He's like, my father got me into magic when I was a boy. And then he'll do like, some sort of like, La Pistolista or whatever. Whatever the fucking. Well, it's fun. It is fun, like, having these interests and, like, trying to indoctrinate them into him. Like, I've had a. Basically since he was born. I've immediately started trying to indoctrinate him with Mario stuff, you know, Like, I got him a Toyoshi and, like, really started like. Like, even before I was like, he likes Mario. He doesn't even know there is a video game. He doesn't even know video games exist yet. You know, I'm still just like, I'm seeding it. I'm seeding it. And that's all gonna pay off soon. Yeah. I just randomly saw on a friend from high school's Instagram that his son is playing ice hockey on Long Island. And I was like, the guy who is. His dad was like a lifelong ice hockey player. And I'm like, that feels crazy. Cause that's not something you can, like, accidentally get it. And I just see my friends going, like, I hope my kid gets into the things I like. And then. But it is funny when it's ice hockey. It's like, how did you even ever come across, like, you know, daddy, where are you going with that big bag? Oh, son, someday you'll get to play ice hockey. It feels. It feels like a weird thing for a kid to want to get into. I guess maybe if it's playing on the TV all the time and shit like that now. Do you think you will ever. I mean. So a cool, interesting thing about podcasts and you know, who's good at this is Will Hines is. I love Will Hines is. Screw it. Let's talk about the Beatles podcast, which, like, why he ended. But then like, if the Beatles do something, you know, like, and there's always a few times a year there's a Beatles thing, like an album remastered or the documentary last year or whatever, he'll do a new episode because you still own the feed. Like, you still have this connection, all the listeners, so. And I still try to do. We missed it though. It is coming soon. I do like an annual movie, catch up with Pat Castles and I wonder if you would be open to doing something like that because, like, you don't have to like, you know, shut down this feed. You still own the feed. Really? Yeah. I'm sure there'll be some stuff in the future. Like I can't imagine. I don't know if I'll keep doing power hours, right? Yeah, you got to. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know if I'll keep doing stuff like that, but yeah, I don't think it's fully dead. I don't know, maybe I'll put all this behind a paywall for like a dollar or something like that. Just so if people want, I can. They can listen to the back catalog or I'll just fucking let it sit and then every like three years drop some sort of episode that's random or, or whatever. I mean, if you start a new podcast, you could use this feed and then you have like, you know, you don't have to like build the listenership again. You already have. Right. I don't know what your next thing is or whatever, but if you do that, I'm making a huge nice thing about I'm making a huge right wing turn to really up my income in 2025. It is a cool thing about podcasts. The infrastructure of podcasts is cool and like, it's a little. It's one of the few things on the Internet left that's really a little punk rocky, a little zany and like has that like DIY kind of vibe. Or like, you know, the algorithm can't demote you even if they wanted to. There's like no algorithm. Like, it's really like a direct connection between you and the listeners that you are shunning and, you know, throwing in the garbage. Yeah. Well, I apologize, listeners. Welcome to the fucking garbage. Yeah. No, it's. It feels. It feels wild to be winding down. It feels good to have, like, one less thing on my plate in the new year. Like, this is something I've been doing. Booking, tracking down guests, uploading audio, recording, troubleshooting every fucking audio issue, rescheduling guests, scheduling, running. Yeah. I just want to say I'm so jealous of podcasters today. You've been doing this, what, nine years? I started a few years before you. So let's say I started, I don't know, 13 or 14 years ago or something like that. And, like, the number. And I had, like. I mean, I had. I'm trying to think. I had, like, a baseball umpire on, and he was, like, an older gentleman. And, like, getting these people who are not digital natives onto, like, Skype or, like, recording their audio was so painful. And there's so many, like, sleek tools for it now that, like, record both sides of the call, that separate the audio tracks, that, like, upload it to YouTube, which is, like. Used to be, like, a manual thing, like, automating that. Like, there's all these, like, so many slick podcast tools now. I sound like a old person, but, like, Riverside and all that shit, which all. Yeah, it really makes it a little easier. But I will say the only. You're right. This podcasting still feels punk rock, still feels diy, still feels zeni, but the industry is going towards just making it Hollywood. Like, it's being shot on video. It's all video. It is becoming, like, you kind of. At a certain level, you kind of. Not that I was at this level, but you kind of need a video. It's. It seems like today, at a certain level, you need a video component. Yeah. Because. Yeah, I think YouTube's, like, a major, you know, distribution point for podcasts at this point. Oh, for sure. Like, my brother has never used a podcast app, but he's watched tons of podcasts. He's 35. But video, it just complicates. It's. It's so much. It just complicates things. Like, you can't. You can do it by yourself, but it really complicates things. You need more expensive equipment. Like, it really. Just the storage. Like, it's just. It's. And then you're like, now I got to learn how to fucking edit Instagram videos for maximum. Yes. And then all of a sudden, now, just, like, everything that I'm involved in in my life, like, what success means, like, change, like, becoming an actor. I'm like, oh, hell yeah. Maybe I'll be in, like, a sitcom someday. And now it's like I'm shooting and uploading my own auditions and, like, doing my taxes and like, all these things that are, like, not acting and now just to try to be an actor. Now I feel like I'm doing all this shit that's not podcasting just to be a podcaster. And I'm more power to the people who have big enough audiences that they just have, like a team and then they sit down in a chair and they're like, talking to today. But that doesn't feel like what I want to be doing, so. Right. Well, I also want to say you are the. And I think all the listeners would agree with me, the number one guest on any podcast, any podcast you're on, you're the best guest on that show. And I think I would guess living in la, running in the community you run in, you probably know maybe 50, 60 people who have a podcast, and I would guess every single one of them has had you on the show because you are like such an. Obviously. And I mean, you mentioned Bleep Loop, the show I did at college humor again, like 15 years ago or whatever. You were the most frequent guest on Bleep Loop by a long shot. We had you on anytime we could. And you're just. You're the perfect podcast guest. You're built for it, you know, and not to take away your great improviser, you're very funny. Blah, blah, blah, like, but I think those are all. Those are all tools that make me good at being a podcast guest. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I. I truly believe, while we're on this topic, I'll suck my own dick real quick. The skill set I have that really translates well to podcasting is like 20ish, 25 years. Jesus Christ. I'm gonna blow my head off. 20ish years of improv experience. But then I also did a lot of talking head shows, and I know how to talk in bites. Like, I know to, like, not ramble. I know how to like punches, but then also like the Jeff Rubin, Jeff Rubin show, or my taste, it goes all over the place. So I can sit on your conspiracy podcast. I can sit on your movie podcast, I can sit on your food podcast. Like, I just have so many interests that I. And also, much like oral sex, just enthusiasm adds a huge layer, you know? Yeah, I would say there's a piece of it where you're. I mean, it just demonstrated you're unfiltered, you know, like, you on. I can Tell the listeners you in real life is just like you on a podcast, which is a skill. Like, you are. You are yourself. You know, you're good at being yourself, and you're. You are. Yes, that's. And probably that's a third thing, is that I'm confident in who I am and okay with being myself and revealing myself on people's pods and shit. Yeah. Well, Jeff, I brought you on to compliment you, but you ended up complimenting me, so I got to say thank you very much for that. Before I let you get out of here, I got, you know, 15 more people knocking on the Zoom. What. What do you got going on in 2025 that either you want to plug or something that you're excited about or something you just want to do in this upcoming year? Uh, I will tell you. So I missed the podcast, but one thing I've been trying to do is I read a lot of kids books now with my kid, and I like. It's fun. I make. I make videos reviewing the really bad ones. I really hate bad kids books. It's. I find it, like, there's some of them that are insult. It's, like, insulting. Like, they're just like. Feels like. Yeah, like, printed out a book for you. They just, like, they feel like they know they don't have to try, and I find that so obnoxious. So I love finding those. And I've been doing, like, short videos about them on, you know, various social channels. One thing I've been doing is making games. I made this game at lie that you can play@liesgame.com. it's called believable Lies. And it's kind of like, you know, it's kind of like one of those social games, and you can just play it with your friends. If everyone just opens up their phone and goes to liesgame.com you can all play it. And it's fun. It's cool. Interesting, I hope. Fun game. It's like a little board gamey, but you don't, like, need anything except your phones. And I'm working on another one of those. Oh, that's so cool. Hopefully I'll make another podcast. I'm gonna do that one with Pat. And it's like, always in the back of my mind. I mean, it was hard to keep coming up with, like, regular ideas for the podcast. But, I mean, aren't you jealous? Sorry, I know you're wrapping it down, but are you ever jealous of people whose podcast their thing is they just sit. Like, they just have to, like, sit and talk like they don't need to like book someone every week. Like I'm so envious. Like my, my buddies, the doughboys, I'm not envious of. They gotta like squeeze in a meal at Culver's and schedule two podcast. Like that seems overwhelming. But then there are other people who are like gonna plop down in a chair and because they're popular enough, the studio takes care of them and they're like, who do I have? Alright, great. Rattle off like an hour of conversation with them, just being witty and funny. Or half hour, get their ad money and fucking do 10 in a day and then, you know, take 10 weeks off. That seems like the fucking dream. But that's not us, John. I guess like that's like we wanted to do, you know, and that wouldn't appeal to me as much. I also don't have the juice to be like, we gotta see what John Gabris is. Just randomly like. I feel like the topics and the guests are just based on the variants in listenership from episode to episode. The topic and the guests do matter, which is. Yeah, yeah. So I guess the last thing I'll plug is I would love it if people went back and listened to my podcast now you've listened to all the high and mighty's. You can listen to a sim. John will tell you it's a similar show. He likes it or something inspired this. That's his words. Again, very flattering. Where I just interviewed random people. I was looking at it recently and I haven't looked in a while. And I mean, do you ever look at your old podcast and just have like zero recollection? This happens with college humor stuff too. Like I'm just like, it's fun. Cause I'm like, this is, this is good. Like that's a great idea. You know, like, it's just I'll randomly be laying there and be like, I fucking had that guy on my podcast. Like. Or that like I'll forget totally about it. Like we were watching somebody feed Phil the other day and I'm like, oh yeah, he's been in the office. He was on High and Mighty. And my wife's like, he was. I'm like, yeah, isn't that crazy? Like, I totally forgot the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond was on my podcast. I looked at some. It's not even. Like I forget they exist. I'm looking at the list, I'm looking at the name and I'm like, what was this person's deal? You know? Oh, that's well Especially for you, because, like, my title, you know, like, you're like language building expert. You're like, what the fuck did we talk about here? Yeah, totally. So anyway, Jeff Rubin. Jeff Rubin show. It's years old. I have nothing to gain. I am now seeing your name on Zoom is Gay Bris, which is terrific. Yeah, that's just. So when I'm a guest on someone else's podcast that doesn't know me, I eliminate that unflattering moment when they're like, and we got Gabris in the studio. And I'm like, ugh. I feel. Well, anyway, you know, congratulations on 500 episodes. I loved it. I can't wait to hear whatever is next. And thank you so much, Jeff. I appreciate it. And I look forward to yours and Pat's movie roundup, which I almost kind of get over a text, but I do. It's true. Yeah. I do still appreciate that episode. You're ahead of the curb. Well, yeah, if you're ever, please let me know when you're in New York and I will let you know when I'm in la. I'm actually. I'll be in New York at the end of the month. I'll text you about this. High and mighty. Also joining me in the High and mighty studio is the writer of Shark Tale and host of the second podcast I ever listened to in my entire life, Comedy Bang bang. It's Scott, a.k.a. come in. Hey. What was the first one you ever listened to? This is the most. Akerman's follow up question. It was W. It was wtf, actually. No, it was this American Life. Then wtf, and then now I'm the third. Just because I asked. Well, this was also in like 2007 or something. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I don't even like, how long is comedy Bang Bang 2009? So, okay, so it was. Because it was when I lived in New York. Sounds like you listened to podcasts for three years before I was ever even on the air. Well, I didn't even know what podcasts were. I was listening to this American Life thinking like, oh, this is. They are transmission. Yeah, exactly. And then someone's like, there are tons of these. And then my friends Max Silvestri and Noah Garfinkel, we were writing a pilot together and Max is like, have you ever listened to Comedy Bang Bang? They do this hilarious. Because I pitched like an idea for the pilot. I'm like, we should do these wild. Would you Rathers? And he's like, have you ever listened to Comedy Bankman. I'm like, no, what is that? He's like, oh, you got to. It's the funniest shit ever. And they do these elaborate would you Rathers? And I put it on, and I listened to, like, you know, 300 episodes over the next couple years. I had no idea that Max was responsible for you being on the show so much. That's so great. Yeah, he got me into it. And then you are pretty much kicked off my podcast career. When I moved to la, I had never, never been on a podcast. I did Besser's Improv for Humans because he's, like, the one person in comedy that knew me when I moved out here. And then you asked me to do Comedy Bang Bang. And. Because why did I do that? That's. That's your. Do you remember? I do. You asked Neil Campbell, any new transplants or new comedy people at UCB that you think would be good for the show? And Neil pitched me, and then you had me on. And then I think you even said it in one of the best ofs. I was like, I'm gonna be like a shock jock talk radio guy. And you were like, oh, this fucking. All right. Well. And like, Pete Holmes was on that episode, and I think. And it was just such a wild fucking ride. And I was like, oh, podcasting is fun. It's like an improv show, but with, like, less work and sitting. You know, you don't have to show up an hour. An hour before. Yeah. And wait and sing Big Booty with Scott Aukerman and Pete Holmes for half hour. I would love to sing Big Booty with you, though, before the end of the show. But doing Comedy Bang Bang is how I first started, like, getting followers, getting people who are like. And people started reaching out to me, like, you should do your own podcast. And I had never even, like, considered the idea of doing that. And so this is 500 episodes ago that I got. That's so crazy. Is this 10 years or. Yeah, it's like nine and a half years or 10 years, something crazy like that. It's so incredible for me not to have even heard one of them. Yeah. And. Well, it's so crazy for me to only ask you to finally come on in the final one as my pod father, to just never interact with you on. And that's why I was like, welcome to my life. I've had so many people on my TV show. Do I get asked to be on their TV shows? No, no, that's. I understand. You're not dying to Be on other people's order. You're not dying to be on other people's podcasts, though? Not really. But always a pleasure to be talking to you. It's fun talking to you. Not as Gino for like. I know, I know. We do have conversations off, but they're off, Mike. Yeah. Yeah. Occasionally you'll come over to my place. I've never seen your place. Yeah, well, keep that up. Yeah, well, I come over your place, I help you. You know, I spot you on the bench press. Of course we do laps. We do laps in the pool like Rocky and Apollo. You finally do butterfly stroke to prove you're ready to fight. Drago, do you think I'll ever be able to put weights on the bar? Right now I can only do the bar. Yeah, I know. Right now you do the bar with two, what you call trade paperbacks for weight. You're a little comic book room. You should just put a bench press in the middle that you never use and just have papers. Not wide enough. All right, Military press, then. Overhead press. Yes. Thank you. Yeah. You could develop the delts. Yeah. What if I just had giant delts and nothing else? Be awesome. You should just go on TRT and get absolutely jacked and just like people who haven't seen you in IRL in forever, then go on tour and be, like, absolutely fucking, like, bald yoked and like that. Weird bald. Well, yeah, you would definitely lose all your hair going on. So anyway. Yeah. Anyone? Oh, really? Is that part of it? Yeah, because you juice up your test. Yeah. But you'll get on Minoxidil, too. Trust me. Let me run you through this cycle. Okay. Yeah. Give me a list. Give me a shopping list at least. It would be so fun that you just as, like, a gimmick, just got absolutely fucking, like, grossly yoked. I mean, I don't think. Do you have. Do you have, like, a partner that you. You do stuff with? Like, is it easier for you to work out if you do it with someone or. Or do you like to do it by yourself all the time? I like. I like to do it by myself, but every once in a while, like, you know, hiking or going for a run or something like that is always better with someone, I think. Maybe not going for a run. I. There's no one who's. My pace. Like, I would. You know what I mean? Like, even my. Like, is that you're too fast or way too fast. Good guess. 42 years old, £320. Too fast. Just unfortunately too fast. Too fast. There Was a point. Maybe they still do this, but where. The peloton, where you could, like, have another friend of yours on the screen with you while you were doing it, like, and you would do it together, you know, FaceTime someone while you. Yeah, it's metal. Yeah. It's basically like FaceTiming someone while you're exercising. And I just. It's so mortifying to. To have anyone, like, watching you actually work out. It's very hard to be very out of breath in front of someone. Like, it's like. It's humbling. I mean, I played a lot of sports and even men's league sports for a while, so I have been out of breath in front of colleagues. But it is, like, a thing that you always feel, like, embarrassed about. Like, I was in Lake Arrowhead this weekend at. And we were a little bit. Yeah, big time. And I. We went for a hike, and it was a little bit at altitude, and I was, like, cartoonishly out of breath, and I was with my wife and best friends, and I, for some reason, did not want them to know. Like, I was like. They were all out of breath, too. But I was like, you're like, guys, go ahead for a while. I'm gonna just be right. I was tying my shoes again. When you watch. When you watch an NFL game, you. You would think that when they cut over to the bench, you know, it's always people glaring or people, like, you know, really upset at the other team. You would think it would just be people going, like. But they never show that. Those are my favorites. When you do see the guys on the sideline in recovery, like, with the cool zone blowing on them, or like, they're a cold weather game and they're like, bald head is, like, emanating steam off of it and shit. Like, do they have, like, a tent now that they take, like, injured players in? Yeah, the rub and tug tent. The rub and tug. Because it reminded me of when I saw Guns N Roses. And Axel kept, like, going into a tent just on stage left, and he would. He would just disappear, and the band would play, like, instrumental songs. He'd be gone for four minutes, and then he would come back out of it. And it was. It wasn't like he was going to the dressing room. He was going to a little tiny tent. And I thought it must be to get, like, oxygen or something like that. Yeah, it's gotta be like, where'd you see this concert? This is at the. A little place called the Hollywood Bowl. Ooh. Been there. Yeah. I would imagine it's oxygen or coke would be my. Like, cocaine would have been my guess, but maybe not for. He's not thin enough anymore to be coke. No, no. Gotta get on coke. He's got to do diet coke. God, if they had diet cocaine finally where, like, we would finally get into it. It didn't give you any of the, you know, being hooked on it, the addictive properties of it. It didn't make you call your mom and talk for, like, 24 straight, unbroken minutes. But it also wasn't quite as good, you know, I think it would be all right. Yeah, I have, like, 40 Diet Coke rails a day. Scott, I just want to take this opportunity to officially say thank you for all you've done for me. Getting me on Comedy Bang Bang. It's been one of the, honestly, one of the longest, quote unquote jobs I've ever had, which is I'm rarely doing anything for years. So it's been so fun to be part of such a. And it's grown and it's exploded. It's changed. It's. And I feel an honor to have been part of it for so long. Well, you're a big part of it, and you don't need to thank me. I feel like I should be thanking you. Are you dying? What's happening? I really hope so. I guess we all are, slowly. Yeah. I don't want to be immortal anymore. The podcast is always a blast to do. I love coming on there. I love literally annoying you. There are few things I like more than busting your balls as Geno. Like, it's like a true treat. And then come in. It's so thinly veiled. Come in. I'm like, thank you, Scott, for having me. It's always a pleasure. Take a photo. Hey, Scott, thank you so much for having me. But then for 90 minutes in the middle, I'm just shitting on every single thing you say. That's fine. That's fine. A dynamic of yours with, like, about a dozen other comics. You're so funny on it. And you. You were, you know, immediately great on it, so. And my reticence about you doing a shock jock character, I proved that wrong. Yeah. So, you know, it's. It's weird that you're never going to do it again, but, I mean, that's what this is about, right? Yep. As I, Bud Dwyer, myself on the podcast, anytime I hear Bud Dwyer, I think it's Bill Dwyer, the funny comedian Bill Dwyer. Oh, yeah. Who I worked with many times in the past who did shoot Himself in front of you, but yeah. Gabris. I know I'm supposed to call you Gabrius, not John, but you can call me whatever you'd like. Scott, I know it feels weird. I mean, I don't feel like we have that athletic team kind of rapport. You know, we're. Even though we're classic. We're classic duo. Tall, skinny, big, fat guy. I'm not short, though. But I am short. Next to you, I'm not really skinny either, so it's. Well, we're both old as well. Yeah. Unfortunately, it doesn't get easier at my age. No, it gets harder. People trust us. Yeah. Scott, I'm so glad we were able to arrange this to have you on. Have you on for 15 minutes on the last episode of my podcast that I started after I met you. Truly an honor, but. But no, it is. I. I was happy to get that email that you sent out. An email blast is what you called it. It was a term I'd never heard before. Yeah, but it's like. Like finger blasting, but for emailing. That's what you explained in the footnote on it. Yeah. I don't know why I needed all that info and all those asterisks. I had like a Infinite jest level footage, heavily sourced. But hey, you got the bibliography. I printed it up and delivered it to your house. So you're. But it was a big honor and it's quite an achievement for you to do this show. And at some point, I look forward to hearing an episode and maybe figuring out what it's about. I thought you would be high during this. Is that what part of it is? Some of it was. That was kind of like the energy behind it. My idea was like stonery conversations with different people. But not necessarily high. But, yes, I'm high. I thought it was. You get high and work out and talk about working out. Well, that is kind of where high and Mighty came from. Was that it did, like, accidentally explain several parts of my personality. Being a stoner, a meathead, and obnoxious about my beliefs. I get all high and mighty up in this bitch. You know what I want to say to you, Scott, I meant to say this earlier in our friendship. Thank you for never doing comedy Bang Bang on video. Like, thanks. I'm so glad you earlier. Yeah, I know you do a few. But, like, you don't have like, a studio where everyone sits down and then you chop up a bunch of Instagrams and all that shit. That's the kind of the. I appreciate you sort of stuck with the old school, like radio energy of podcasting, which I've always appreciated, I constantly wrestle with. Is that a mistake? Are you leaving money or listeners on the table? Potentially, probably, yeah. Cause so many people don't even have podcast ads. The more people, they're just like, oh, I watch all my, watch all my podcasts on YouTube and it feels crazy. I do wonder if, you know, you always wonder when like we've been doing it for 15 years. I always wonder, are we on the wane? You know, is, is. Is this something that has kind of is gonna decrease in popularity or whatever? But it seems like no, we're holding steady. But, but I just don't know. I mean, I've never wanted to do the video stuff. I always feel like the having to come camera ready for a podcast is like, yeah, I never wanted to. Defeats the purpose. Yeah, exactly. It's all about the theater of the mind. So I, you know, people have said, hey, we're going to start to put cameras in occasionally. And I always say, oh no, I don't want to do that. And they go, no, no, they'll be unobtrusive. And I say, no, it's like it will be obtrusive. Yeah. And it just changes like how you like. It's not the same energy of like, you know, like filming, filming an improv show. Like, yes, I know more and more people are doing that, but it still feels, it feels like not the right medium for that. It doesn't like, who would buy a livestream of an improv show? What kind of lunatic is out there? Hey, who knows? But hopefully they are down to buy live streams of improv shows or Geno cassette tapes or anything that keeps my fucking. How are the. How are the Geno cassette tapes selling, by the way? Pretty damn good. We're doing okay. I wanted to beat the potential Chinese tariffs, so I maybe over ordered so expect me to have them in like the trunk of my car when I do a show down in San Diego or some shit. I'm like looking at these tariffs kind of going, do I need to buy a refrigerator before they get supposedly installed? And at the end of the day, I bet none of it ever happens, right? Yeah, that's the thing. Like Josh Richmond, our mutual friend and producer, he was like, you might want to move on this whole thing sooner because of Chinese tariffs. And I'm like, I didn't even think of that. Thank you so much. Like, I'm buying all this like bullshit plastic fucking USB drives from China I'm like, I better get it now. Like, when it's. It's already unwieldy and a dumb guess, like a dumb swing and investment on my part. I'm glad I did it slightly smarter than I should have. I think it's great, people, if you don't know what we're talking about, just give it a Google. You know what I mean? Just like, what do you suggest putting into Google? Like, probably geno.gabris.com, skip Google. Put it right in the URL bar. And if you wanted to Google this because you love Google and you love their search results, you'd probably put in, like, media, audio, sound. Yeah, you would want to get in, like, eventually. The proper nouns that really differentiate. Long Island. Yeah, Put in Long Island. I think typing a lot of words into Google always helps. It's a way to frazzle their AI. It really is a way of, like, you know, they say that a wonderful, beautiful sculpture is just a block of stone that they've chipped away at. And that's. That's how I like to Google. You got to say, minus Bagel Boss, minus Gino Foligno, you got to say, like, minus a few things so that, like, knocks those results. Like, these are the things that you. I don't want you to Google. Yeah, that's how I like to Google. You got to type 40 words and then minus 20 words, and then you can skip rather than just go gino dot, Gabriel, Stockholm, Scott, it's 20, 25. Do you have anything that you're excited about that you want to plug or that you want that you are, like, even just outside of the industry, excited to do this year or plan to do this year. Wow. Do you talk about this a lot? I don't know if you do so. And if you don't want to, you don't have to. But how's dad life? Oh, it's great. It's so fun. It really is. Are you excited to do anything for your kid? That would be like, I want my kid to experience blank. Or like, this is the age where they want to do blank, you know? What's your earliest memory? Can you remember? Ooh, that's a good question. If you can't, then it's not your earliest memory. Right, Right. I guess. But I mean, you know, seeing Terminator 2 in the movie theater, but then I was about 12, so let me rewind a little bit. You know, Tony Hale, when he was on Comedy Bang Bang, cannot remember anything before age 12. Whoa. That's crazy. And then there are some people that can, like, remember everything, their whole lives. Like, they, like, remember being born and shit. But. But I'm looking. I guess my point is, is I'm looking forward to her being, like, actually able to remember things that we're doing. Yes. And rather than just, like, lights, she does have a memory for certain things. Like, any time we bring up this one vacation we took, she lists off the things that she remembers from it, you know, which is like, that's so fun. That's cute. I'm certain that at a point that'll all fade. So it's like, at what point will I make my earliest memory with her? I'm looking forward to that. If she's rattling off those details, I bet that the memory of remembering it will at least stick. You know what I mean? They'll talk about it for the next year or so. Every time the vacation comes up. They might not remember the vacation, but they might remember reminiscing about the. Cause I do have some, because it's hard to tell sometimes when, like, you've told a story about your growing or your little brother is telling you a story and your mom's, and you're like, oh, I think I remember that. Or do I remember when you told this story eight years ago? Like, who knows? No, I think I've told stories about stuff that's happened to me, and then I realize I'm just telling a friend story. I'm just reiterating the plot to Dunkirk. Yeah. So I was a fighter pilot, you know, I used the last bit of my gas. Very confusing. I do want to say, if people are into comic books, I'm writing Spider man just for fun. Oh, hell yeah. So it's called the Astonishing Spider Man. I'm the writer. It comes out every week, and it's. You're on a weekly. That's so fucking exciting, dude. Is that a lot of work for a guy who has to talk into a microphone six hours a day? I know it's like six pages a week, but, yeah, it's available only on the Marvel app. And I literally am just doing it for fun. So I hope people read it, because sometimes working on these things feels like no one is reading it other than a couple of people who complain about it. Yeah, well, that's the real bummer is that when you're like, I don't know if this is reaching anybody, and then the only people who respond are the people who hate it, and you're like, well, I hope there's. That's 10% and 90% are liking it and just not responding. No, that's, that's the thing even with podcasting is like, if you're writing about a podcast on the Internet, you're a lunatic. Yes. And that's, that's like 1% of the listeners, and then the other 99% are just enjoying this and listening every week and never think to ever try to reach out and complain about it or. Yeah, I know. I mean, discuss it like, you know, in detail on the action. Boys. Patreon, we have like nine people of our 6,000 listeners who are the most active on the board, and we cannot stand them money. So you're allowed to fucking talk. But Jesus Christ, think about what you're adding to society with this post. No, no, I, I. Of course, kid. I love our fans and I, I love how engaged they are. I love Reddit. You guys are so cool over there. Thank you. No, but, I mean, I didn't really know. But doing a research into Spider man fans on Reddit is a very interesting. I did not, like, dive. If you think podcast fans are fucking. What are they? Owners feel ownership over the medium. Comic book fans are probably like the OG version of this type of. I know that they hate everything so much. Yeah, I never understood that. I never understood, like, there's a lot of stuff I hate, but I don't have to talk about it. And there's a lot of movies I hate. I love movies, but there are a lot of movies I like. Why do you still like comics if you hate every fucking thing you read? I don't understand it. Yeah, but, but you know, I just want people to read it. So. Astonishing Spider man exclusively on the Marvel Unlimited app. Get on the Marvel Unlimited app and read Astonishing Spider Man. Get on the podcast app. Maybe you're on it now, listening to this. And listen to comedy bang Bang. Though I'd imagine if you are a high and mighty listener, you probably at least know about it. You've sampled it. Yeah. Yeah, you've sampled it. There's no way you've only been listening to me on this and not the wildly popular show I frequently guessed on. Maybe, but who you're wildly popular here based on compared to high and mighty. Not compared to whatever celebrity just got YouTube recap show of their own TV show that they did. Should I make it another round of hundreds of thousands of dollars? Should I do a comedy bang bang recap show about my own show? That I would. Let's do one. Let's do one episode of that that would be a really fun, dumb thing to do for Maximus is to do we have to listen to the episode. I hate listening to myself. Would I have to listen to the episode beforehand? Well, I think we do it for the TV show and we play clips, which I think I love watching the TV show. I hate listening to the podcast. Well, I hate listening to my own voice too. Like, I can't. And that's why I enjoy. I love looking at my body. Yeah, I cannot get enough of looking at your body. No. But I think I could wrap my head around what you're saying is because on the TV show, you can go like, oh, this was well written. This was well directed. This looks cool. Oh, shit. Cudi's really funny here. Oh, this is a great bit that I did with Andy Daly, and it eliminates the focus on you. But when I listen to my own podcast, I'm like, kill this guy. I fucking hate him. But then when I watch myself something, I'm like, I can. I can take myself out of it and be like, oh, this. This came out really funny because of my scene partner. Because of the writing. Yeah. The cinematography. Cinematography of my Brooklyn Nine Nine guest star is beautiful. How many episodes of the TV show did you do? Did you only do the one or did you do more? I think I. I did a couple. I did only. I think I did only one couch bit, but I've done a couple of. I did a couple of sketches as well. The one that people really reacted to that I enjoyed doing was the fake hidden camera prank show where I asked someone to watch my laptop or whatever. But the line I improvised that people got a kick out of was, I'm gonna go to your house and suck your dick in front of your wife to teach her how to do it. And it made no sense in what I was yelling about, but it got the biggest reaction. People were just messaging me about that for like a year after that episode. That was great. Yeah, that was a well made sketch too, because it did this. The whatchamacallit, the closed circuit television stuff. Well, like the high black and white hitting camera thing, it really played in the medium. Well, I thought that's why I was able to enjoy watching it. Well, John, I know you have another guest coming, so. Got plenty. Yeah. And, you know, this one might not even make the final cut. I might throw this part. Interesting. No, for real, thank you so much for doing the show. I appreciate it. And thank you for all you've done for me outside of guesting on my final episode. Of hired. Oh my gosh. Thank you. And congratulations. And I hope that you're quitting this in order to go on to even bigger and better things, but this is an incredible achievement. Coolop has hired me as a lifeguard for your house, so thank God I have something she's got to pay me a little bit more than athletic greens. That super high stool. Yeah, now you know what it's for. Super high stool is what I leave in the toilet every morning. Okay. That's right. Yeah. Got to do one protein powder CBB level pun before we get out of here. Akis, thank you so much, bud. All right, thanks, man. Bye. Also joining me Just woke up. You just woke up. We are recording at 12:05. Also joining me in the high mighty studios is Nicol, I host. Why won't you date me? I just woke up, she says as she sneezes at noon. Holy shit. Welcome to fucking the real world, Buyer. Ah, listen, it's 2025. Nothing's going on yet. I'm sleeping the fucking. It's still vacation. We're still on vacation. It's, it's. We're in that weird time in between, you know, Jan3, where, you know, a lot of people are back at work. Except for, like, teachers and agents. Teachers, agents, lawyers, managers and actors. Nothing's going on except for podcasts, because podcasts, they don't know any holidays. That's right. 500 fucking episodes of songs never took one week off. Gamers. So fucking many. That's so many episodes. And there's probably 15ish bonus episodes in there. So I'm over 500. But this is officially episode 500, which is disgusting. What an. I love it. What an egregious misuse of my time. You and Joe Rogan are, like, heading to the finish line with the most episodes of a podcast. I don't. I'm kidding. I have no idea how many he's. I think he's over like 1100 or whatever. He. Him and I have a lot in common, including, like, weird nipples, actually. Really? I don't have weird nipples, but Joe does. He's posted too many, like, cold plunge videos where he looks like he's got little pepperoni nipples. Joe Rogan was kind of an inspiration for this podcast, in addition to my friend Jeff Rubin. Because Joe Rogan just talked for a long time to people about whatever he wanted. And the people are always. And I was like, oh, I'm going to do that. And then I used to be like, yeah, my podcast kind of like, you know Softer Joe Rogan. And then over the last question, I'm like, no, I'm nothing like him. I'm nothing like him. Don't worry about me. I'm not spreading misinformation. The worst people on platforming are just dumb comedians. So just plug in their fucking new Peacock sitcoms. Nothing to fucking be stressed about either. Oh, Peacock. You know, I love the streaming era. I'll tell you this. I've been going to movies more. I don't think. I don't. We shouldn't be streaming movies at home, Nicole. This has been a lifelong mission of mine to get non cinema goers to become cinema goers. And I'm so. We shouldn't. I watched Carrie Carry on in my house on Netflix. And I was watching it, I was like, this movie's not great. I would have loved it in a theater. If you watch it with people in a theater, it's a fully different experience, even because I loved Kraven. Okay, yeah, you are a wacko. I'm sorry, but that is a bridge too far. But that's. That's the power of going to the movies. And look, we are live performers. It's fun. So we know what it's like to like, watch a standup special or to be in the room and watch the stand up live. Yes. It's a powerful communal experience that also with my attention span, I almost need the movie theater to be like, I'm here to watch a movie. I cannot pause this and go to my fridge or look at my phone or go on pornhub and totally blow off the idea of watching a movie. Or my neighbors don't knock on the door. You know, there's not. Nothing can happen like that. So going to the movies feels like a mission in a cool way. Yeah. And have you seen Craven? No, Nicole, not yet. I mean, you gotta. And you gotta see it in the theaters. I've now seen it twice. Okay, what the fuck? Nicole, you. You have seen so few movies. You literally host a podcast about how you haven't seen so many classics. And you have seen Craven twice. I know, and I loved him. Do you think that Aaron Taylor Johnson is hot? I think he's a really hot guy. I don't know if I like him as an. I think he's very, very hot. But in Craven, he does hold his arms out. Like he's got so many muscles. He doesn't have the muscles. He doesn't back it up, put his arms down. No. And I thought that was very entertaining. And then everyone's speaking Russian. And then Russell Crowe. I love Russell Crowe. Wait, Russell Crowe watching Russell Crowe? Yes. And he speaks with a Russian accent. His. His fingers are fat like sausages. He's retaining so much water. I want to get him on like Lipitor or something because he's not looking so good. But I loved it. I fucking love. I fucking love Russell Crowe. That's so awesome. He's great. He's so good in it. And then there's this guy named Fred who's in it, who is in Gladiator 2. Because I saw Gladiator 2 in theaters. It didn't get good reviews, but I said, what do you people want? I was entertained. Are you not entertained? I am not. I am entertained. And I think that's from the first one. And I have not seen the first one. Okay, the Good movie, Gladiator 2. Totally fine movie. Absolutely blast to go see it in the theater. Like, I had a fucking. It was so fun. I saw it in a packed theater. It was a great time. When that guy walks out, rides out on a rhino, the fucking. I was like, hell, yeah. I'm here for this. Yeah. Again, a media movie. Craven. There's also a rhino in Craven, and it's in the form of a person. Oh, the rhino. Rhino. Do you know, in the first film iteration of Rhino, in the Spider man movies, it was played by Paul Giamatti. No, that's wild. Yes, it. No, you're right. It is wild. It's true and wild. Wait. I learned that Craven is a villain. He's a villain in the comic books. I don't understand what they're going for with the movie. I mean, I'd have to go watch it. And I'm going to see it tonight if it gets the nb. The Nicole Byer bump. I gotta go see Craven. I loved it. It was a good time. I'll tell you this, though. The director didn't like ladies because the director was like, hey, ladies don't have any sort of feelings. And all the guys got to have a ton of feelings. And I was like, that's an interesting thing to do. But that's so rare in film that women are underserved by the director. It was so crazy. I was like, what's happening? Why isn't Craven serving the women? Why isn't this Marvel Universe spin off of a spin off, not really focusing on the women, but how I. He seemed like a hero to me by the end. I was like, this man's a hero. And then I learned he's not A hero. That feels to be like the new thing in movies. I mean, it all started with Wicked, where it's like, not actually a villain. They just had a rough life. And then they did it with like, 101 Dalmatians. And they've done it with, like, all. With Cruella. All these movies where you're like, oh, the person you thought was bad, they actually. And it's like, yes, I understand. Systematic circumstances lead to people making choices they don't want to make it like. But we don't need to retcon. It's storytelling. We don't need to retcon. It's like, the bad witch was actually good, too, but then she got burned. I fucking agree. Cause Maleficent has a movie, and I'm like, no, that lady hated that baby, right? She hated that baby and she's trying to kill people. Let the bad people be bad. And so now I'm supposed to watch the wizard of Oz and be sad that she's under the house and dead. And when they're all singing Ding Dong, the witch is dead, I should go, hey, knock it off, Elphaba. Hey, knock it off. Elphaba had a rough fucking run, okay? She was tight with Glinda, okay? She was friends with Glinda. She had them braids. Imagine taking those braids out by yourself. Yeah, that's a hard life. That's a spell you got to learn early on. I have not seen Wicked, okay? Yeah, but you have seen Kraven twice, which is good. You're in the cultural comics. I saw Sonic 3 twice. Yeah, well, that makes sense. That's in your fucking wheelhouse. Did you. I'll tell you this. Have you seen Sonic 3? I haven't seen Sonic 1, 2, or 3 yet. I gotta watch one. Oh, my God. Gabrius, what are you doing? I know. What are you doing? I got friends in it, too. I feel like a dummy, but, like, it just. I missed the first one. Then when the second one came out, I'm like, I should watch the first one before I watch the second one. And then never did either. And now the third one's out. I'm like, okay, I've watched Knuckles on Paramount to see Pally, and I don't even understand what the fuck is going on because I don't understand the universe. That's so funny. To watch Knuckles and nothing else. Because Knuckles is the one thing. You kind of have to see the other to get Knuckles. Yes. No, you're 100 correct. I've had a hard time Understanding what was going on. But Sonic 3, I don't think you actually need to know anything because you have seen Knuckles. So, like, you're kind of caught up. But I will say Sonic 3, a departure for the franchise. Whoa. It's. It's a real action movie. It's very, very action. Positive or negative departure for you? Positive. I had a really great time. And Keanu Reeves is honestly, do. He's doing John Wick in this. It's John Wick for kids Shadow. He rides a motorcycle and has a gun. Oh, that's awesome. His introduction is very fucking cool. And it's sad. I cried. I cried three times. You cried three times watching Sonic? I mean. Yeah. One for each of the trilogy. That makes sense. Three times, One tear for each movie. This book series that I love called this nerdy ass. 1300 page fantasy book right there. Book five of it just came out and I've been in the universe forever, readings book one through four. And then I was like, away this weekend. I was reading book five outside on a picnic table and Tiffany came out. She's like, is everything okay? I'm like, yeah, just something really touching happened. And I'm like, I have tears pouring down my face. And she's like, what page are you on? I'm like, 88. And she's like, that's really early in the book. I'm like, it's book five. I've read like 5,000. This is. And I'm like, if I explain the context in which I'm choked up, up, you would divorce me. It's like, that's so fucking funny. I love you sitting at a picnic table over a book, sobbing. A joint, an iced coffee. It was freezing out and I was in a shirt, shorts, and a T shirt joint, iced coffee, Tears dripping onto the pages of this stupid book. I'm such a fucking numb nut. I love it. Also this year, I do want to read more books, and I started one and it's been going okay. I've been like, reading a little bit before bed. I'm trying to do the same as I'm also like, I'm hoping that ties into me smoking a little less pot as well, so. Because I'm usually just like, you just said that you smoked weed while reading the book. So. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know. But I'm saying, like, at night, at night, I'm usually like, oh, I'm super stoned and I want to crash. And I'm like, no, I should stay sober and read before bed. And like, another like most 42 year olds are doing out there. I gotta. I gotta fucking make some changes in 2025. This is the one. This is the year. I'm. I'm getting fucking weird. No, you don't. You're. You're doing great. You're at 500 fucking episodes. You're thriving. Thriving. 500 fucking. That's like a hundred athletic greens ads. I'm coughing so much because I've recently got into weed More. Hell yeah. And I've been smoking just a bunch of weed before going to sleep and then just like sleeping till noon. That's so awesome. Yup, yup. Well, now we have to smoke a blunt together at some point. Here's the thing. I'm not good at being outside and high. I'm really good at being in my home. Tee hee hee. Watch something. Walk my dog. Go to sleep. Okay. I do know where you live. Oh, yeah? Come to my house. I'll come get high with you at your house. Yeah. Okay, Perfect. That works for me. It's like you don't know how you do it. I like. You get used to it eventually. Yeah, you get used to it eventually. Like, I don't think I get as high as other people do either. I think there's something either wrong with me or like too much tolerance or something. Or it doesn't. Because it really does just unwind me a little and make me a little goofy, but it doesn't really. Like, I don't get that anxiety or paranoia ever. I don't get anxiety or paranoia. But I will become a couch. I will just melt into the couch and be like, I have no thoughts today. Oh, that's the best. That's the reason when we. When we. That's what we call weed. Time travel, where you're like, oh, it's 5:00pm okay, what did I do today? I was like, I don't know. But I chilled. Yeah, I chilled hard. I sat hard. I sat. I fucking did it today, fam. I fucking posted. I did it. I sat. I watched Craven for a fourth time. I mean, it's coming for me. Well, you say I love craving you saying I got into weed recently does explain why you've watched Craven twice. I'm coughing a lot too, because I'm a little. I'm a little under the weather and thankful to be zooming with nine different friends today. You know, you're in charge of this. You could have canceled it. That feels rude. After asking everyone to do this big favor, I was like, I'll just fucking power through. I am feeling better today than I was yesterday. I was a little nervous. I was texting Emma. I'm like, I'm dying. I think she's like, we'll see. We'll see. I thought I was fine. It's like this thing where I wake up in the morning, I'm like, I feel fine. I went and did a podcast, and then during the podcast, I'm like, coughing and shit. And then afterwards, Rogers is like, probably should have just zoomed in. And I was like, yeah, yeah. I woke up confident that I was fine. And then I just, on the drive to the studio, got, like, debilitatingly sicker. I'm like, oh. And that happened to me last night. I'm like, I feel like shit, but maybe I'll feel great tomorrow. And then I woke up today. I'm like, no, nope, not at all. Lately, I've just been like, you know, I don't feel good, so I'm gonna cancel. And I think it's just like. I don't know. I. I want to feel bad alone and not with people. Right. That's one of the things that not a lot of people understand about our careers is, like, if you were shooting a show and we're under the weather, or you got asked to be to do two days on a movie and you got to call, you have to do it like you're doing it. That opportunity might not ever come again, which is crazy. And that should not count for podcasts. We should be able to. For our own podcasts, we should be able to reschedule them pretty easily. But, I mean, yeah, was this Action Boys? You could have definitely zoomed into Action Boys 100%. It's wearing. Those are your very good friends. They would have absolutely been like, we understand. I would be protecting them from getting sick to kick off the new year. I'm a rude little bitch. That's also the funniest thing about opportunities. Like, say you get, like, a fucking, like, a bit part with, like, Scarlett Johansson. You're like, I'm sick, but I'm going. You could kill Scarlett Johansson with whatever you have. Because you're like, my opportunity, my dream come true. Sneezing in ScarJo's face, she somehow gets, like, the. Like, some weird, like, ancient disease from me. It's like the first case of rickets in generations is ScarJo. When a bit player playing Dumpy Janitor sneezed in her eyes. Dumpy Janitor. Can't I just be janitor? Can't I just be Janitor? No. Sorry, you're dumpy, janitor. Okay? You have to be dumpy. Thank you. Can you walk a little dumpier, please? Nicole, you said something that is one of my 20, 25 kind of resolutions or an angle I'm trying to do in this new year, which is I'm going to not put myself into positions that I know are going to make me unhappy or stressed or I'll try to. I know there's some that you just have to do. But I keep doing things where I'm like, I don't feel like doing this at all. All right, I'll just go do it because I think I have to. And then it's never, like, rewarding in the way that you think. You know what I mean? And I'm. I'm even saying things like when, you know, Tiff's like, let's go out to dinner tonight. And I don't feel like it at all. And then I still go. And I'm like, that's like, you know, that's wife shit, where I'm like, I got it. She wants go out to dinner, I'll do it. But then there's, like, elements where I'm like, I'm gonna stop. Like, I have enough control in my life. I am my own boss. I'm self employed. I'm gonna stop doing things that would, like, give me anxiety leading up to it while doing it and all this shit. It's like, I could just avoid that. And my therapist previously said that to me. It's like, I'm like, you know what? I was so proud of myself because I went home instead of doing blank. And I knew it. And they were like, you can do that anytime you want. And I was like, and it's a wild thing because you're like, no, I should. I should do this show. I should do blah, blah, blah. And it's like, is it bringing you actual joy? And with Tiff, you could be like, hey, I don't really feel like going out tonight. Can we order food and dress up? Yeah. Is that a happy medium we can do? And then I bet you you'll have more fun doing that. Yeah, exactly. And that's. You're exactly right. It's just kind of like it's honestly being. It's being honest with yourself and whoever else you're around. It's like, Cause I'll do stuff where I'm like, I don't feel like going, I'm going to a friend's work party. You know, I'm like, why do I have to do. And I don't have to. I imagine that I have to or I want to at the time. And then when it comes up, I'm like, I'm gonna hate this. And then I'm like, well, why am I gonna go do something I actively hate? I'm gonna lessen other people's time. That's like, my big thing is, like, I'd be like, me and Tiff are gonna end up fighting, or me and Tiff are gonna end up, like, I'm gonna end up being crankier than I should be, or I'm gonna, like, all I'm gonna get there and all I'm gonna want to do is leave. And it's like, well, then just don't go. I'm sure there are people listening who are like, oh, you're 42 and have learned, like, don't do things you don't wanna do. Like, yeah, that's. That's been a hard. I will say, as a performer, you tend to become a people pleaser because you're like, oh, I gotta do this show. Oh, I'm on this team of these people. These people depend on me to show up and do what I do, or I do as many shows as I can so I get better at performing. And it is hard. It is a hard thing as you get older to go, oh, I can, like, just apply some of this to my life, but not all of it. Yes. And I will say I started doing this thing where I'm like, ugh, I think I'm gonna want to go to this thing but not stay for long. And if I'm going with someone, I'll say that out loud. I'll be like, I only really want to stay for an hour, and then I'm done. Yeah. And then when that hour hits and I'm actually done, I go, I did it. I'm done. I'm. And then sometimes that person stays or like, whatever. But I. Yeah, you don't want to feel, like, beholden. Like, well, I drove here with them, so I'll just like, okay, you're still. Oh, you're still having fun. Because that's kind of like me and Tiffany, too, where she's, like, down to party longer than I am now at this age. And I'm like, we just got to talk ahead of time. And me go like, hey, if I want to leave early, you're down. You're welcome to stay. Like, you know, go nuts. Like, and that. Yeah. And that's just something. Because then I'll get Like, in my head about going. And I'm like, ugh, I'm gonna get stuck there. I'm gonna. And I'm like, ubers exist and you can leave. I went to a party with my boyfriend once, and he had to work the next day. And he was like, is it okay if I leave? And I was like, yeah, get out. You gotta go. You have to go to work. You work a real job, it's gonna be better for all of us. Yeah, get out. And I was like, do you want me to go with you? And he was like, no, you're still having fun. And I was like, like, seems like a trap. Okay. But it wasn't. It was fine. It was. He was like, have fun. And I was like, yeah, go to work. Yeah. Pretty wild to eventually learn to lower your defenses and say, like, maybe my partner is not constantly trying to trap me, but that is, like a true belief where you're like, this is a quiz, all right? If I try, if I fuck this up, they're mad at me. And then instead, you're just honest, and they're like. Or you, like, lie. Like, yeah, no, I would love to do that. And then you're caught up in it, and you're like, I probably should have just said, I wouldn't want to do this. Yeah, then I don't want to do this. And I've been saying it. I've been saying it a lot more like, I'm going to New York at the end of the month. And someone's like, oh, do you want to do this while you're in town? I'm like, no, no, thank you. Not at all. And I'm like, ooh, oh, yeah. We are going to New York at the end of the month. We are going to New York. I was like, is this the trip I'm gonna be on? It is. Me and Byer will be at the Bell House, I think, based on when this episode comes out. It's this weekend, so if you haven't gotten tickets yet, come see us at the Bellhouse. We'll be doing some ultimate improv with Dan Black and some fun. Dan Black. Were you on the show where he. Yeah, you were. Where he got in a car accident. Said, I'm not gonna talk about it. Don't say it on stage. Walked out. The minute he got on stage, he was like, I got in a car accident. Oh, man. And then sat down on stage. One of the most. One of the most Dan Black moments I've ever seen. Hey, just don't. I Probably shouldn't bring this up because it'll. And he just walks out, goes, well, I got in the car. It, like, immediately blows it. It's so funny. I love doing that show with you freaks. It's such a fun show. See, that's like. That's a show I'll always say yes to. But I also know if I'm not feeling good, I can just tell Dan, like, at least give him, like, a good amount of time. Heads up. Yeah, I'm not feeling great. I'm like, hey, Dan, I woke up. I'm not feeling great. He'll go, hey, how about you rally? And I'm like, I won't. And then he'll go, okay, all right, all right. Feel better. Yeah. Maybe I'll rally for, like, a huge TV show page. Maybe I'll suffer through my Nancy Myers movie guest star. But ultimate improv, this would be like, 50,000. I'm going to go to sleep. Nicole, what are you. While we're wrapping up here, are you excited about anything? Want to plug anything? Looking forward to trying anything in 2025. We've got this whole year ahead of us. This is always, like, an exciting thing because it'll be December. I'm excited. Five minutes. I'm excited to try different foods. I'm in a phase of my life where I will try anything. I tried chicken feet. Hell, yeah. A couple, like, a week ago. Chinese prep or Southern prep? Chinese prep. It was dim sum. Did not like it. Understood how someone could like it. But I was like, this is not for me. And I'm having fun being like, oh, that's not for me. As opposed to be like, ew. I'm like, be a grown up. If you don't like it, you just go, oh, that's not for me. I like trying it. Nicole. I tried sushi. This is insane. Because you are someone I've, like, looked up to for so long. I'm, like, going to say a sentence that could be condescending. I am so proud of you. Because these are two things that I really believe in strongly is seeing movies in theaters and trying everything. I've tried everything. And I always say, my dad used to say you can't say you hate a food until you've tried it. And so, like, then once you try it, you can go, I fucking hate that shit. But I've tried it, so you can't. That's not for me. But also, I get why people like certain things. And then I'll be like, and now I'll try something Twice, like, I've had. I don't like soft shelled shrimp or whatever with, like, the head stuck on it. Yeah, yeah. But I've tried it, like, three times. And like, twice I've been like, oh, I do like the flavor. I don't like the texture. And once I was like, oh, I just straight up don't like this. But, like, I don't know, you might find a place where you like something. I do want to see more movies in theaters because I've been having a great time also. What do I want to do? Just do more stuff for me. Yeah. Like, and you're one of the hardest working. You're one of the hardest working people I know. You're, like, one of the most scheduled individuals I'm friends with. And you saying you want to do more stuff for yourself is. Is empowering because I know how much you do to earn. Like, I know what you're doing, and it's time you got. You got more out of that. And I'm so happy to hear this. And I think. Thank you, Gabrius. I think my last one is I'm just like, I've been on a real health journey, and so I. I'm diabetic. I got high cholesterol. I have high blood pressure. So I've like, I'm on medication for all of that. And then the thing that sucks is the doctor was like, if you lose weight, all your numbers will be better. And I was like, fudge you. Then I lost a little weight, and my numbers are all better. And that was, like, one of the most annoying things because I liked having a bigger butt. But I want to, like, really get my health under control, and I want to, like, come off of metformin and my cholesterol and blood pressure stuff. That's, like, another thing. Holy shit. The two things you mentioned were two things that are already a major part of my life. Trying food and going to the cinema. And then this is mine as well. I got a bad calcium scan for plaque and my arteries and cholesterol. And then I've been on high blood pressure medication for a year. So 2025 is gonna be making some changes. So maybe when I come over your house to smoke a blunt and watch Craven, we'll order salads, and then we'll talk and we'll discuss this at lunch. Gabriel said, that's literally what I've been doing. It sucks. I've just been like, anytime I want Postmates, I just order a salad. And some meals are just meals that you Eat. And some meals are just like, meals that you get to enjoy, and then you eat. It's. It sucks. I've been talking to Tiffany about this. Not every meal needs to be a treat. And that's something I'm trying to learn. And it sucks because every meal is a treat. It can be a treat. Yeah. But then if you eat salad or eat something healthy, and then the next day you feel better and you're not diarrhea all morning. Yeah. Then you did treat yourself. And that's where. That's the headspace I need to get in. Yes. And then also, I'm also trying to learn. Oh, God, this sucks. I hate talking about food. But I've also learned that, like, if you. You just don't finish everything on your goddamn plate. Like that that's helpful. Or, like, drink water while you're eating. Don't eat. The half a plate that my wife leaves is, like, the thing I need to get involved with. Yes. I'm eating 1.5 meals, and we always order an appetizer when we go out. Like, I'm always like, oh, I can't eat just an entree tonight. Like, I gotta get stuff. And I'm like, yes, you can. Well, I got a nice boyfriend. And sometimes we'll order one entree and share it and then decide if we want more food. And I'm like, this is a wild way to live. Fucking genius. Oh, it's a wild way to live. We'll get, like, an appetizer. Share that. And then Sharon, Andre. And then either get something else midway through or get dessert. And then it's like, oh, I've eaten half of what I would normally eat because it's there. Like. Like, so I'll just mindlessly eat. Yeah. I'm like, oh, well, we can't throw this food out. So it has to get. I have to. Yeah. God, kill myself with it. Yeah. I'm at this restaurant. I cannot let this food get thrown out. But all of my groceries that have gone rotten in my refrigerator, that can get thrown out. Don't worry about that. Bags of lettuce every week. But God, God help me if I leave two chicken wings on this fucking plate. I fucking get it. It sucks. Buyer. I miss you, babe. We gotta hang out more in 20, 25. Let's do it. I mean. Yes, that's another resolution. I adore you. You're one of my favorite fucking people. Same dude, every time we hang out and we get a little kind of spoiled. Cause we get to hang out as part of our jobs where it's like in the green room before a show. But let's go eat a salad or smoke a blunt or see Craven together. Yes, eat a salad. I'll go see Kraven eight more times. I loved it. I know it sounds like you did. This is a hill I will die on. I loved Kraven. I genuinely liked Madame Web. I thought it was so funny. I loved Joker 2. Return to Joker Mountain, one of my favorite movies of 2020. That was maybe one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my entire life. Okay, I'll argue you this and then I'll. I'll leave. It was a feminist manifesto. So Lady Gaga, she crazy. And she said, ooh, he crazy. And then she's like, meet me. Meet me at my crazy. He said, got it. I'll do it. And then he was like, actually, I'm not crazy. I'm not the Joker. And she was like, my boundary is you're crazy. And since you're not upholding that, I'm breaking up with you. And I think if a lot of women did that in their actual romantic lives, so it saves them a lot of time and heartbreak. Yes, boundaries are important, and we can all learn a lot from Harley Quinn. Nicole, thank you so much for coming on High and mighty for the 500th episode. We've gotten drunk so many times together on this podcast and I'm so happy that we can have a sober chat for once. It was nice. I did miss the power hour this year, though. Oh, thank you so much for fucking zooming in too. That made a not being able to hear a thing. No one could. I don't know. It was crazy. It ended up being like a recurring bit that I had three of my friends give this insane effort on Thanksgiving Eve to zoom in, and it didn't work at all. But then it was just more stimuli for us to talk about. Byer. Thank you so much. Stick around for one minute because I think you're going to like who's up next on the guests, so I'm sure they'll want to see you. They know if you can imagine who they might be. Hell yeah. My cookie friend. Hello. Was like. He was like, hang on. I think you're gonna like these next people and you're gonna know who they are. And I thought you were talking about a non binary person. That's so. That's how woke I am. Let's introduce them. It's one. Yeah. Holy. Well, buyer, thank you so much. Let me get out of Here. Bye. Bye. I love you all. Love you, Nicole. Love you. What a dark darling. Gabriel, welcome. Yeah. Oh, should I start recording? Yes, please, please. Roll yourselves. Oh, wait. Okay, I'm rolling. I'm rolling. Rolling on this side, too. Also joining me in the high mighty studios from the trashy pod. My two of my favorite freaks out there. It's mono and Bitsy. We wish you a trashy New year. We wish you. Wish you a trusty New Year. We wish you a trusty New Year. And a great 500th episode. That's episodes, Gabriel. That took us hours by. Yeah. You sent me that video of you guys at the piano last night. Working on that. Yeah, yeah, We've been using it all night. You guys. Crushed it. Makes me feel so honored. You guys have been such a major part of the podcast for so fucking long. I know. Thank you for letting us be, please. Thank you for coming on. Like, thank you for getting wasted or eating Taco Bell or whatever disgusting thing. A lot of it is disgusting. What we do with you on the podcast. On the podcast. Only we never do anything disgusting off my. No, not us. No, no, no. Us. Gabriel. No. My cardiologist has asked me to end high and mice. That's hilarious. Stop being friends with you two. But we'll see if that. I will fight that sex point. We'll see. Yeah. Come on. We'll go beyond. Come on, Gabris. You're the only straight man I like. I'm so glad that we're friends. Oh, thank you so much. It's my stolen bi valor as Mono credited me for. Yeah. Even calling you straight feels nasty and like a lie. Yeah. Right? Yeah. I think I would write straight on. I think I would write straight on a form. But if, like, it was like, on a scale of 0 to 10, I don't know if I would be 10, you know? Are you ending this to start your next pod? Hey and mighty. Yeah, it's hey and meaty. I would listen to the shit. I would listen to the shit out of it. It's just me trying to get Henry Cavill on the pod. Gotta get him. Jesus, Gabrius. This is crazy. I can't believe this is the end of an era. I cannot believe it either. Nine and a half. Between nine and a half and almost ten years. 500 plus episodes. This is episode 500. But there are bonuses and right other shit in there. And you guys have been there for so many power hours. What a joy. Believe the first one we ever did was at Jake and Amir's house. When it was their studio and it was maybe the you two and Drew, or maybe it was just Betsy and Drew. I think it was Betsy. I don't think I was there for that one, but that sounds like it was Betsy and Drew Tarver. And we did it at Jake and Amir's house. And it was such a weird experience because we were like, hey, well, now we're wasted in your backyard. We're wasted in your cool house. This is when all podcasts were in person. And I miss that. I do miss that. That was cute. I do miss that. I do miss. I don't miss commuting to things, but I do miss. Oh, hard. And also when someone's coming over your. Over my apartment to record, but they're running 25 minutes late. Frustrating when they say, I'll be there in 25 minutes. Sorry, I'm running late. You go, okay, I'm at my computer. Or like, vice versa. That part feels good. Yes. How are you guys doing in 2025 so far? It's three days in. Is it going as smoothly as we all expected? Yeah, pretty good. Pretty good. Me and Betsy have already hung out a handful of times. We did some new Year celebrations. Yeah. Hell yeah. That was nice. It was a really fun little party. We, we had, you know, we saw Nos. Oh, you saw Nosferatu? Yeah, Nosarati. We saw it. What'd you call it? Nafserata. It's Nosferatu. It's Nafsarabi. It's Vin Diesel's Nosferatu where he. Turbo. I saw it too, and I, I, I enjoyed it thoroughly. I thought it was. I don't think it was like a masterpiece like everyone else's. We didn't either. We thought we were like, okay. And I was like, what? I was a little upset a little bit. Here's my main. My main note. And then I'll. And then I want everyone else to chime in. The original is a non talking film and this one had so much talky talky. I think, like the middle hour needed to shut the fuck up because the cool part are like moody and quiet and trippy and more of that. Yeah, it got. I would, I would say my, my critique of the movie is it got boring several times. Yes. But I will give it the several that once it got boring, something changed that at least revitalized it. Like, I thought the movie was at its most boring. They introduced Willem Dafoe and I was like, oh, thank fucking God. Yeah, he's like the highlight of the movie. And I'M like, oh, thank God. Just when you're like annoyed by everything that's going on, Nicholas Hoult loses his mind and you're like, oh, okay, okay. And then towards the end of the movie where you're like, I hate this movie. We get to see Lily Rose Depp's breasts. And then we're like, okay, I'm back on. Yeah. Did nothing. We got to see Count didn't do anything for me either. I was like, wait a second. I wish. I guess now it's spoiler city. Oh yeah. Who cares? It's coming out the end of Jan. I really wish that like he had seen the sun coming up and was trying to get away and she like took her like thighs and did that like golden eye bad lady. Like Zennia honor strangling him. Yes. Like holding him down, making him fuck her until he blew up. Or, or show her seducing him so much. Being like, baby, one more kiss, one more pump. Pump me with your bony pelvis. Yeah, it was a little, it was a little like misdirecting. I want, I, I think I wanted the same, I think I wanted it to be so obviously premeditated on her part of like it. I'll let me warlock finish inside of me so that, yeah, you know, like he dies. We both die in the sun or whatever. I'll let him do. I want deposit seed inside of me. Yeah. Her winking the camera being like, I got this, fellas. Yeah. He comes in her ages and then she just like leaks pixie, Pixie stick dust. Just all out of all of her holes. That would be so cool. Oh, a dream come true. But it was okay. It was okay. Yeah, no, it was fine. I don't know. I don't know. It wasn't amazing, but it wasn't. I was, I think I, I, I had too high of expectations. Me too. Yeah. I was a little too pumped for. Same thing happened to me with the Northman Eggers last movie too because I, I, oh, I saw that. The Viking one. Right. And that's even more in my wheelhouse because it's like more than vampires. I like Vikings. Yeah. And Skarsgard. And I was like, hell, yeah. And then it was like. I guess what I'm saying is, and this is kind of a cop out answer, like I don't know if Dave Eggers movies are fully for me, but I'm so happy that someone is making this weird. Yeah, absolutely. I just like when someone's trying really hard to do their own thing, even if it doesn't really work for me. I'm just, like, appreciative that someone's putting this bullshit out there. No one's making fun weird shit anymore. So it's like when you are lucky enough to be the director who gets to make a weird shit like. Like him or Ari Aster, it's like, yes. Yeah. It's a public service. We have these sort of, like mainstream directors that are kind of artsy, like, at the same time. Like Nolan. Not a lot of people get to do that kind of stuff. And it's fun to have like, these. And whether Eggers is doing like, you know, quote unquote, prestige horror works for you or not, or Nolan's doing prestige action sci fi works for you or not. I'm just happy that people are out here operating at such a high fucking, like, high level. Yes. And getting to. It's so nice. And also make Nosferatu's dick funnier. Like, I felt like the dick wasn't particularly funny. Bigger. It should have been way longer. He's a thousand years old. He should have had. Or maybe his hog should have been the same length, but his balls should have been. So. I love it. Absolutely. I wanted to see a gross moment or a fun, like something dehydrated. Make it look like a pepperoni jerky, make it look like him, like, kind of burned. Give it like a Slim Jim color and like two fangs. It just kind of looked like a dick. And I was like, I'm shocked. That was what a missed opportunity to have a fun, memorable visual. It was like, oh, that looks like a normal dick. Like, let's see that Count Orcock brother. Woo. Yeah. It was hard to care about a lot of people in them. And now we're talking about the 500th episode. We just talk about Nosferatu. I mean, two hours. Have you been doing that with every guest? Yeah, I just wanted to do a 500th episode about Nosferatu. No, Nicole wanted to talk about Craven the Hunter. She. Okay. Yeah. She liked that one, huh? Yeah. I know. There's a woman whose taste I'll never wrap my head around. Like, I can watch something and go, betsy and Mano would love this. Yeah, we're predictable. Yeah. Well, not even predictable, but I just like, I get your taste. Yeah. With Nicole, I'd be like, oh. She's like, Joker 2 is one of my favorite movies of the year. I'm like, that's one of the worst experiences I've ever had. And we're friends with a couple mysteries like Mark Granny is also. Mark Rennie's a big mystery. Oh, Mark Rennie is a fucking nightmare. I love the guy. Agree. I'll say it to his face. Let's start that fight. Yeah, no, he's hard to kind of. This sucked. And you're like, what? You're like, they're just vampires, you know? Like, he's got some critique. He's got some critique. Sometimes he says something that's so poignant, it hits for me. But then sometimes his critique, I'm like, that matters to you? Yeah. Yeah, he does have a way of. Of st taking the piss out of something. That should be pretty normal. I don't know. He's. He's good at it and he's. And he's smart and, and, and. And like cutting enough that he makes you second guess. Like you're. He's gonna be second guessing so many things. I. I thought. I thought Tenet was pretty good, actually. Right? Time travel. He'll just ask a question of like one word and like, it'll undo the whole. And then you are just like, yes, you're right. Oh, my God. Why can't I travel? Sonic isn't supposed to be fast. And you're like, I guess I thought. Wait, I thought he was fast collecting fucking thing. Like, only his. Rude, rude. Fuck. Mark Ranney. Yeah. Let's start a fight. Well, I gotta make sure Mark Rennie hears about this when he's on the 500th episode, so it doesn't feel like I love him. I just went to the Eagle with Mark Granny last night. How did it go? Fun. I like fun. Lots of friendly bears. Is Eagle a gay bar? Yeah. Okay. Okay. Good acting job, Gabrius. You didn't close out your tab. Don't worry about it. I get 20%. And here's your gold VIP monthly member card. No, it's. Yeah, it's a very bear focused bar. You would clean the fuck up there for nothing else. Else. Just to be a mascot. You do a great job there. I just do. I film a stand up special there. Yes. Oh, my God. They're doing something like Mr. Bear L. A. Like, competition on Saturday. Wait, we go. We should probably go, huh? You want to talk about Stolen by Valor? I show up and win that. You would. You would absolutely would win it, Gabriel. You would win. I think my lack of body hair makes me like, like, either that's a turn off for like the full bear energy or it makes me more of like a. Like a white whale. Like a albino. I love it. Or something. Like that where it's like, rarely do you have someone who's big, beefy, and hairy from the neck up, but, like, only has, like, nothing. Yeah, that's. Ooh, that's a Patreon inclusive. I knew we were gonna see some gay titties. No, I don't. I don't think that's that uncommon. I don't think it's as uncommon as maybe you think it is. I just want chest hair really bad, so it's fine. I know you have such good chest. Yeah, mano's got good. But sometimes it gets. It's the opposite problem where it just, like, looks like a cleaning device is glued to my chest. It's like. It's so much like awesome power style. Yes, yes. It's a little much. Sometimes I'm like, oh, boy. I talk about this all the time with the action boys. But I want so badly to have the amount of chest hair that I have to buzz it down with, like, a clip too, so that I can have, like. So I can have like a kind of like, low fade on my chest. Like, that's my. That's my dream. I'm gonna do that. I might go on, like, TRT just to get chest hair or go to Turkey just to get the chest hair implants. Yeah. Get a merkin on your tits. I have to lay horizontal on my flight back from Istanbul. No, I know what you mean. I used to. You know, I used to do that shit in my college years when I was more committed to my Euro trash fantasy. I would. Yes. Like, do a, like, take it down a little bit. Yeah. But I stopped doing that mostly just as like, a way to, like, bury my former self. I don't know why, but. I don't know why, but that's the choice I made. Hey, it's 2025. We're burying our former selves and other intense expressions this year. Yeah, very intense. Sorry. I watch Eggers films. I'm fucking cool. I'm fucking crazy. I'm like, lighthouse fucking crazy. Don't you think it's creepy that, like, Lily Rose's depths, like, her whole. Her existence is to, like, co sign on Johnny Depp's existence? In some ways it does feel a little bit like she's running cover for him. Like, oh, she's like. She's like, good PR for him. Yes. It's not her fault. Fault. It's not. No, it's not her fault. And she is a pretty talented actress. She was pretty good, you know, she's been good in Other stuff. But it does feel a little bit like she's. You know, it's like when, like, Walmart builds a house for, like, someone after a flood or something where you're like, yeah, thank you so much. But we do know you could do this so much more and really help people. No, you're correct. Okay. I'm not crazy. I did watch Dracula Dead and loving it on the 1st of January. It was pretty funny. I fucking love that movie. That was one of my favorite movies growing up. So bad. I haven't seen it in, like, 15 years. But I can quote one point. Did you just eat something off the table? Yes, it was a raspberry. I didn't see any raspberries. He eats the bug. Renfro eats the bug off the table. It's so fucking funny in this. Peter McNeil or McNichol? Peter McNichol. McNichol. Oh, es vigo. And the whole time I was watching, I was like, oh, I'm more entertained than Nosferatu. Yeah. I mean, you got people falling down stairs left and right. It's funny, right? It's a good movie. I didn't see any raspberries, but there was a raspberry saying, there's a raspberry on raspberry. And also, once the children become little blood bags, let's have some Weekend at Bernie style fun with. With them. You know, let's puppet them around a little bit. Why not? That was a cool visual. That part worked for me great. There's a couple of cool visuals in the movie. You were like, whoa, like the spider death. Like some fun, some haunting. Yes, there is a really cool stuff, like getting teleported to the castle. And it all felt like this. Like this, like, weird fever dream for him. I was like, yes, more of this. Yeah, that Nick Hulk shit. Where he would, like, snap awake and be here and then dealing with, like, Snap. Like, that was all a lot of fun. So scary. That felt like. That felt like disorienting, like he was in the Shimmer or something. We love the Shimmer. We love the Shimmer. Can we go into the Shimmer for the next four years? What do you say? Let's go into the Shimmer. Done and done. I'll turn into a flower body for sure. Is the Shimmer from the Natalie Portman movie? Yeah. Annihilation Rules, which is not trash. No, not at all. I'm due for another rewatch of that. I saw that in the show. So good. Me too. I love it. It so much. I gotta watch it. Crazy ending that you do not expect, like, that whole last. And the music's all nuts. It's like, it's so cool, so good. And it does that rare thing where it's like, it is a straight up horror. It is straight up sci fi. But then you're left with this, the emotional horror element of when someone comes back, you know, do they come back as the person. You know what I mean, the person you thought they were. Like, it works so good. Yeah. All of a sudden, like, identity is coming into play and like, who is who we are and like, oh, it's so fucking cool. Oh, it's so good. Guys, 2025, what's the future hold for you? Is there anything you're excited about? Anything you guys want to plug, Anything that you want to do or try to do in this year? And rather than looking back, we've looked back on how much fun I've had with you guys on the. And you've been such an integral part. You guys are like, you know, like neighbors on High and Mighty street or whatever. Oh, my God. Let's build it. You're part of the extended universe. That's very nice. That's so nice. And it's an honor that I have such funny people willing to get fucking wasted or eat 100 tacos with me. So it's always a true pleasure. But now let's spin it and look a little forward in time. Well, okay. This is an invitation to Betsy and Gabriel. I already told you I'm coming. Well, that's what I'm looking for every day. I'm going to be in Canada for a couple months because. Because this show I'm working on is going to be in Vancouver. And of course Betsy is going to come up and ski and I'm going to watch her ski. But I'm really excited for us to, I don't know, just. Just around in Canada. Come. I'll time. I'll come visit, too. Especially if you need someone to sit next to you to watch someone else ski. Because I tried to snowboard on my travel show for the first time in 20 years and broke my fucking rib, dude. I am not going on. I will drink. And at one of the hardest mountains in North America is where you start. On the bunny. On the bunny hill. On the bunny hill at a basin. I blew my. Yeah, insane. Let's do it. Let's get a big old cruise. Come visit you Mo. It's a cool flight. You're gonna be up there for a couple of months, you said. Yeah, like three and a half months. It was a onset like rider. Pretty cool. Isn't that cool? Thank you, Writers Guild. That's awesome. Yeah. Good for you, man. Yeah, I'm excited. I mean, there's the difficulties that come with that with being a partner and trying to have your life, but that's also fucking exciting too. I'm gonna come down a couple times. I'm gonna drag couple times. Yes. Thankfully, it's only 3ish hours on a flight global entry. Not too bad. Yeah. So I'm pumped Global entries on my 20, 25 to do list. I think I'm gonna get it too. Mano was telling us about it. I was like, that sounds easy. Just like TSA PreCheck. I was like, for years. I was like, I don't know, that sounds tough. And I went to a fucking Staples and got it so fast. The Staples on Wilshire? Yeah, yeah, same. That's what me and Tiffany have been like for 10 years. We were like. We'd be waiting in the shitty line and I'm like, oh, God. Oh, God. And then it'll be like, we should just get it. It's like, yeah, we gotta get it. And much like everything in this fucking world, it seems like a huge task. Then you do it and you're like, I can't believe I put this off for like eight years. My life, my quote unquote. This is hyperbole. But my life has improved since I got TSA PreCheck. Cause I fly enough and I'm so happy to have it now. And I can't believe I was like, for six years, like, gotta get it, you know? Yeah, it has a 10, you know, I'm gonna renew it. I have to renew it, like this year. And that's online. You don't have to go in anything. Yeah, it rules. It's pretty cool. Big wreck. You just. If you don't care about your information, like my whatever. You have everything about me. I don't give a. You have it. So take. I live. I live such a public life that I'm. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, you could. You already have a couple of podcasts and know what's up. My social. Yeah, Social Security, anything. You guys have any travel lined up? You both always do interesting travel together and separately. You guys have any fun travel or fun, like it's Drag Horror Festival at Huntsville. I do want to just kind of keep. Because I feel the last couple of years we've been really good at that of like, let's hit up these fun, different things. And if that Means going to Vegas. Great. If that. Whatever it might be. I hope to just keep that going of. Yeah, hitting up like, we went to the. Wait, were you there mano? The county fair. The LA county fair. I had to miss that one. But that sounded fun. So much fun. Gabriz. Yeah, that's awesome. We went like a Friday afternoon and had the. And it's like, okay, next year we have to go. It is fun when you stumble upon those things. That's something I've been thinking about more and more too, because I frequently just end up going to like a sort of expensive dumb dinner, like several nights a month where I'm like, oh, me, Jimmy, Rafe, Tiff. We're all going to insert random expensive. Which is fun, which is a lot of fun. But I almost want to be like, hey, yes, in three Fridays, let's drive to San Gabriel Valley and try this. Yes, let's go to dinner here at a fucking cool dim sum place and take bigger advantage of this city rather than getting stuck in like this. And there's all these fun, weird little pop up stuff that I like to do. I mean, it's huge around Halloween and Christmas, but they're starting to become more and more where it's like, yeah, I want to. Let's go. Let's go try these weird, fun pop up things. We need to go eat duck together. I had duck on Christmas day with some nice friends. You did? Oh, my God. Yeah. Tiff and I do a movie. You know what? Christmas Day was really fun. This is why I love LA. I went and saw the brutalist at the Vista 4 hour movie on Christmas day. Sold out. And it's like, the vista's awesome. I drove across town in like seven minutes and then had to. Had to drive eight blocks away from the Vista to find parking. I just fucking love LA for that reason. And then we got Genghis Cohen and including their no name dude duck after the fact. Yum, yum. Yeah, duck is fun and yummy. Okay. Yeah, we'll eat all the dumb things. There's a night market called 626 Night Market over on this side of town. Yeah, I want to come down. Yeah, let's do. There's one in Hollywood that we went to a day night market that was really tasty. Yum. I want to do. I want to do more shit that isn't just like, I'm paying $26 for Brussels sprouts in a cast iron skillet. Like, I want to. Yeah, I'd rather give that money to like a Random South Asian business owner who's doing like something cool with curry or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've taken this place, Betsy. We've been to this place called Min Min Pie House. Maybe at least once. Remember I brought it. Yes. It's so good. It's so simple. They're just Szechuan style meat pies. So it's basically like a dumpling in like sort of a. A fried dough, like kind of. It's delicious. Delicious. It's deliciously tasty. We'll eat that. Amazing. And again, like you're saying it's a mom and pop place. It's cheap and unbelievably yummy. Yum. We should also have just a fun Taco Bell night. Oh, we good? Oh, I had the chicken nuggets. I did too. I like them. I have yet. I have yet to have them. So I'm very. I think they're tasty. I really like them. Oh, I'm curious. Those. I'm trying to have a little less. I mean, I want to have a fun Taco Bell night with you guys for nostalgia. I know, I know. But that feels like the thing I'm trying. Like, I love it and I can't get enough of it. But I do feel like I need to like, zoom out of like corporate a little bit. For food specific. For everything, ideally. But for food, it does feel a little bit like I feel guilty. Like this Restaurant Group owns 20 hot restaurants and I go to eight of them. But then I'm watching like random fucking Thai places close in my neighborhood, right? And I'm like, why am I fucking go there there. I've been living in the same apartment for 13 years and I'm constantly going like, we gotta go here. And then it closes and I'm like, I should. You're so bummed. It's like, oh. Cuz I never went. Yeah, I'm part of the reason it closed. Dang it. Yes. Yeah. So yeah, you're also near Garden. Near. But Gardena is on the west side. You should. Yeah, yeah. And there's so many amazing Japanese places there. I've hit it. Probably go there. A buddy of mine lives in Marina in Playa and we will frequently meet at like the Sawtel. Kind of restaurants are like halfway between us, so we're always checking off. And he's Aussie, so Japanese food's a big part of his life. So we'll be seeking out random like Japanese barbecue and stuff like that. Have you been to Pizzeria Sai yet? S e. I I was supposed to go. Me and Gregor were supposed to go. We went to. We went to Carmellia instead because we could not get a res at pizzeria side. But Carmellia was fucking awesome too. I bet that's delish. Yum, yum. Let's eat food. But yeah, obviously I love that we're like, what do we got planned for 2025? And we just listed off like eight restaurants and cuisines we wanted. That's all. I just want to travel and eat food and hang out with my friends. Yeah, man. Hit up Universal Studios a bunch. Speaking of eating shitty food with friends and over consuming with friends, before you guys get out of here, I think you might want to stick around because I think you'll like who's coming into the studio. Okay. Weekends. Yes, for the weekend. Some people would say that we've been on my podcast with these people over and over again. Y'all ready for wigs? Just giving wigs. That super high energy intro followed by his actual energy is such a funny. Wow. Wow. Hey, buddy. Hey, buddy. Let's do a podcast. I love it. I was telling Betsy and Mono how much I love LA because I went to a sold out screening of the Brutalist on Christmas Day. Yeah. And I ran into Nick and his lovely wife Natalie at the Vista. So fun. At the vista. Yeah. 70 millimeter. It was great. It was fucking awesome movie. I don't know if I could ever watch that at home, but it was fucking awesome. Whoa, Mar. Try it. Oh, I guess so. We. I want an intermission. I want an intermission. It has an intermission. That's. Yeah. So you like, you're like watching to like our 40 minute movies back to back. Wow. I'll honestly say the intermission is almost an artistic choice in the movie too, because it 100%. It lets you sit with it. I went outside and, like, smoked a joint and talked about it with Tiff and then like, we went back in and it was like such a cool, like, way to see a movie. I've never, like, I've never been to a theater that had an intermission for them. Yeah. By the way, without. Without getting into spoiler country. The second half is pretty harrowing. And that you went and got high just before sitting through that. Yeah. The second half. Funny choice in hindsight. That's wild. We left the first half and, you know, Tiffany's like, oh, it's so much less stressful than I thought it was gonna be. You know, being called the Brutalist. I'm like, babe, he's Addicted to heroin. It's like the beginning of the movie. I'm like, I don't think it's gonna end good. You don't do heroin in the first act of a movie and in the third act and then your fire killing it. Yeah. Fuck. That's crazy. Okay. I don't know. Maybe we should try it. I doubt we will. It's a big undertaking. You got to go to the theater for, like, a full half day. I. It's a. It's a. I think it's a worthwhile experience. I think. I think, like, I would just like. You know, I've seen a lot of the. The Wards movies this year, and I think of that batch, it's the one that benefits the most from a theater screening. That one and Nickel Boys, I think, are both, like, worth going out to the theater for. I haven't seen Nickel Boys yet. I got to get out to a theater and see. Yeah, it's. I mean, it's a similar sort of thing, the Brutalist, where it's just like. It's. It's a bit of an endurance test, but it is. It's a long. It's a long movie. No, it's not as long, but it's like this. It's, like, so thematically, it's so bleak and. And so it's like, you know, you're just. It's kind of a punishing. Watch. Focus. Yeah, it's very much so. But it is also so, like, it's staggering how they were able to achieve that. So. I don't know. I think it's worth watching. Hell, yeah. A lot of people. A lot of people I like are saying it's their favorite movie of the year. A lot of. Of critics and movie heads that I enjoy are saying Nickel Boys is their favorite of the year. So I gotta check it out. I. I love that you. I'm so bad at the award movies that you could say anything. You could be like, and it's pretty good, but it's not getting as much heat as Dippery. Dippery Dipper D is really. I would, like, give that. What. I would give, like, a cast award for Dippery Dipper. The chemistry is good. Yeah, the chemistry's great, but I think. I think the best direction is Come Goblin. Come Goblin is just different. I would see that in. I thought the direction kind of went all over the place, so I. That's. That was my. I thought it was crazy. Dippery Dippy D casting actual children as the pedophile characters. Is. That's a wild choice. It really was. Thank you so much for coming on the 500th episode. Love you. Wait, before you both go, I have to shout something out, which is that Chris Finke, who's a loyal doughboys listener, frequent drop submitter, isolated a clip. I wish I could bring it up right now, but I don't have it with me. I don't know how to get it onto the zoom, but isolated a clip of Betsy just saying nasty. And it's so funny, and I keep listening to it. Oh, my God. Send it somewhere. That's something she does say a lot. Irl. Like, it would be on the Betsy soundboard. Would. Would be wild and nasty. I have it on my phone. Let's see. I wonder if I can play it in the mic. Okay. Oh, my God. Nasty. Hell, yeah. That did work. That did indeed. It totally worked. That's not right. Awesome. Okay. I love y'all. Gabriel, thank you so much for all you do. Bye. Bye. Bye. Oh, wigs. What a crew. What a crew, indeed. Yeah, and Beyer was on before them, so we just went buyer. Betsy Mono Weger. It's like a full. Now you got. Now you got reunion. Yeah. Gotta finish with wager. Let's calm things down a little bit. They got too entertaining. Let's bring it. Let's bring it down a little bit on the podcast Cooler. Yeah, let's get. Let's get into the weeds on Steam Deck Games. Weiger, I appreciate you taking the time to be part of the final episode, as you are a major part of the podcast itself. Oh, yeah. Hey, look, I got. I love High and Mighty. Longtime subscriber, longtime listener, great podcast. You're obviously, you know, the. One of the funniest people in podcasting, and so I just. I feel honored to be included in any. Oh, thank you so much. And you guys over at the Doughboys, having me on has done, you know, wonders for people, finding this podcast and stuff like that and finding out who I am. So it's all. It's all mutual, and. And I'm. I'm. I'm so pumped to. I'm pumped to put this fucking thing to rest, that's for sure. There's a part of me that's very. I'm like. It's bittersweet. But there's definitely the appeal of, like, will I not have to worry about scheduling this for, like, one day? Like, that would be such a fucking trip. Well, I had that feeling talking to Oscar and Mano about. Because they had their music video Podcast for a while. They just reached a point. They're just like, all right, we got it. We're done. They just felt a sense of completion. And I just remember talking to Mitch, like, hey, you know you can end a podcast. Do you know that's an option? Yeah, it turns out if you're. It helps if you're not making a lot of money and have just hit a milestone. Like, when I was having conversations about ending the pod, I was at episode like 491 or whatever, and I was like, yeah, I think I see where this is going. Finish line in the near future. Yeah. Yeah. Weiger. What? We just had the holiday break. Did you get any game time in? We saw each other on Christmas at the Brutalist, as we said, but did you get any game time in? You've been putting in any hours on anything, so. And I hope I, you know, I was texting you and Emma because I hope my audio is okay. My big gaming thing is I built a new gaming rig over the. The break. So that's awesome, by the way. Your audio is awesome. Okay, great. I have a. I have a new gaming PC, which is what I'm recording on. This is the first time I've recorded a podcast on it, so. But yeah, that, that, you know, it's. It was a few more time spent researching and accumulating materials and actually assembling the. Some which I. I was able to do in. In a. In a, you know, a long morning, but it is a. Yeah, that. That occupied a lot of the time I would have budgeted for actual gaming. But yeah, now this is like getting your room decorated, getting your room situated so you can write, like, getting your fucking. I love that you built a PC rig. This is something I've talked to IFY about and I've talked to some other people about that. I need to, like, I need to straight up, like, hire someone to do this for me. But that's a fucking dream I had in sophomore year of college after I spent like a huge chunk of my life guarding money on a fucking gaming PC with, like, the clear side of the window with the black light in it. And if I remember some of the details, because this would put it at like 2001. The details are like, so humbling. What the stats were. It was like. I remember I needed like, I had like a hundred gig hard drive and it was insane. Like I or 80 gig hard drive, and my computer was like, bigger than every one of my friends. I had like, you know, 512 megs of RAM and I was yes. This thing is fucking elite. Like everything it was so loud. Like it had like three fans on it and shit like that. It was so fucking crazy. What'd you go with over there? What kind of rig did you build out here? What was important for you in this? Well, I did, I did the AMD Ryzen 7. So like I previously had an intel. So this is, this is my first AMD CPU in a while. A lot of it I did through this. There's this website, PC part picker. And I know what you're saying about getting someone to do it and I understand the appeal of that. I've done the pre built rigs before. You absolutely could assemble a computer on your own, a PC on your own. Like it's like you could watch a 20 minute YouTube tutorial step by step. There's a few things that are a little nerve wracking. Especially did you have to do any soldering? No solder? No, there's no soldering. It's all kind of plug and play. There, there, there is like applying, you know, there's applying some. I can't remember the name of this, the substance right now. But, but, but, but for you know, your heatsink for your, your CPU fan, you do have to plant app a cooling salve onto that which is like a, a maybe a little tricky. But the main thing is just, is just like there's times when you're like, oh, I'm holding this component that I spent $500 on and I've just got to snap it into something and I have to use a little bit more force than I expected, you know. So that's really where the, it's not necessarily a technical challenge as much as sort of a nerves thing. And then obviously when you get to the point where you're going to power it on for the first time if it just doesn't work, you're just like ah, well I'm fine. I have no idea what the. Exactly. I. Yeah, but no, it's absolutely a thing that you or people who are listening, who are curious about it and have thought about doing it and have maybe been, you know, scared in the past. Absolutely could accomplish. Oh, that's fucking cool. What brought this about? Was it time to just get a new one or was it sort of like, I mean pretty much we are kind of successful 40ish year. 40ish year old guys without kids so we can spend Christmas buying and building a PC. Which is why I do, why I make every choice I make. But did anything specifically bring this about? It was more that. It just my previous computer was like five years old, which is fine, but in PC gaming terms, it's getting a little long in the tooth. And so I just was like, oh, okay. And also the other thing, and this speaks to our particular line of work. When you have your own business, sometimes your accountant will just be like, hey, the year is ending or the quarter is ending. Spend this. Spend the money you have here, you know, because it's like, it's better for tax purposes. So I was like, okay, well, I was going to get a computer at some point in the next year or so. I guess I could just get. Spend that money now. So, yeah, it was that. But then also just having the time the Runway to be able to assemble this. This bad boy back to the specs. So I also, I got a. I got the GPU. I got is the 4070 Ti super, which is. It's. It's one of the. Gaming is such an absurd hobby. And it's like one of those things where the card itself, the graphics card itself costs more than a PS5, but it's considered like the value option. Like, I did not go top of the line. It's like, it's so ridiculous how. But you can spend thousands of dollars on a GPU if you want. So, yeah, in two. In 2001, when I bought, when I built mine, it was like the Nvidia Geo Force something was the video card I bought and it was like the priciest thing and I was like, so excited to have it. And if I booted it up now, it would look like. What was that snake, man? What was that dumb game we played for? Oh, yeah, played. Yeah, yeah, I know you're talking about. I can't remember the title. Yeah, it's. It's a. Oh, every. The game, I think was called Everything. Oh, and then there's just like a snake with an eel with a head in it. Yes. Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm thinking of. Or wait, are we thinking of Seaman? Seaman, the Dreamcast Seaman game. We covered a couple of games. Yeah, it's. It's what you. What you said. The Nvidia GeForce. That is the card that I have. It's just like, you know, several generations removed. It's like they keep 20 years newer. Awesome. What. What else are you. What'd you go with? Like, did you get a cool mouse, a cool keyboard? Do you have like lights on your keyboard? This is the thing is just like the other Thing about PC gaming is like it's got, I feel like I find the aesthetic very tacky in general. Like there's so like RGB lights and, and I just like, I like things a little bit more understated. I guess I'm almost coming it from like a movie watching perspective when I'm playing games. Like I don't want my eye drawn to other flashing lights. You know, when I'm watching a movie it's the same sort of thing. So I, I actually what intentionally for this one, the only bit of lights I have come from the graphics card and then I have a little bit of illumination, like really muted illumination from this, from my keyboard. The I, I, I have the same mouse before which is a Razer. And I'm just realizing how fucking boring this is to anyone who doesn't play video games. Oh, I don't give a shit. This to me is absolutely fucking thrilling. But I got this new Corsair keyboard that's a tenkeyless so it doesn't have, it's basically. I can hold it up here. I don't know if you can see it. Yeah, it's basically a full size keyboard just without the numpad. So it's really, really functional. I like having the numpad for certain tasks. But for gaming this is. And for writing this is perfect. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. And does gaming keyboards kind of drive me nuts a little bit with like they're reactive or their noises. They kind of drive me nuts. But I do understand you need that tactile feel. I'm debating how I'm gonna cause I wanna do the same. But I also really enjoy working off of Mac like doing this kind of stuff and typing. But I guess I could just learn to switch it all over. Which feels a little crazy too too though, you know, honestly, it's like that is the part that's a pain in the ass because I'm so married to the Apple ecosystem. Otherwise same. I have a MacBook Pro and an iPhone like most people, iPad, you know. And that sync across all devices is very convenient. And then you throw that PC in there and you're running amok a little. It's clunky. And I also use Dropbox so that solves, you know, kind of the file management side of things. But things like photos, like if I want to get a photo from my phone onto my PC or vice versa. It's a little bit like there's an Apple icloud app for Windows but it sucks, you know, it's all kind of. Kind of janky. So. Yeah, because people are always talking about, like, just run boot camp on your mat. On your imac pro. And I'm like, I don't know about that. Like, I don't think I could. I almost would like to have two different machines for two different purposes. But then I'm like, I'm building a $4,000 rig that I just play games on. Seems fucking crazy considering I'm at this desk working all the time anyway. Yeah, no, it is. It is a pretty dumb thing to do when I think about it. At a fundamental level, it's pretty stupid, but whatever. Who gives a shit? Who gives a fuck? This all. Fuck everything's stupid. And. Wait, what? Gabriel, what are you playing these days? I'm kind of on. I haven't had a console game that I. That's tickled me since Baldur's Gate 3. Yeah, I've tried a few others, but they didn't stick. I may do a BG3 rerun, but right now I'm playing this game called Songs of Conquest on Steam. Okay. And it's pretty much like a Heroes of Might and Magic ripoff. Oh, shit. And that was one of my favorite games growing up was Heroes of Might and Magic. Yeah. Wait, which. Sorry, real quick, just on homm. Did you like. Did you have a favorite in the series? I played up through three and then I tapped out. But I liked all those games. I played up till three and then tapped out as well. And three was maybe my favorite. Dude. We used to sleep over my buddy Mike's house and have the computer room, like, because it's a turn based. Doing turn based IRL is like, all right, I'm done with my turn. Weiger, you're up next. Then you go in the computer room, do your turn so that you can't see the other guy's screen. That rocks. So it's like a LAN party, but with one computer. It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Gaming. So fun. Oh yeah, that's. People would not. Young people are like, what the fuck are they talking about? Yeah, we would be playing WCW vs NWO on N64 in the other room and then be like, all right, you're up. It's like you. You wouldn't let the WCW game distract from running through. So if you were. If it was your turn in Heroes, you just had to hand the controller over and get in there. I fucking loved those games so much. I love the aesthetic of them. I love the kind of like simplistic battle and Resource management that kind of went into it. And. And Songs of Conquest is really fun too with like. It's funny though, I'm looking it up right now. When you've been playing those games for a long time and you kind of know like, oh, the ogre is actually pretty powerful. Or like, oh, watch out, the centaurs have good now I don't know any of that playing this game. So I'm constantly like. I'm like, yes, I have 50 serpents. And they're like, oh, the serpents are whack. Nevermind. Yeah, yeah, yeah. When. When you like. It's like when you play one of those games because they're kind of opaque and if you haven't read a guide, you could be completely up and not knowing it or playing really inefficiently. But also I'm finding this now I'm playing this. This the. The console game I'm playing. I'm still making my way through as of this recording. I. I might be done with it by the time this episode comes out. I'm in the very late game of Metaphor Refantasio, which is a JRPG that came out in 2024 and was like a surprise, like critical and commercial success. It was on no one's radio. It's easily easy to not. I don't remember exactly how to say it, but like seeing that on a lot of people's lists, it burns in your head because it's like an insane name for a game. It's insane and the story gets really insane. But there's a. There's a system in it, the Archetype system, which is basically like a job system, a class change system, a way to multi class all your characters. And I feel like I'm doing. I like, I was like, oh, okay, they're managing this okay. But I also think the difficulty on Normal is ramped enough where you can just kind of get through the game even if you're fucking up completely. So I'm trying not to read any guides, but when I'm done with it, I am one. I do want to read a guide and see like, sort of like, oh, okay, that's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to have the faker multiclassed with the merchant. And then, you know, you can really kind of min max this thing. Oh, bro, this is like my undoing frequently with games is that, yeah, I'm worried I'm making the wrong early game choices and I'm like, like playing Tried to play Elden Ring And I was like, wait, what class do I pick? I'm like, wait, I don't even, I don't even know what my play style is. And this ends up happening. I think I've talked to you about this and I've definitely talked about this on the Pod before. But like Skyrim, one of my favorite games of all time, right? I had like six level 20 characters and only one level like 50 character. Because I kept being like, do I really want to do bow and arrow guy? Like, ah, fuck it. Like, no, I got a switch. And that's why Baldur's Gate 3. Always having the idea to respect everybody was like a nice having that idea like where you could be like, I'll just go to that dude and rebuild my guy if I have to. That's a, that's a thing that, that games have gotten much more like forgiving with is. Is respecting. Because I know you're, you're a big time Diablo guy. Back in the day, Diablo 2, you could like misclick a skill point and you're just, you're still. You're pot committed to it. Like, yeah, now I might as well up. Yeah, I might as well upgrade chakrams now. Yeah, yeah. And that would you. You could like fuck like a level 60 character by just like clicking in the wrong place or by like if you hadn't read a guide and hadn't figured out how to optimize all your skill points. So it's like now all of a sudden the end game is going to be blocked off to me. So yeah, games have gotten a lot more forgiving about that. Wait, let me put, let me put something else on your radar because this is another game that I've been playing and this was a. This was another 2024 release tactical breach Wizards. I like the name of this a lot. It's got like three of my favorite things in the title. Like if any of, if any of these words are in like a movie title on Netflix, no matter what nationality or like I don't know anything about it, I'll. I'll click on it. So this is exciting. Yeah, it's a. You because you got me into FTL back in the day a few years ago, but I don't know. Did you play the other game from that developer into the breach? Yes, I did. I got it on. I got it on Switch and I played it a bit and I liked it. I should go back to that. That game. That game rocks. This is very much in that mold, but it's Got like a little bit more of a. It's not like the, you know, like the, the pixel art aesthetic. It's. It's a little bit more like. I don't want to say contemporary stylized, but it's got just kind of a different art style to it and it's got a little bit more of a, of a, of a sense of humor to it, but like, not in a. A lot of video game humor. I feel like it can kind of be a little cringe or edgelord. It's not that it's like, it's like pretty tonal well done. But yeah, it's, it's, it's a lot of fun. Oh, that's awesome. I am. If I'm at all distracted, it's because, oh, it's PC only, fucker. Maybe it'll play on the deck. I'll take a look. Yeah, this should play on the Steam deck. Yeah. Yeah, it looks fucking cool. I did like into the. I loved ftl. That got, I got. I was really addicted to that for a while. So weird. The kind of like, I don't, I don't, I don't normally like games like what FTL was. And then I got like when someone just does a game, even if it's not your exact style, but they do it well, you're like like, fuck, this rips. Like. Yeah, I was not into roguelikes, you know, like, like, like run based games. Like it messed around with them. Was not really into them much at all until into the Breach. I played that before I got into ftl and the, the, the kind of bang bang, I think they were. They were maybe in consecutive years or maybe a couple years a part of, of into the Breach and Hades, which are both just like so well executed. Such like perfect versions of a roguelike. Roguelike like that. Now that's like one of my favorite genres. I love playing those kind of games. Oh, I fucking. I love. I, I love. Yeah, that's funny you say that because, yeah, Hades was my way in to that style of game and kind of taught me how that game is played. And some of these, and some of these well designed games, Hades is one of them is where you don't. It like teaches you the game as you play it. It's kind of just like you kind of just can start it off and be like. Especially at Roguelites, you're like, shit, I keep dying. You're like, oh, that doesn't mean. Like, that's right. That did that for me. And then slay the Spire introduced me to deck building games is something that I don't think I could have ever imagined liking since Magic. And now I'm like obsessed with deck building games. I'm constantly playing different. I loved Balatro. I fucking loved Monster Train. I loved. I loved Hearthstone for a while. Yeah, these so much. It's so fucking. And Slay the Spire is just kind of like the best version of them. Slay the Spire is so good. The thing I would like. And I never played Monster Train, our buddy, our Yu Song Liu was trying to get me into Monster Chain for a bit. But my problem with both Slay the Spire and Balacho, both are absolutely magnificent designs and games that I really love and games that I really admired. Games that I have to force myself to stop playing. Like, I just had to, like, delete Balacho from my devices is the runs are just a little bit too lengthy. Like, I wish there would be one of those games where you could have like a 20 minute run instead of. Yeah. So you can sit down and go, like, I'm gonna play a full game rather than. Exactly, I'm gonna play a chunk of it. Like, I like, you know, I could. I could sit on. I could sit on the train and like, I can play an entire round or two as opposed to Slay the Spire. It's like, oh, well, this is 90 minutes to do a full run. You know, I mean, like, this might take me a couple of days. And it's just like a little bit it. To me, it's. It's less what I like about the experience of. Right. And then you. Then you open it up and you're like, okay, wait. Oh, shit, did I do. Am I doing like, Poison guy or shiv guy? Like, what am I going for here? Yeah, that's true. Balatro. I had to, like, stop playing because he was giving me pins and needles on my legs on the toilet. Cause I would just be like, all right, let me just do a couple more hands. But those games also. Balatro did this to me too. Will break me and break me from wanting to play it. Like, I got stuck on like the same deck for so long and was making no progress and then got so cranky with it that I was like, well. And I haven't played it in like, fucking six months. I'm just like, you're gone. You're dead to me. You made it too complicated. A little more annoying than I wanted it to be. I'm out. Yeah. I mean, going back to Elden Ring, which you mentioned, and I Didn't finish Elden Ring and I finished it plus the dlc, but I didn't finish Elden Ring all the way until this past year year like a game that came out in what, 2021 or whatever. And I'd played through, you know, the first chunk a few times with some different characters, but I also got a character like 80% of the way through. And then I just hit a wall against some boss and just bounce and just like spent just enough time away from it where I was just like, you know what? I've gotten what I need out of that game. And then when the DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, which was. Was my. My favorite overall game of last year came out last year, got me back into it. I started a new character from scratch patch and I was like, I really know how this works mechanically now. And I. It was enough where I could, I wouldn't say breeze through it because it's still a. It's a FromSoft game. It's still a punishingly difficult game, but I got through it with like a lot more confidence than my previous runs and I was able to push through, you know, that last little bit to finish everything. So that was a really satisfying experience. I don't know. That's. That's like a thing. I know you and I are both like. Like self help guys is another thing that. That's the. I feel. I feel like we're always talking about video games, movies, and then like reading about how to prolong your lifespan or whatever, how to like prevent dementia or live longer or put your phone down, like all that shit. Yeah, yeah. This one I'm reading right now, which is Oliver Berkman is the author. He did the 4,000 weeks, or I think it's maybe just called 4,000 weeks, which was. It was like a. Just sort of like mindfulness slash mortality sort of book. This book, I believe it's called Meditations for Mortals. But the way you're supposed to read is you read one chapter every day, which I've been doing because I'm not in any rush. And it is very much like has. Has a point where it's just like finish things. And that's a huge problem of mine is. But. But it's just sort of saying like. Like there's so much satisfaction in finishing something, even finishing something in an imperfect way. And that is like just having that in my head going into the new year has really informed like. Like my attitude towards. Towards you know, both creative projects, which I'm always The same way you're talking about. About Skyrim characters always starting and then abandoning. Like. Like, I'm just like, you know what? I'm gonna finish a creative project in the first part of this year. I'm just gonna finish it, even if it's bad. I will, like, be done with something. And I'm trying to have the same approach to games I really like. That's part of why I'm. After taking a little bit time away from it, I'm. I'm back full on and metaphor refantazi. Because I'm just like, I enjoy this thing and it's satisfying to finish something, see it through to its completion. So it also lets you, like, kind of an attitude for me now put in, like, so we to be talking about this in the final episode of the podcast too. Because it does, right? There is an element to, like, finishing a creative project because it. Like, when else would I have ended this? Like, never. Like, that seems crazy, right? Being 65 and screaming, it's the number one fuck boy. Number one fuck, man, at that point. But that fucking Skyrim RPG thing that you're using, that's the same thing with me. And it's for the same reasons. I'm like, is this creative project worth my time? Is this the strongest idea I actually have? No. Maybe it's this other idea I'm floating on. Okay, let me work on that. Is this actually. And then I will just have, like, eight level 20 ideas rather than two finished games. And I always consider myself a completionist. I finish books I don't love. I finish movies that I. Or series that I start that I'm like, I'm not into this, but whatever. There's only 12 more episodes. I'll just finish it over the course. Which is insane to say. I understand, but that's my OCD or my. But it doesn't pertain to games. A game. But every time I talk to you, it makes me want to go play Elden Ring because I was having so much fun when I was playing it. I was just frustrated because I didn't know what I was doing. And I'm like, maybe it's time. I watch like, a YouTube guy for like, 10 minutes and then go into the game because I want to complete, too. Yeah, I wrote down that guy's book and because I don't complete a lot of stuff, and there's an element of me that's like, well, yeah, that's great. I don't have to complete that. But you're right, there is Something powerful about completing something that feels good. Yeah. I think the other, the other half and of. Of what I'm getting from this particular read and, you know, I'm only like a third of the way through it, but it's like, I think he says something like this, like, strictly speaking, you don't have to do anything, you know, so it's like, so like, having that, like, thought, like, like, I don't. You don't have to do anything. So, like, not worrying about something being perfect, not worrying about it, like, it being like, this is the, this is the ideal use of my time, which I always get stuck into, is like, like, I'm learning this new skill I want to learn. The most efficient way possible is like, don't even worry about that because you don't even have to do this. Just like, be doing it and just try to see it through to the end. So I'm trying to be a little bit more, you know, just. Just casual about my attitude towards. Towards completing things. Yeah, that's. That. I. What you just said really hit for me because, like, I'm trying to learn Spanish and I'm like, am I doing it the right way? And I'm like, well, you know what? I'm doing it. And then you, then you can get into the meta on, like, is this the most efficient way to do it? And what's the classic? Perfect is the enemy of the good. Yeah, perfect is the enemy of the good, or perfect is the enemy of completion. Where I'm like, if I don't absolutely nail this, why should I not be doing it? Should I be, Is there something else? And then all of a sudden you're like, what the fuck? I was enjoying it the way I was doing it. I was actually taking Spanish lessons or like, all these, like, learning stuff. I think you can relate to this, like, trying to learn. You'll go to the gym and be like, oh, I worked out for like 90 minutes today. That was great. Did I do it right? Should I have gone blank instead of blank? And then you're in the meta on exercise and you're like, I should just be thankful that I got there and did exercise. Like, right. And, you know, we're in this age of hyper optimization, where, yes, like, absolutely everything I need to do, I need to do it the most efficient, effective way possible. And it's just like, yeah, well, maybe it's. Maybe it's just good that you're going to the gym three times a week, you know. Yeah. And then give yourself some grace. You get in your own way. And then you're like, no, I should be going five days a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays should be metabolic conditioning and hit high intensity interval training. And then all of a sudden you build up this thing that's like, this is optimized. And then it's like untenable in the same way. Yeah. You can't sustain it. Yeah. Like, you know, this is the. We're early in the year. You know, you're talking about setting goals and people, you know, everyone's like, I'm gonna blank. And it's like, aim lower. Because then you could just do it and keep moving on. Like, it's always like, I'm gonna see a movie every single week in the theater. I'm gonna write every single day in my journal. It's like, try writing once a week in your journal is the first thing. And I'm talking to even myself here because I'm like, I'll build up these elaborate fucking plans at the beginning of the year and then just be like, get high and disappear for fucking 10 days anyway. It's like, oh, I'm not fucking doing any of the shit. I told myself. Like you said, I don't have to do any of this. You don't have to do anything. And I'm choosing to do it. Why am I getting in my head about how am I doing it? Like, exactly. No one did you have a, like, you know, from rugby or swimming or anything or. Were you ever. Because I, I got this from music as a kid and it put me in my head for like decades of you talking about the perfect, the enemy, the good. The other thing I heard a music teacher say once is practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect, perfect. Practice makes perfect. Which I'm just like that. That to me is. I know it comes from a place, a well meaning place, but like, that is a pretty destructive, like, I feel like philosophy that discourages a lot of people from like, I, I, for me, it get it put me in that headspace of like, oh, shit, I need to, to. If I'm. Should I be practicing a chromatic scale or should I be learning the Dorian mode? Like, what should I be doing with my, you know, with my limited time to practice this instrument? How do I do it most efficiently? And then that would lead to the, you know, the analysis, Analysis paralysis that presents one with just ultimately within action. You know, I'm not even practicing because I'm worried about practicing the right way. Right. That's so easily in your head. Like that Makes total sense. But then I, I did have a coach, a rugby coach, who would say things like, well, if you're going to drop a ball, it's better on Thursday than on a Saturday because Saturday's rugby day. So it'd always be like, oh, that's. Well, if you're going to miss a big tackle, I guess it's better today than on Saturday. Like, kind of just being like, on Saturday, don't do this bullshit that you're doing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I like that. And I would say the mantra that got me the most is kind of from my early dumbbells listening and mutual friend Ryan Stanger. Oh. Of like, the battle is getting there. And if you go there, and if you go there and just go in the sauna or walk on the treadmill, or you sit down at your piano keyboard and noodle for 15 minutes, or you open up your Spanish workbook, answer five questions and then like, watch the Simpsons in Spanish, like, what, you're doing something. And that's all that fucking matters. When the other, when there's so limitless options of what we could do with our time, when we choose to continue down any path, that's like a victory in and of itself. Like the fact that I'm at the gym, yes, I could probably go faster on the treadmill or I should do this instead of this. But the fact that I'm here is the victory for me. Let me do this 100 times and then I'll start going like, yeah, let's get into the scale. Let's get into the Dorian scale or whatever the fuck you call. It's kind of like, this is the thing. And I imagine this happens to you a lot where people will ask you, like, think of, I'm thinking about doing a podcast and they're just looking for, you know, like, I kind of almost have like a standard set of things that I, I, I say at this point. But like, I, I feel like one thing I've landed on is this. Like, you know, it's. Most people could walk for like an hour, could just like go on an hour long walk. Like, that's not that in and of itself act like, go. The act of walking for one hour is not necessarily, I'm speaking generally here, but it's not necessarily like, like an, an, an impossible goal for most people work. It's challenging. If you start about talking like, I'm going to go for, I'm going to walk one hour twice a week, every week. And that's where you get into with podcasting is like the individual thing of doing a podcast isn't what's tough. What's tough is doing it for 500 episodes. You know, it's tough. It's tough to do it consistently and to make sure that, like, the episodes are done, that they're booked, that they're recorded, that they're edited, and that they're out on time. And so the consistency of output is the challenge. Yeah, that it's. And that's. I tell everyone that asked me podcast advice. Actually, this is a fun way for us to wrap up our conversation. If anyone's thinking of kicking off a pod in 2025 from a couple of guys with multiple podcasts. What the advice I always give her something of like, make sure it's something that you want to do every week. The premise of your podcast, make sure it's something you want to do every week for possibly ever. Yes. Something you can do every. Now maybe doughboys kind of is an asterisk here of like, this might not be ideal to do every week for the rest of your life. But I'm like, because you want to deliver every week. Yes. Now I know people can do seasons and stuff. And then I also say, like, the money, it doesn't just show up. Like, you know, like, I've been in the game for nine and a half years. I happen to just be an early adopter of podcasting in quote unquote. In general. Before all the celebrities got into it, I couldn't imagine, like a couple of comics that didn't have huge credits already kicking off a new podcast. And of course some of them will succeed and some of them will make sense and. But now it's like, it's such a different system than 10 years ago when I got into it. We both benefited. Both our, you know, our shows have benefited from, from, from kind of first mover, you know, advantage of just like, we kind of got in there pretty early and now like, you're saying, yeah, you kind of. It's, it's tougher without a built in audience. But like, yeah, you're absolutely right. I would say I. Not to discourage anyone who's listening out there who's like, oh, I don't have an audience, but I just have an idea for a podcast. I'd say do it. Well, that's the other fun thing. You don't need, like, you need a live audience to do comedy live. You do not need anyone listening to record a podcast on comedy. You can record a podcast. Yeah, exactly. And, and the, the The. The downside of failure is just like, well, put a little bit of time into doing something that no one really responded to, and we did, you know, 50 episodes. We didn't really get an audience like, oh, well, you know, whatever. It's like, it's not like, no one's gonna be like, point at your. Your unpopular podcast that ended and be like, haha, you idiot. It's just like, oh, okay, this thing just got it kind of ignored, and then you'll always have those 50 episodes somewhere on a feed somewhere or whatever. Yeah, but I think the downside risk is pretty minimal. But, yeah, I think as far as. Yeah, what. What. What's the topic of this thing? What do I want to do with this, this podcast? I mean, yes, Mitch and I committed to eating garbage food every week, but we've. I think we've figured out a way to make that sustainable for us. And also, it's not like we committed to, like, hey, we're gonna read a different, like, Russian novel every week. You know what I mean? Like, you could try to be the comprehensive Russian novel podcast and be like, oh, yeah, yeah, whatever. I took a Russian a novel college class, and I like Tolstoy or whatever. But you would get like, you're thinking about episode 100 of that. It's just like that. You can't do that, you know? No. And the stuff that is not just sitting in a microphone in front of a microphone with your friends and being funny, that there is so much more that goes into the podcast, which is all the stuff that sucks and that I'm looking forward to not being a part of, like, not doing any more with. I'm gonna miss texting a friend, being like, hey, I saw you post. You have a TV show coming out. Do you want to come on High and Mighty and talk about blank to promote it? I'm gonna miss, like, that, kind of. And then sitting down and chopping it up with Adam performs the throwback drops or whatever. Right. But I will not miss, like, oh, shit, the Dropbox. The audio is not uploading. You know, like, all the other steps of, like, why can't the zoom be registered? Like, I can't get it. Oh, fuck. Okay. Did you send the audio file? Hey, sorry to follow up a second time, but can you send me that audio file that I asked you to record when you were doing a favor by being a guest on the pod? Like, all of a sudden you're just, like, into so much more effort than you want to be, and you're like, fuck, this is like, not what. This is not. So I guess my other advice, not to only give negatives. But if you're like, me and my friends love to sit around and chat. It's like, great. That's gonna be so much fun. But uploading, editing all that stuff is not easy. Get a friend who likes that stuff. Pay a friend who likes that stuff to do it for you. Make it even more enjoyable. Lose money on the podcast to make it more enjoyable for you. To be honest, I think that's, I think that's, that's really, really sound advice. I like while you were. Because you're just talking about, like, the technical stuff. And I remember that you and I and it was Aaron Mallory long, right? We did a Star wars episode and her microphone was not. I did not push button three. So I did a Star wars episode early on in the pod with my two of my friends, Aaron Mallory Wrong and Nick Weiger. And the woman's microphone was turned off. And it's like, so there's so metaphorical there. I had to like, straight up go like, hey, can you guys come back to my apartment and talk about Star wars again? And luckily both of you guys did, because fucking great people. But that was a crazy. That was like one other time I had Charlie Todd, improv everywhere guy from New York, come to my apartment. We talked about hot tubs, and his mic wasn't on at all. But I needed the episode to go up so bad that Emma was able to juice his audio up super high and pick it up on my microphone. But it sounds absolutely insane when you listen to it. Cause he's so blown out. And then like, it jumps back down from when I talk into the mic and yeah, that shit is stressful. That's annoying. Yeah. When you lose episodes or when you book a guest and they move it or they can't do it at the last minute, you're like, you don't understand. This is stressful for me. Like, I was banking on getting this in the can and it's like that. You can't hold someone to that. You can't be like, hey, you contractually said you do high and mighty. You fucked me. It's, it's, it's difficult. Yeah. I, I, I. That said, I think it's like a. Again, since we were talking, since we're talking to General, to anyone listening who might potentially want a podcast, wants to do with their own podcast. Like, I, I, I again would just say, like, just do something you're excited about and do something you'd and do it with someone you'd be excited to talk about because it's like, like, I, I. Not, not to put the cart before the horse, but I do think it's worthwhile to think about about episode 100, because that comes in under two years. If you're doing it weekly moves. It moves in fast. Yeah. Yeah. So is that a thing that like it, like, look ahead to episode 100. Imagine you get. Have some success. Imagine you have an audience. Imagine it's. It's worth it's. Or it's a thing that you're excited enough that you want to keep continuing regardless. Like, is that a thing you're going to be want. You're going to want to still be doing. You're going to want to still be doing that format that far down the road? Yeah, because I'm always getting like, my friends podcast ideas are. I'm like, really? Like, that seems like so much effort each week. Like, or they're like, yeah, it's going to be like this. And then, you know, hopefully we'll get money and then we'll be able to like, turn it into a TV show. Like, okay. That doesn't know how that works either. No. Yeah. Weiger, thank you so much for coming on High and Mighty, the 500th episode and chopping it up with me. It's always a true pleasure, a true treat every time. Honestly, the best part of me doing a podcast and other people's podcasts is getting to meet and become friends with so many. You know, I don't know how, if we would have struck up a conversation at the Christmas Day brutalist if we had not done each other's podcast 20 times in the last years. Yeah, no, yeah, I remember. I think Will Hines was saying, was saying once, I'm just like, it's just like a way I can talk to my friends sometimes guesting on a podcast. And I was saying to Nicole Byer earlier, like, hey, in 2025, we should hang out when it's not like, before a show or on the microphone. Like, we should try being off like, irl friends, can we not monetize this? Can we just, like, hang out Week two of any hobby I have, I'm like, how do I monetize? Like, do I do a podcast about learning Spanish? Like, I, you know, just like gamifying and monetizing any hobby and, or any goal of mine be like, yes, I should do a weight loss podcast with Mitch. You know, like, let me, let me, let me. By the way, I would not advise you to do a podcast with Mitch. No, no, please. I can't have two Mitches. Like, I, I don't. I have some of your superpowers. Not all of them. I would be, we would be toast. I, I wanted to say to you, Gabriel, so I, first off, thank. Thank you so much for including me. Congratulations on, on an incredible run. Congratulations on a great show. And, um, and I'm, I'm sad that it's ending, but I'm glad that it's ending on, on your terms. Uh, and I, I just wanted to say to anyone listening out there who is a, a Doughboys listener. Get Played listener. The. Those shows are on, Are on Headgum, uh, because of Gabrius. Doughboys came to Headgum because Gabris was there and because we knew that that was like, that would make it a fit for us. And so that you, your presence and your talent gave us a, a home for our, for our podcast and, and ultimately for Get Played as well down the line. And so I, I, I just, we, we are so, you know, Mitch and I and Heather and Matt are all so grateful to you for what you've done for our shows and, and for being our in, uh, for, uh, for this particular relationship. So thank you so much. I appreciate you guys. Joining the HG family meant a lot, and I was honored to be on the same network as you guys. So it felt great. It makes total sense. And thank you for. I'm also now just remembering responding to a Facebook post that you posted this, how long ago it was, was like, me and Mitch are thinking of doing a chain restaurant podcast. And I just responded, sort of knowing Mitch for a while, having met you once or twice, I just wrote, I want to do out. And then you had me, you had me on, like, super early in the run, and I was just like, what is this show? This is so fun. This guy Weiker's so funny. Mitch is like. And then all sudden, I had no idea what A, your show would become, B, how much of a part of it I would be. You know, I would be. And all this stuff. So it's like, it's such a wild thing to think back to, like, eight years, nine years ago, going like, yeah, I love Outback. Let's go. Like, it's so fucking crazy that that is now, like, you're doing two a week with fucking, you know, movie stars and shit like that. You know, you have, you have a team of like, eight people running, running the Doughboys empire. It's like, it's a Fucking great work. I'm so proud of you guys. And for any listener who listens to doughboys and goes, like, we should have done a fast food pod, you can't. It's not. It's not successful because it's a fast food pod. It's successful because it's Weiger and Mitch. That is like, what they are. Insanely talented comedy fans, folks, and classic archetypes of skinny guy, fat guy, dumb guy, smart guy, Spectrum guy, whatever. Mitch is Guy, Adrien Brody, and Guy Pearson, the brutalist lady of the night. Spoiler. Holy shit. Weiger. Thank you so much, bud. Always a pleasure. I hope to see you IRL soon. Thanks, gamers. Love you, buddy. Love you too, man. Peace. Also joining me in the High and Mighty studios, one of the hosts of the Comic Book Club podcast and one of my longest fucking friends in this industry. And out. It's Justin Tyler. Hey, fucking friends. That's the words you chose? Yes. Friends with benefits. My question is, if High and Mighty's ending, when are you gonna give your voice this pure, grounded vocal warm up that you do to hit the high mode, bro? I. I'm also a little under the weather today, and Aukerman's like, are you gonna do the intro for everybody? I was like, no fucking way. I'm dying. I gotta do it all once. I'm gonna go in a studio booth and record it, like, with, like, a project. For those of you who have never seen the number one fuckboy do his intro on video, it's a full body experience. Your whole body. Like, it's like a deadlift with your vocal cords. Well, yeah, I'm pretty untrained in the diaphragm communica. You know, people are like, speak from here. I'm like, where do you talk from? I'm like, I have no idea, but it just comes out in my brain. I talk for hours on end every single day in some. Somehow my voice has yet to fail me. And who knows? Today's that fucking day, dude. Yeah. You're the voice of the people. That's why. The worst possible people. Yes, I'm the voice to all of them. Justin, one of my biggest regrets of wrapping up this podcast is not having you on more. But part of that is we talk all the time in real life. Yes. If the mission statement of the podcast is you talk to people to learn something, I have very little because we talk too much in general. We've been talking for several hours a day because for people who don't know, Justin and I are Longtime creative partners, writing partners. We lived around the block from each other in Brooklyn. When we first kicked off. We met in Mike Delaney's Level 3 Mikey D. Yeah. And this would be in 2004, 2005. And we've been getting fucked up and working together for 20 years. Hey. Couple of goobers swinging by Justice. We've known each other so long, my children, they really want to be a part of the High and Mighty finale. Hi, Maddie. I'm so excited, by the way. Hi, Juni. Hi, babies. Hello. I'm gonna see you guys in a couple of weeks. Yes. Get excited. They're excited. I always like to tell. I always like to tell my friends, kids that I've known your dad way longer than you. Now, for listeners as to what's going on right now, this is a common occurrence because now that I live on the West Coast, Justin and I work over zoom a lot. And he has to hit mute when the girls come in and go apeshit. I'm the king of the mute. You're the king of, like, clearly on a work call, but also being dad, like, so you're constantly like, I've been on a work quote unquote work call. We can say our work calls are pretty loose, lowercase W. Work call. But I do know you have like 50 jobs, so I'm assuming you're like this with other people too, where you're cooking with the laptop in your hand while zooming with me and also pushing your daughters away or saying, no more snacks or whatever. Like, you're just dealing with like a hundred things at once. In the brief moment where Justin was muted, both his daughters jumped on his back. And then out of nowhere, his dog leapt into frame like, full blown pile on. My life's crazy. All you need is 20 minutes of peace. And that can't happen with two kids under seven or whatever. Well, it's a lightning rod. Whenever they can sense that I'm too quiet by doing something that isn't focused on them, all of the organisms around me are like, get him. He's distracted. There is something that they know of, like, dad, Dad's on the computer. Let's go fuck with him or something. Let's go fuck with him. It's great for just a quality in a human to develop. Yeah. And in a world where everything is work remote now, it's not like you can go to the office and get a break, you know, I gotta just deal with that. No, my break is the stress of having to find the mute button every 10 minutes. What I was gonna say is I. You are my longest, like, continuous friend, continuous relationship in my life outside of, like, blood family. Yeah, but I guess, what does that mean? Because don't you have high school friends you're still friends with? But I guess they're not like, a major part of your life. Yeah, exactly. Like, I think there's, you know, a lot of relationships. Dip and dip and dive and soar. Yeah. We're always soaring, the two of us. Yeah, it's like longest creative partnership, you know, like, we've been there through both of our dads dying, both of our weddings. I was there when your daughter was, like, 0.0 years old. Shorts, we've been through a lot of shit together. The previous episode that Justin was on, that I wish I could pull the number from right now, was live in Philadelphia when I did a few live dates. Oh, right. Since you and I have spent the first, like, 10 years of our career doing random shows in Philadelphia, it felt perfect to get back there with you again. Oh, that show was wild, if I remember. I don't even remember anything. I just remember the venue was interesting, and I. We. We got drunk over the course of it. That is like, the two things I remember. Yeah, we were at, like. I want to say, like, an Elks Club or something like that. It was definitely at least modeled after that. It was like a weird, like. I wish I could remember the name of the venue. It's so fucking funny. I just typed in Justin Gabriel. That is not us. That is technically us in some ways. Yes. Episode 48. Oh, no. Justin, I can't believe I don't even remember you being on episode 48. We did an episode called Dead Dads Surprising no one. And then episode 251, live in Philly at the Rub Club. Wow. And we've been to a lot of rub clubs over the years. There's never one that talks about it that way. Let's just say that show had a very happy ending. Weirdly. Now your kids need school supplies right now at 5pm Eastern. Diligent, if nothing else. That's fucking. I totally forgot about the Dead Dads episode too. That's. Yes. And I think we recorded that in a weird studio in New York. I think that you were. You were visiting New York, and I think we went to the Headgum studio here in the city, and it was like. You were. You were like. It was like, sort of like, okay, we're doing it. And we pressed record. Oh, fuck. I have. I. And then we got into, like, we Were crying at points. It was like. It was a wild couple hours. I'm gonna re. Listen to that one. That one is gonna be. That one's gonna fuck me up. It's gonna break me when I re. Listen to that one now. How does it feel, though? So this is something. 500 episodes. Talk about long standing things. Like, how do you feel to turn the tables on you? How do you feel bringing this to a close? It's bittersweet. I've said to a few people, like, I'm excited to do to like, lose some of the annoying parts of running a podcast of like uploading audio booking guests, like, begging headgum to get more ads. Like, all of that stuff I'm happy to put put on the wayside. But for me, I'm gonna miss. This is like how I. I feel like I stayed connected with other comedians. It's like, this is how I met. Like, I would always just be like, meet someone at a show and be like, you should do my podcast. And then be like, oh, we. In an hour of like one on one conversation, you can really like, connect with someone. And I'll miss that. And I feel like you have. You've developed like a sort of a network cloud, like, around you. Like, I'll bump into people in New York who, who either I listen to on your podcast, and so I know now, like, way too much about them. So I'll be like, hey, oh yeah. And they'll be like, oh, yeah. And so there's a lot of connect with there. Also, you do such a good job on this podcast of talking about other people. Like, you build a community in just the way you talk about stuff. So then I'll have people come up to me and be like, oh, yes, I heard about you on an episode that I wasn't on of High and Mighty, where you just mentioned a story story and they have a story about that story and suddenly I'm connected to someone random. Yeah, I don't know. And that's like, that's awesome. I was saying to Betsy and Mano earlier today, or maybe later in this episode, depending on where Emma puts it, I was saying, like, I feel like in the High and Mighty extended universe, or they're my neighbors on High and Mighty Street. Like, I have like this little weird, like, because there's like the regular players, like the Wygers, the Mitches, the Atamanix, the Palace. He's like all these people who frequently do it. And I've developed like a sort of like, community is like. And I Don't have any fan interaction stuff. I don't like, read comments or respond to emails or give a shit about meet and greets or anything like that. So the community is amongst only me and the guests and their friends. No. No interaction with fans. You know what I mean? It feels so fucking. And if a fan is a podcast fan, they like me because of Doughboys or Comedy Bang Bang. Not me. I. Although I would like to say this episode 500 is there. Please reach out to me on social media if you've listened to all 500 episodes. Yeah. And I will send. I. I will send EMTS to 5150 you to Bag and tag you. You need to be fucking put in Arkham. Arkham Asylum if you fucking. I will say when we did that live show that the last episode I was on, there were a lot of high and mighty fans who are there. I was. I was. I was truly surprised. We. We had like a hundred something people in the crowd in Philly. Not. You know, and it was. Yeah. And two days earlier. Club at the Rub Club. Don't ever forget it. The fuck. It's been a. It's been crazy. And you. You're not a quitter like me. So it always feels. I feel like I'm not exactly quitting, but there is a part of my body that feels like, like, should I just keep doing this till I'm 60? But I mean, because there's no definitive end. It's not like, well, once we read the last chapter of Lord of the Rings, the podcast ends, you know, like, I don't have, like, a definitive end. So it feels like with all the circumstances that are coming up and 500th episode, I was like, fuck it. It makes sense to end it. But you, Comic Book Club, your podcast has been running longer than high and mighty, which is like at nine and a half years or almost ten years, you've been. Your pod's been running longer, which is crazy. I've been doing that show that became a podcast for, I think, 18 years. It was 18 years in December. So, like. Yeah, because it was a weekly live show for a long time that eventually became a weekly podcast. And I mean, I've been on it in like seven. Seven different ways or whatever, but it's. That's a fucking journey. Journey. That's like. Those are. Yeah, those are we. I don't even know what our numbers are at, but, like, we. Before I knew I listened to podcasts, really. We started just setting up a mic in the middle of the room. Garbage Audio quality, but started releasing those. And you know, you're talking about in the middle of the theater that you're recording. Theater. Yes. Just. I remember this. You just like, put like, don't get too close to it. Yeah, it gets too loud. That's so fucking crazy. Easy. You guys have, like, evolved with the times because you guys are now going full AI, Right? You're not. Yeah, we don't talk anymore. It's just also all of our opinions are pretty cemented in place. So, you know, we just. But, like, I started as to follow up on my. My high and mighty Persona of dad focused. I am a dad now. Obviously, my kids were just here being annoying, but now the other dads in their school are sort of like, hey, hey, are you. I googled you and you do this podcast. And then they were like, oh, that's funny. Ha ha. And then later they were like, so you've interviewed like, all these comic book people that are famous? And I was like, well, yeah, that's part of the thing. And now. So now, like, they're like, diving into this stuff and I'm like, holy shit. The record of shit I've said on podcasts that is there for all of time. Like, think about the future. That's great. I think about that a lot. And that's crazy. I don't have a facet of my life where I wouldn't want, like, where crossover would. Like, if I had kids, friends, kids or parents of my kids friends, listening to some of my shit would be problematic. You know, like, potentially problematic. I don't have any other aspect. I mean, I guess maybe like someone trying to hire me for a job of that maybe more than you think. No one who could touch me. By the way, I need to be hired by strangers. By the way, I need to take down these 600 episodes ASAP because I'm up for a fucking to be. Have two lines in a dumb multicam. It is one of those. It's one of those things where you forget that stuff. And especially with podcasting, it can get out of the pit second stage. You know what I mean? It can get off and it can be in everyone's phone. And that's. That's the. The dream and the beauty of it. But at the same time, in 60 years, your kids can boot up and be like, our dad wanted us to play a sizzle reel of his. All his favorite episodes podcast at his funeral. Like, is. Is my. Is Tiffany gonna scream the number one fuckboy at my funeral? Like, I don't Fucking know it's in your will. So. Yes, she. Yeah, well, yeah, she has to. Someone has to. If not Michael Buffer, who probably will die before me, it'll have to be her. Yeah. You know, and I want to have just a couple of the best episodes as push buttons on my gravestone for mourners to come. Come and stand around and just be like, this is when they interviewed Geoff Johns. And we just, like, stand there and listen. Listen to a full episode of Comic Book Club out while, like. Like, an Italian family is, like, in black veils, weeping, like, three tombstones away. Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, Jonathan Stewart. You tell me. Well, you know, we talked so much and cried a bunch about our dads, but, like, the flip from, like, their generation dying, where there's just, like, nothing much to like. Right. I look at pictures of my dad and we have some home movies, but that's basically it. And now my kids, when I die, will have too much to sift through and stuff that. Where they're like, ugh, this is not cool. Yeah. Yeah. Like, if my nephews grow up and have kids, they can, like, watch that. That's my. That's my great uncle on Drunk History. Like, you know, it's like, oh, cool. My. My nephews will grow up and be like, did you know Uncle Nani was on Drunk History? Or talk burping and. And being a disgusting pig. Like, that is like, I haven't done enough. Where it's like, you have to watch this TV series where he put his heart in. You know what I mean? Like, this is the one to watch, I guess. Maybe the travels 101 places to party before you die, which, in case people don't know, Justin was a producer on and fucking was in the field with us. Getting drunk with us. Just. I mean, on cam several times, but just off camera getting. That's what I describe when people are like, so what is you on the show? I'm like, I'm literally standing at the edge of frame for every single shot of the show. They're like, what? I was like, yeah, it's like that. Yeah. You are like, one part comedy writer, one part producer, one part, like, field director, and then one part handler of, like, lying table. They're getting fucked up. Let's get down. Gamers down. Let's get these guys some food asap, okay? Too much food. We need alcohol. Get him some alcohol. Waiter. No shots. They're gonna order shots. You say we don't have them. Okay, we have to wrap this fucker up. We have to get the fuck out of here. It's also funny thinking about our grandfather's greatest generation. My grandfather's like, it's just his World War II pilot photo with such reverence. Ours is the two of us in a Speedo in Coney island in 2005. That's truly our bomber pilot. Yes. My grandpa has a black and white navy fucking eight by ten of himself that is up in my mom's house. And then my mom also has a picture of, like, the Gino Lombardo tape. Cool. Good. I mean, I don't even. I don't have kids either, so it's not like when my. When my mom is like, well, here's. I have two brothers, as people know. Oh, your one brother's kids. I got a picture of them. Your other brother's eventual kids. Got a picture of them. And here is Gabrius's John. My mom calls me Gabrius. Here's John's dog in a Hawaiian shirt on the fridge or whatever. Like, I don't. It feels crazy. It feels crazy that my legacy is. This is. Is comedy or content or podcast, like, whatever you want to call this dumb shit that I'm pouring out every week. Well, that's why, like, it becomes. This is the end. It becomes like. Like you're about to sort of put a stop to it. So it is. Literally, it's in a box. Feels fucking crazy. Feels fucking crazy. It feels so good and, like, a little scary at the same time. Well, and I think that's good. Cause like you were saying before, like, I never stop anything. I never say, no, I'm the opposite of what you're doing here. And I think what I look at something like, this is the pleasure of completing something I'm with. I'm pushing that off. And there's such satisfaction being, like, I did that. Dude, this is. This is what Weger and I talked about. Finishing things is something you so rarely do in life, is like, finish something. And that's a power we have, is to be able to. There is. There is a good feeling when you complete something and when you have this kind of, like, esoteric shit, like a weekly podcast that has no real specific outro or end date or like, on the other side, it's like. And it's not like I'm earning enough money that it makes. It's crazy that I'm dropping it, you know, I mean, I am making money on the podcast, but it is one of these things where I'm like, it does feel. It just feels good to Complete it like in 500. Felt too, like if I didn't finish now, like, when would I decide to like, would it be episode 600? Yeah, you're like, I'm done. 504. That's. That was my biggest fear is that I'm like, no, I got to keep going. And then like six months into 2025, I'm like, I don't want to do this anymore. And then it's like 506 episodes, and the last episode is some like, coffee influencer that I don't know anything about. And she's just like, telling me about, you know, adding fucking vanilla syrup to coffee or some shit. And I'm like, this is fucking cool. Thanks for the mems, everybody. So knowing. Knowing that I was winding down and being able to do one more Mitch episode, one more Action Boys episode, one more A Tamanic episode, one more Power Hour, one more. And then with this 500th episode extravaganza, it felt good to have this goal in mind so I can get. Get there. So it feels, feels good to be here completing it. Question for you, Justin. It's 2025. We're talking, doing a lot of looking back on this episode, but let's take an opportunity to look forward. Is there anything that you personally are, want to plug, want to. Are excited about or want to try to do or have on your goals list for 2025 that, that you want to talk about? Yeah, I. Last year I knew because of the strikes and everything, I knew it was going to be a down year for work. I felt like, oh, this is bad vibes. Are, are bad vibes are still bad. But I was like, I'm going to try to do something good. I'm going to try to make a bunch of stuff. So I shot two short films. I just squeezed the second one in at the end of. In December. And then we have a project we're working on that I'm super excited about. So all sort of in the film industry, film side of the business, as opposed to tv. So going from like making all of those things and now finishing them and putting them out in the world, completing a project, for God's sakes, that's what 2025 is all about for me. Which unfortunately, because of how development works and auditions work and shit, you don't get to complete a lot of stuff. Like the number of scripts that you and I have written is pretty high. The half of those are scripts we've been paid for. Yeah, like a company was like, yes, we like this idea here is an embarrassingly small amount of money to write it, and then we would write it and then it doesn't go past that. So we would complete that step, but it's not the completion of the step. I want. I want to make the fucking cartoon that we wrote because it's so funny and so good. And plus, we don't get to enjoy the completion of it because, like the we. To be more specific about what you're saying, we. We sold and wrote a pilot a year and a half ago, two years ago. And that was. That's a huge accomplishment. But we never got to enjoy it because it went in and then it turned out it got passed over to go to series. So we end up with something that is like, ended on a downbeat technically. But what we achieved was huge and we accomplished it. I think about that all the time. It's like someone one time said the goal, the victory was the one season of the show. The victory was the pilot. The victory. And you have to kind of imagine that because that's what this business is. You got to collect up a bunch of those things. But, yeah, completing stuff. And the only one, the only way to guarantee that you can complete something is if you do it from soup to nuts. Right? Direct and make your own short films and then put them out there, start your own podcast and end it almost 10 years later. It's. It's. That's. It's so true. Yeah, that. That. That is something. So in 2025, looking to complete more projects and remind me when we're not on. Mike, I have an idea for our idea that is going to. It's going to make total sense when, When I tell you. But Justin, I appreciate you taking the time you. Well, before you sign off, what is your. What are you going to fill your time with now that this is ending? I would pitch it back to you. Oh, that's a great question. And I am going. You know me, I love my adult look. So I'm going to spend more. I'm going to spend more time trying to learn Spanish. I. Probably not to tease too much, but there might be a project that would take up an equivalent amount of time in the new year. Maybe you can guess what would take up an equivalent amount of time to a podcast, to a weekly podcast. There might be a project like that in the coming year. But also I feel like I've lost a step in reading and retaining and recalling and stuff. So I do think I'm going to. I'm currently on page 241 of 1350 pages of Wind and Truth, book five in the stormlight Archive series. Oh, Wind and Truth. Big ones. Yeah. I'm so. I'm going to. I look forward to spending more time. More time reading. And then this is a weird split diopter kind of idea for myself. I want to do more purposeful things and less things at the same time. So an example I use with Betsy and Mano is I'm so tired of just like, what are we doing this Saturday? Let's go out to an expensive dinner with two friends. You know what I mean? And I'm like, with like a month foresight, we could like, make like an interesting plan and do something different than. And like scrambling to find something. But then I also want the ability to be like, we don't have to do anything either. Right. And this is kind of like a complex line I'm walking. And I don't fully understand what I want out of it yet, but I guess I want to be more. Poignant is not the right word, but I want to be like, more deliberate. Deliberate, exactly. I want to be more deliberate in what I do, including, and this is a whole nother conversation, my consumption of alcohol and drugs and all that. I want it to be more like, less of like a passive given and more of like, all right, this is. I'm. I'm with Justin. We are in Palm Springs where I'm going to have some beers. You know what I mean? Like, I want it to be that and less like, well, it's 4pM Better smoke and drink and order Postmates. Like, I just. I guess I. I guess if I, like, look at what I spend all my money on over the last 10 years, I'd be so angry at myself for about 20% of it. Right. Of like, really this much on Postmates. This where this much on food makes total sense. But Postmates is not the best version of food. Like, just the easiest. Yeah, just the easiest. I want to be. And I guess that all goes into the deliberateness. Being deliberate. Like, that would be where I want to go, is be deliberate with my choices. It's very funny to me and great that you're. This podcast is all about you taking a deep dive on a subject through conversation. And you're like, I'm gonna end this. I'm gonna do deep dives on subjects and just not talk about it so much. Yeah. I'm gonna, like, just put it. Be away from other people. Yeah. I'm gonna not monetize all of My hobbies, I already did it with action movies and traveling and. And so I'm gonna just have some stuff just for myself, which would be a nice treat as well. Justin Tyler. Check out his podcast, the Comic Book. Comic Book Club podcast. Check out his podcast. And I'll be reposting his short films when they drop, so keep your eyes peeled for those as well. Justin, we have a lot to talk about off mic as well. What an honor. Shouts to High and mighty. Loved it. From the top to the bottom. From the height of the mighty. From tip to tail, baby. From tip to taint. Slobbered from tip to taint. Justin, you're a king. Thank you so much for doing this, bud. You bet. Later. Bye. Also joining me in the High Mighty Studios, it's the Mayo for me. It's. Mary Jane gives her hello. Hello. Look at this. The final fucking episode. Mj, I wanted to have you on because you are an example of a person that I would not have ever met if it wasn't for. For podcasting. I'm so stoked to have you in my life. You've been one of my favorite humans to get to know in Los Angeles in this hellscape, and I can't believe I made the cut to be on this episode. Thank you. Truly. Truly. I mean, so many people I knew previously because of comedy or, you know, but you are straight up purely a podcasting friend. I mean, now friend. Friend. But we started off just knowing each other through each other's podcasts and our love of the beautiful green plant of cannabis. And getting to know you has been, like, a true treat, whether it's been episodes back in the day promoting your old podcast, or Most recently, the 420 mega sesh that you got to participate in, which was a real fucking treat. I barely remember it. I should listen to it to confirm what exactly happened. It was a highlight. I got to come out dressed in my potato costume. Right? You did the baked potato bit, which I did forget a lot of things. Not that part. It's. It's truly, like, the dumbest thing I've ever done. And also one of my favorite things to do. It's so stupid. And I love you. The. The bravery. You did that in front of, like, six working comics, which I really love. Just like, I don't give a fuck. The baked potato bit is live, and it. It works. Any. Any comic worth their salt really fucking hates it so much because it truly is me wearing a potato outfit, doing potato puns, and I love it because stoners love it. And I mean, it's always been my favorite thing to dress up in a silly outfit and just be ridiculous. So I have such respect for comedy that I would never attempt to really do it. But putting on a costume and saying some silly things is just right up my alley. A dream come true. Yeah. It's been so fun to get to know you. And your breadth of life experience is so different than my usual group of. I took improv classes, then got into comedy, you know, so it's just, it's nice to, you know, a breath of fresh air to have met someone like you along the way who's come at this business from so many different angles. And whether it's writing on cannabis or you're writing on hallucinogens, or all your new sandwich based topical discussions with a feminist. Feminist sandwich making. With I feminist bent sandwich making, attacking current political things is almost impossible to really articulate. But if you don't follow, it's the mayo for me. You're missing out. It's niche. It's definitely like my little outlet to communicate my outrage about just what's going on in the world. And so I do try to address all of the important things that really matter to me as a woman in the world. But also I'm just having a good time and trying to entertain. And I use fart noises. And I had someone who was mad at me because I made it video about the Equal Rights Amendment. And I like, interjected a bunch of silly slap and punch sounds. And they were like, why are the noises are distracting? And I was like, I will go insane if I don't entertain myself at the same time as I'm talking about these things. I don't know for anyone listening, the reason that I started the whole project was because I wrote. I'm a writer and I wrote an essay about sexism in cannabis and was like, why do we have to have it this way? This is a new industry. Let's make it look however we want, you know, and so it certainly doesn't have to be misogynistic or sexist. And a bunch of dudes slid into the comments and said, sexism is a myth. Shut up and make me a sandwich. Ah, proving that there's something obviously something you would never say to a male commentator. So obviously there is no such thing as sexism. If this phrasing is only for women from men, makes no fucking sense. No fucking sense. And so I didn't even know it was a saying. So I looked into it and of course, like, it Popped up during Gamergate. It was like a big thing during that whole, you know, brouhaha. Yeah, it's like a hacky 90s joke that has become sort of like a weird mantra for some of the worst people on the Internet. Yeah, exactly. So I was like, what the. So then I was like, well, I didn't know you couldn't make your own sandwich, buddy. Are you sandwich impotent? And then the men were like. They went crazy. And I was like, there's something in this conversation. So I decided to start making myself sandwiches. And every sandwich that I make is a different topic that interests or affects me. Like, a lot of it is about reproductive rights or, you know, equal rights or period poverty. You know, just stuff that, like, women and girls deal with all the time. So it's. I love it. It's so crazy. This is what drives me fucking crazy. Like, straight dudes would disparage. Disparage women and sandwiches. I'm like, guys, these are two of the fucking greatest things in the world. Let's just fucking back out. Let's just chill. Those are. Those are two things I've been wanting since I was old enough to understand what I wanted in life. It's been women and sandwiches. So, like, why would we fucking fight this? Why would you be an asshole about it? People are fucking absolutely crazy. Like, that's. People are. The cool thing is there, like, there are some dudes who have found me who are mad about it, but then there are a lot of other people who just are like. They're like, I don't really care what you're talking about. I'm here for the sandwich. Right? Right. So, like, I try and make delicious sandwiches. Like, I've made a lot of, you know, like, kind of complicated, really yummy sandwiches with a lot of, you know, different condiments and stuff. When I'm trying to talk about something that, like, you might not be here to talk about abortion, but this is a hell of a blt, right? No eggs. No, that is. That is. That is interesting to. To put it that way, too, because I guess. I guess another facet of your Persona is that you are a gourmand a bit. You know, you've got a good palate and you enjoy the finer foods in life. And I've been introduced to a lot of delicious shit via you. And you also have made me delicious food outside of podcasting, have made me delicious banana bread that have been both medicated and unmedicated. Food that you've cooked for me has been absolute Bananas including for listeners in the pod. Mary Jane made those sandwiches that we talk about on the High and Mighty Mega Sesh episode and they were fucking awesome. You made Thanksgiving sandwiches, Am I thinking that correct? No, I think I made no chicken cutlet. Yeah, it was a chicken cutlet with a sriracha aioli. Oh, it was a fucking dope, dope sandwich too. Jesus. Yeah, come for the sandwich, stay for the messaging. Yeah. Leave a slightly better person, a slightly more open minded or sleep slightly newly informed person. Or maybe you already know everything and just need to know how to chop up cornichons real small so you get that little extra pop in a sandwich. Exactly. I did actually take a knife skills class to get better at it because, you know, I'm on my learning path and I would love to say I think this year is going to be the year where I actually turn it into a live show. So hopefully I'm coming to a city near you. I'm going to be taking some sandwich making on the road. Fuck yeah. Also that I guess that's another thing we have in common is adult learning. I'm always down to like learn new skills in life and like I'm trying to expand, expand my horizons constantly. So hearing that you're taking knife skills, that is very impressive and very exciting. That's, that is why, that's why we vibe, man. I love the fact that you're always expanding your horizons and learning new things and you know, I mean, I think cannabis has a lot to do with it. Like you're gonna ask questions, you get stoned and then you think about stuff. So that's, you know, always been a jam. Jumping back to what you said earlier, that's what always kind of pissed me off about this new cannabis. Like cannabis to me, the culture of it. When I got, and I got into it late, I got into it the mid, mid aughts. But like I've been around the idea of it for, for my whole life, but it feels like it's antithetical to corporations to misogyny to. And then now it's like everything comes in plastic or a lot of product comes in plastic or hard to open open. It's all corporate money making. There's, you know, people of certain backgrounds and genders and whatever are being left out, left behind in the industry as, as new money comes in, as corporate money comes in. And it feels like so much of the direction that cannabis has gone in is like antithetical to like the kind of spirit of the plant which kind of has Always driven me a little crazy, you know, I. Step one was just like, how much plastic came about when we finally had to start, like, regulating cannabis in Los Angeles. And I was like, this feels wrong. This feels like we are like a plant that. And then you find out, like, all these other elements about the environment. I'm like, guys, we're potheads. Shouldn't we be better? Shouldn't we care about Mother Gaia or whatever? You know? Shouldn't we be doing a little better here? Yeah. Can't we go back to the day where I get my shit in a Ziploc? That would be yes, please. I mean, I came to cannabis kind of late, too. I was like, probably around the same time as you as when I moved to New York and I met the folks who worked at High Times magazine. That was my gateway, literally. Well, hey, if you're gonna learn, learn from the fucking best. Yeah. Or at least the ones with the most free weed lying around. Yeah, I mean, it was absolutely that. It was like 2004, 2005. So everything was still, like, super, you know, There was no legal weed anywhere in the US except for in California. There was medical, but it was the only state that had medical. Like, everything was super underground. Everyone had a pen name. Everyone thought my name was fake. They were like, you're a narc. Because nobody is the name to Mary Jan. No one who starts writing for High Times is named Mary Jane. 100% correct. That's so funny. Like, you maybe have been destined to get involved with the Plant from the jump, but it still took a while. Yeah, I feel like I was sort of, you know, I was named for my great aunt, so it's like an old family name, had nothing to do with weed. My parents were, like, not pro pot at all. So when I started writing at High Times, they were really confused, and I had to, like, introduce them to the concept very slowly. But then it became this. You know, cannabis gave me my career as a writer. I mean, it's been this amazing journey to learn as I go. You know, I went to theater school. I mean, I was an actor for a long time, and that's. I took the job at High Times to support my acting habit in New York. So it's been like, this kind of wild ride to now be writing, you know, investigative pieces for Rolling Stone coming up through the cannabis world. But it's because I had an education from the people who were the most connected to the Plant. Before it was an industry, it was a movement. Right. It was a community. It Wasn't. I mean, of course it's always been a business, but like, they were truly there for the actual movement and the community much more than the, you know, what we have now, which is great, you know, we're in a new era. It's good. We can't put the genie back in the bottle, but legalization's like, I don't know. Yeah, it's a complex. It's a kind of thank God I can just order delivery cannabis safely or like walk a mile and buy whatever I'd like. An inhaler, a chocolate bar, popcorn, pre rolls, whatever it might be. Those are all the pluses, though the negatives are pretty high up there as well too, of like, the corporatization of anything just means that people are trying to make money off of it rather than trying to like. And I think like, when we were growing up, like, what we understood about corporations was like, competition will breed quality. But now it feels like it's like a weird just race to wring all profits out of everything. And I'm zooming out at cannabis here a little bit as someone who also works in television and also loves food and also loves all these elements that are now being like, you know, shareholder just being like fucked to pieces to raise the stock penny rather than like, you know, we're see. You're seeing it with like so many things, the. The Uber ification of like so many companies and stuff like that, where it's like, we got you on board, you like, you like our shit, and then we just slowly raise prices and lower what we are able to deliver. The airlines are doing it like now. I'm just on my regular tip of complaining about, but I think. I mean, the cool thing is I really do think that we're approaching a breaking point. I mean, I don't think it's. I think it's horrific and it's gonna be terrible and, you know, there's gonna be a lot of strife and conflict and lives lost over it, honestly. But I do think it's breaking. We're watching it break in real time. There's a silver lining, a terrifying silver lining, but we're. Something's gotta give, you know, something has to change. Like it's. Yeah, we're approaching the French Revolution moment maybe where, you know, with the uprising, whatever it is. Like I was just at this massive weed concept in Vegas called MJ Bizcon and it was, you know, so much money, so much big money, you know, like tech and like all the VC guys glad handing each Other and stuff. And I just was like, you know, it's interesting to see this happening and it's interesting to see people making money, of course. But like, when that breaks, we're all still gonna want to smoke weed, we're all still gonna grow it and we're all still gonna smoke it and maybe the business will have to collapse in some way just like it's happening in all the other industries that you talked about. Like what are we talking? Hollywood is, I mean, today literally on fire. But also like none of my people, none of my friends who work in the industry are having a good time. No, no, yourself, my, your present company included. It's. Things are, things are bleak out there. And I would say you touched on something about MJ bizcon. That kind of, I think is the issue with a lot of these industries is back in the day, if you started a weed company, it was because you liked weed and cared about. Back in the day, you wanted to work in Hollywood because it was. You gave a shit about movies or tv. Now it's. You're making these choices because they are profit sectors and you are, and you are getting into restaurants because it's a place to make money. You are getting in rather than because I want to serve delicious food or I want to make quality films. No, I want to earn money for my course Corporate overlords. I want to VC my way into the cannabis industry rather than my love of the plant and wanting to share it with people and, and it's transformative capabilities for people across a spectrum of needs and wants. No, not that I want to be able to wring an extra few pennies out of every pre roll and here's how we'll do it. Affecting you, the customer the most. Like it just seems. It's disgusting and, and it's upsetting. And I guess my, my, my whole thesis statement that I've been shouting about for a minute now is that I thought cannabis would be like resistant to that because of where it came from and because hopefully VC people would be a touch afraid of it for a while, you know, and it's like all the legacy people involved who, you know, went through the fucking crucible to keep their farms or to keep their product alive like I thought. But no money people, when there's money to be made, the people will get in there. Like just ask any country that has oil what that might be like. Yeah, you know, the fascinating thing about cannabis, and so I'm Canadian and cannabis in Canada, they legalized in 2019 and they've like effectively stamped out the legacy market, you know, aka the black market. Like, I think 73% of Canadians now buy their cannabis legally in America. And it was a government built. When I went to the Yukon to smoke weed, I bought weed. I bought weed there. And it was at a government building though. Oh yeah, it's like a pharmaceutical situation. It's very much like Germany, that kind of model where you like. Yeah, it's very, very much run and regulated as a government operation. And it's not great weed. It's not like the best weed in the world, but it's legal and people are accessing it and it's affordable. And you know, generally in Canada, like they don't have the same issues as they do here. We're like, we have legal weed in California, but there are a lot of people who can't access legal weed. Cause the county or town that they lived in decided not to open up any dispensaries. Right. So the legacy market in California is twice the size of the legal market. Like people were just like f legalization. I'm just gonna do it because people are always gonna wanna smoke it. So they just went back to how it's always been done. And prices got crazy and people were like, well, my old dealer, I thought getting like. I was getting $50 eighths delivered to my house in Brooklyn in like 09. And that was. You had to overpay because you were getting delivery weed in the black market. Now that's like the average price of an eighth. And it's like, what the fuck? I thought legalization would like make this plant a little cheaper. Even like medium, even medium weed. Even like fucking non top shelf weed. Mid shelf weed is, is. The prices are crazy. Per eighth. Yeah. You can walk to the woods right now, which is Woody Harrelson's spot over near both of us in West Hollywood. And you can buy an $88th there. Yes. Yeah, like Biodynamics, sun grown, whatever, deliciousness. But like, oh. Oh my God. What are you talking about? I don't want. I can't afford that. I'm on seven days off from weed right now just to like recalibrate a little. I thought in 2025 I'd shake up my relationship with the plant a little and. But I wanted to do a large chunk of January off, whatever that might mean. There's gonna be some concerts and stuff where I can't not burn one. But I. It feels crazy, but I've definitely like saved like $75 already. Like a Week into like just not buying stuff has been fucking crazy. Like, like I'm like, got a little spoiled with getting free weed for a while and then like that kind of. That faucet got turned off a little as everyone, you know, needed. Needed to circle the wagons. And now I'm like, wait, that was a pretty expensive hobby I've gotten. So even when I get back into it now, my plan is to be just flower only and, and, and rolling my own and no more infusions, no more like 100 milligram sodas and stuff. Like just stuff that I was just. I was pushing the fucking limits and overspending and probably destroying my tolerance in an enjoyable way. Whereas like three ribs from A J didn't do anything anymore. And that's kind of like an upsetting place to be in. Yeah, that's. That tea break will reset you though. I bet you'll be great once you're, you know, ready to come back. You'll be feeling good. I can't wait. I can't wait. Wait. That's the. I'm always just chasing that first time you get high, you know, like that you just want, you just want to feel like that giggly high school kid who's like, this shit is crazy. I'll never. Do you have a first time? Do you remember the story the first time I got fully stoned as like a grown up? That I remember. I tried it a few times at 15 or 16, but I was drinking at the same time. I couldn't tell. I got high at a bachelor party. Shout out. Adam Pally, my co host of 101 places to party before youe. It was his bachelor party in Las Vegas. I smoked weed out of an apple in the hotel room. And then me and another friend did like a 45 minute bit as characters in uncle and a Nephew who just wanted to go boogie boarding while we were waiting for strippers to come. And I was just like, this is the most fun drug in the fucking world. And I came back, I moved back to. When I got back to Brooklyn, I went to my buddy who was a pothead in my neighborhood and I go, how do you get your weed here in Brooklyn? And he's like, oh, I have this delivery service. I'm like, connect me now. And I was just like, I will smoke. This was exactly like, you know, 16, 17 years ago. And I've been smoking almost every day since. I was like, this is a great drug. Fuck alcohol. Give me that weed now. Both rule, but give me that weed. Absolutely. Yeah. And they're not. Like, I've never found weed to be a substitute for alcohol. Like, for me. Like, I love a drink, I love a cocktail, I love a glass of wine, I love a joint I like. But, like, they're not mutually. Like, I don't. When I'm not drinking, smoke more weed or. Like, it's not for me. Mushrooms have always been the no alcohol situation for me. Like, if I don't want to drink, I'll take mushrooms for sure. Yes, yes. Mushrooms feels like. Okay, well, because mushrooms feels a little bit like a quest where you're like, well, I'm not gonna bring any alcohol in this quest. Maybe I'll bring a joint later on. But for now, just me and the fungi. Exactly. The mushroom is all you need. The first time I had that magic moment of getting stoned, it was Reggie Watts. I was doing a show with Reggie Watts in New York, and afterwards he had this tincture and he pulled it out and he just gave us each. Everyone in the cast just took a little, like a half a dropper, and I rode my bike home in the rain. I'll never forget. Like, I felt like I was flying. And just like the whole city with, like, the hiss of the tires on the wet streets and like, the magic of New York with the streetlights and the mist and it was. Ah, it'll fucking do it to you. Oh, man. Man, the greatest. Yeah, the greatest. Well, we're due for a little fun guy journey or a little joint smoke and stroll. We're due to catch up irl. It's been a minute, mj, and I'd love to. I appreciate you coming on the 500th and final episode of High and Mighty, in which you have been a big part of both as a guest and as a friend. Tell the people here that before you get out of here where they can find more about you. I mean, we've talked about it, but anything else you want people to seek out about you or anything you're excited about in 2025 as well, anything in that world. I mean, I'm excited to see what you do next. I love your show. I love everything you do. I've been so grateful to be a part of this show, and I've listened to the show. I did a 10,000 mile road trip last summer, and I listened to your show, like, while I was on the road, and I just always felt like I was hanging out with friends. Your guests are always so freaking cool. I just. It's been such a joy to get to know you this way and irl. So thank you so much. I can't believe I made the cut. Also, do you remember telling me that you didn't know how old I was? And you were like, were you born during the Civil War? Do you remember saying that to me once? I don't, but you just have like, this, like, kind of like, mystic witch thing to you where you're like, you could be like, I'm 19, but you're so, like, aged and knowledgeable, too. So you could be like, I'm actually thousands of years old. Like, I would believe almost any. Like, I was actually. I was an oak tree for generations. And now I'm a beautiful woman who makes sandwiches. I'd be like, I believe you. I believe you. Yeah, it was like, one of the. My favorite things that anyone has ever said to me. Thank you so much. I. This year I'm going to, like, bring sandwiches on the road as a live show. Get that together this summer. I think probably, like, try to hit the road in the fall if we still have a country that we can still travel in as women ideally. And, yeah, it's the mayo for me on Instagram. And TikTok is my passion project with the sandwiches. And I write about weed and psychedelics for Rolling Stone and other places. I'm working on a big feature now that I'm excited to talk about when that comes out. And I have a substack called My Sandwich My channel Choice. Great name. I write about a bunch of stuff. Not just sandwiches, but other things, too, like, you know, all the hardships we deal with in the world and some fun stuff and recipes and, you know, I just. I'm out there. Find me. She's out there. Good luck finding her. It's not hard. You'll be able to. She just listed it all right there. Thank you again, MJ and I look forward to getting high and mighty with you in the near future. I will come find you in a park. I'll bring some. Oh, hell yeah. Now that's. Someone says, I'm going to come find you in a park usually sounds terrifying, but if it's. If it's mj, I trust that it's going to be all good news for me. Yeah. All right. Thank you, babe. Bye. Thank you. Bye. Also joining me in the High Mighty Studios, host of how did this Get Made podcast, it's Jason Manzukisa. What's up, shitheads? Yeah. Let's go. Let's fucking go. Shit. Let's go. Let's put this podcast in the ground. I'm so fucking excited to kill this bitch. Yeah. I could not believe I got to 500 episodes. I can't believe I didn't get until late 4 hundreds. But I'm so incredible. What a run. What a run. What an insane chunk of my. Like, I, I was saying to someone earlier, I think maybe on this pod, so I'll just quote it. I was like, I started this when I didn't think I was young at 32 and now I'm like wrapping it up at 4. Like this has been a huge part of my life since I moved to la. It's fucking crazy. Well, also such a. Like, and I feel this way about the podcast that I do. How did this get made? And I don't know, I'm assuming you feel similarly, but like, thank God. Thank God for, for this podcast. Thank God for, for my podcast. I feel like, you know, from all of the ups and downs of that our business entails, to have something that felt like hours that we, that Paul, June and I could, could every week be invested in and engaged with and, and touring and eventually when it became all that, but just to have something that felt like it's mine, it's ours, it's something that we can. When everything else you're working on, acting jobs, writing jobs, anything, waiting to hear back from so and so and so, waiting for an audition, waiting for this definitively feels like it's not yours. Your career in this business can so often feel like it's in other people's hands. So to have this and to feel its reach as I feel like you have, you know, like we've both had like, I feel like long running podcasts or podcast presences. Right. And it like it for a while, it was just like something you one could do. It was something that you felt like it was outside of other people's needs. But then I think in the pandemic, when we even lost like live performance and other facets of my life, it was like an anchor to friends, to society, to anyone I knew who had zoom and a mic. I could like at least weekly interact with someone that was not for work, quote, unquote, not for like, I hope people liked it. Like just like this is me and a friend chopping it up for an hour and it felt. Oh, and that's like, I'll. Well, I think that's absolutely true that it was like for the pandemic period, like for me podcasts, I was alone in my house, like completely. Yeah. So it was truly. I would spend hours in this closet. Just. These were my human connections. And then in the period of time when I wasn't doing a podcast, I was just listening to podcasts. I was listening to your pod, to this podcast. I was listening to Action Boys, I was listening to Doughboys, I was listening to chat. I. It wasn't really until I'm a long time podcast listener, I was. You're one of the most prolific consumers of media. And I, coming from one of. Oh, I was gonna say, I mean, thank you. That means a lot coming from the person that I think watches and listens to and consumes and reads the most media. It's incredible. Yeah. No, and you. You are. You are one of those. You are one of those guys. And. And like, that in the pandemic, it was a connection to reality of, like, I'd be texting Nick and Mitch. I'm like, oh, that's crazy about that burrito. As if I'm there because I'm losing my fucking mind. It was the period of time I've been listening to podcasts forever. Since, like, the Sound of Young America, Jesse Thorne's first podcast. I was saying this American Life. Yep. Wtf. And then CBB were the first three podcasts ever listened to on the F train. When I finally figured out what the podcast apps mean. Meant. Yeah. So before there was a apps, before there was podcast apps, you used to have to just download the RSS feed of the podcast and you could get it. So the first bunch that I did were the Sound of Young America, which was Jesse Thorne's show, which had comedians on I Fanboy, which is a comic book review podcast. Of course, that's one of the oldest that's still going. Those guys. And of course, Jesse Thorne's still going Maximum fun. But, um. But when I started doing it, it was just. I just loved listening to it. Like the. Like, I love npr, like, I love the radio. Like, I love Howard Stern. Yeah. But it really. With. As an opie head, like, you know, you get used to it. It really wasn't until the pandemic that I developed what I understand is parasocial relationships with podcast hosts. Yes. You know, it was like. It was. You know, you and I have known each other for a very long time. Gotta be 15, 20 years. Gotta be 20 years. We met in. I started around 04. I would say we've been friends for like 18, 17 years. But I've known you 20. Yeah. But yet still listening to you on Action Boys. Listening to you here on High and Mighty. Like, I feel as though our relationship is closer or more connected because I'm, I'm still, even though we're texting, even though we hang out, I'm still listening to you constantly. I'm still consuming your life and, and what I think is incredible, I love Action boys. It's one of my all time favors. But what I think is incredible about this show is I'm still listening to you. Be curious and be, be curious about the people and the things you're talking about. Which is my favorite thing about you is a, a, a, a endless thirst for information, connection. Like you are so curious. And that's what this show is all about. And that's why this show, I feel like, is anybody coming across this show can go back and listen to the whole thing anytime because they're. Oh, thanks bud. That's really kind. Here. Yeah, that's one of the things I talked to like I talked to a handful of people when I decided to wrap it up. And one of the things I was concerned about and like a mutual friend, Justin Tyler, he said to me, he's like, you'll chase curiosity, you'll chase learning. You don't need the podcast if that's what you're. Because I was afraid of like getting a little like crusty and getting stuck in my ways. And it's like, no, you'll always be seeking out. You'll have more time to do more dumb shit and chase more new creatures and stuff. It'll be that you'll, you'll pursue those curiosities privately. Yeah, that's the thing that I. This is something we need to remember. Yes. This is something you and I briefly spoke about after we did our extended livestream episode where, cause I was concerned, like, you know, like, I feel like I'm spreading myself thin or wearing. And you were like, you don't owe your personality and your personal life to the crowd. And you are probably one of the best separation of church and state individuals I know in this business. Business. Like, yeah, like, I'm not interested. So few people know your personal life in, in such a strong way that I though you are not guarded and secretive in any way, but you are just not also one of those people like me who's monetized every single interaction in their life or whatever. Yeah, I'm not, I'm not, I'm, I'm not interested in anything performative specifically being a dialogue right between, between me and the audience. I'm not, I'm interested in this going one way. This, this podcast goes out you know, it is. That's how I feel too. That should be the transaction. Yes. And then you, like, these businesses become these sort of like, well, the audience thinks it's a two way street. And like, that's what we always say at Action Boys is like, we'd rather make less money than make this a two way street. Like. Yeah. And it's, you know, and that's, it's so interesting to see that the, the true value though, on the business side is, is that interactivity is providing. That's what people want. Yes. It's what's growing podcasts is the desire for things to be a dialogue. The engagement, the frequency with which the word engagement is used is what's terrifying, you know? Yes. The phrase meet and greet makes me very upset. I never want to meet you or greet you. The show is the thing. Yes. Why more? This is the thing. Yeah. This is what you get. Like, I don't get to see my friends as often as I want. Yeah. That parasocial thing is funny. Especially, like, our dynamic, like, you know, being in the industry and being friends with these people. I had to. I have to take large breaks from doughboys because I end up getting, like, accidentally, like, like, and I'm too good of friends with them too. And I end up being in like, these weird dynamics where I'm like, I know, right? It's like TCBY or whatever. And I'm like, dude, just shut the fuck up and be normal. So then I, like, don't listen for a long time. Oh. Versus I'm like, oh, no. Mitch and Nick are fighting. I'm worried. I'm worried about the guys. What do I do? Should I, like, should I reach out? Should I say, is everything okay? And then I'm like, what am I doing? This is a show I listen to, just receive the show. I'm like, I texted Mitch. I'm like, you gotta be less concerned about what Reddit says. And then that's when I knew I needed to be less concerned. Concerned about the poc. Like, I was like, I'm telling him to pull back. It's trickle down, telling myself I should also pull back. Well, what's. What's crazy is the thing that you. That we see in our fans having inappropriate parasocial relationships to us. I then see myself having those same urges or those same feelings, except that I can reach out and touch all of you. Right. You know, like, we are friends. I can reach out and be like, yeah, to Mitch and, and Nick or to. I can, I actually can Be like, oh, I can ask if everything's okay. But I'm like, but I don't, I don't need to. What am I doing? You know, why am I, why am I, why is this on my mind? Like, why am I still thinking about episode 400 of Doughboys that's never been released? I gotta hear it. I gotta hear that episode. And I'm sure they would let you listen to it too, which is so crazy. And I'm like, but I don't want it. Like, that seems like overstepping. It's such a fucking crazy world. It really is. It's very funny. Podcasts, I think, are, you know, it's a, it's a good topic to be talking about as we're here celebrating and ending this podcast. But it really has been, I would say, the definitive growth. The, the thing that I felt like we were part of at UCB in New York in the beginning. Like something that goes from zero to incredibly relevant and incredibly successful. Powerful stage to be on. Name, name to reference any of that kind of stuff. I feel like podcasts has done the same thing, has had the same, has had the same arc, you know, for lack of a better. And I would say we should be like weirdly thankful or maybe, dare I say honored that we've been part of two wild creative movies. Shit. And like, and, and gotten to both benefit from it and help develop it. And it's such a wild thing. Yeah. And thank God that like podcasts came along and were a growth, peer growth industry at exactly the time when everything else TV and film in comedy wise was great. Was cratering. Yeah. You know. Yeah. And then like coupled with the pandemic, the live aspect, touring aspect is all collapsing. So podcasts became, and I think podcasts gained a lot of traction in, in that time and, and, and really explode. And now we're in like a new version of what podcasts are. Terrifying me that podcasts are going the way of a little bit of like TV and movies where it's TV big, just becoming TV now. You know, watching. They're turning into video, you know, video, podcasts, video. It's all YouTube driven. It's all. There's been like five long form articles written about podcasts shift to video in the last couple of months that are all, all worth reading and are all absolutely heartbreaking for what I think is a audio based format. But yes. Well, that's what I like about it is that it's audio based and that what got me into it was the theater of the mind, the. We're in your headphones while you drive. And it's because we are of the age that we liked radio boy. Loved radio. And, like, I don't know about you, and I suspect I do know about you listening to the Gino Lombardo show. Yeah. Like, was there ever a time where you were like, I will do radio. I thought that is, like, what comedy people did. You know what I mean? I'm like, oh, yeah. Because, like, Howard was, like, huge in our house, so it was always like that. And then I like, as I got older, like, my favorite stuff is that. And, like, British panel shows, which are all sort of, like, cannibalized by the idea of podcasts, where it's like, comedians being funny, being themselves in a sort of informal situation, whether it's talking about movies or just talking about dad, tv, whatever your topic du jour, fast food, whatever. Well, you get to have, like, people feeding off of each other, bouncing off of each other, roasting each other. You get that. Like, what British panel shows have in spades is that idea of people hanging out and chatting. Yes. You know, and having it to riff off of each other the way that. That so many podcasts. That's what people like about podcasts, I think. And we just don't do that here, you know? Right. No, no, because it's got to become, like, 12 segments. It's got to be promotion for this. Yes. And we don't do, like, the old, you know, the old panel show looks like, you know, the old Johnny Carson show or whatever, where there's. Everybody stays on the couch. And the last. The last segment is just a riff around, you know. Yeah. And you're so happy to have, like, a random musical art artist, a random actor, and a guy with a, like, mink on his shoulder. Like, Like a guy with a pet guy. Yeah. Weird animal dude. And like, all four of you guys. That's what I always. That's what High and Mighty was birthed out of. I'm like, oh, I want to be able to talk to so and so about this. I want to talk about that. What are the. Do you. Are there any episodes. And forgive me if you've already covered this, that you feel like for. You are like, this blew my mind, you know, because I feel like what. What I love about High and Mighty and what I really value is. Is, like, a lot of the shows that we've been talking about referencing beloved shows like Doughboys or, for me, Action Boys or others. I know what I'm going to get you know, it's a, it's. You guys are going to be chatting about action movies or the boys are going to be chatting about fast food and blah, blah, blah, and it's really the hang that you're in for. But I feel like High and Mighty is a show that you listen to because I'm like, oh, I'm going to hear Gabri talk to somebody about like congestion pricing. Yes. You know, I mean, well, I will say that's going to be interesting. I'm going to be interested in this, you know. Yeah, yeah, no, you're, you're right. That's. That's kind of the exciting stuff, I would say you saying congestion pricing, which I think I did talk about with Charlie Todd as we talked about pedestrian cities, but the Hayes Davenport stuff. Oh, yeah, yeah. For me, activating me on like a local politics level in LA and talking about the unhoused and what we can do in those situations, that meant a lot to me. A podcast that was from last year, or maybe at 2023 at this point that I really enjoyed was I talked to Jesse David Fox from the Good One podcast about stand up comedy, but it ended up coming coaching me into what my standup could have been, which I, which I really dug. I've talked religion a bunch of times with different people, which is not something I catch myself, myself chatting about, which I find I've always found really interesting. 11 episode I really enjoyed was I talked to them Jeans. Whose name is his actual name escapes me. He's like 6 foot 7, podcaster hosts, how long gone. And we talked about leftovers. Oh, yeah. And that was like the idea to buckle. I talked about General Tso's chicken with my friend Zach Brooks who runs smorgasbord. Like, the idea even, even this is a dumb example, but Johnny Pemberton was like, I want to talk about donuts. And I was like, pemberton, I think is what we'll talk about anything to him. And he comes on and I'm like, this is such a fun. And you never know what it's gonna actually be. And like, I tell him, I tell everyone that when they come on. I'm just like, no, don't like, don't worry. Like, I'll make it 50 minutes. Like whatever you think is like. And like, I remember the one. The one what? The conversation you had recently with Gala Avery was fantastic. Oh, yeah. About finding love or finding joy. Yeah. When she said choosing love or finding Choosing love, that's what it was. Yeah. Yeah. Choosing love. I thought that was fantastic. I remember the episode that. And I don't know who they are. Forgive me, but I think they hosted a podcast and their topic was little guys. Oh, yeah, That's. What a. What a time pod from New York. They are the different types of little guys. Yeah, they are. That's a perfect example of a. That. That is faith in a podcast. Because I'm like, little guys. I don't know what. What. What did that. What does that even mean? I click it on and even the three of you finding what it was in the show is a great show. Yeah. You know, and that's what I love about this show, is it is driven by your curiosity. And yes, oftentimes you have people on who you love, who you're friends with. You've got the Power Hour people, you've got like, all sorts of stuff going on who are recreating guests. But then it's when you are outside of your friend group or when you are including people who are from other walks of life, other curiosities, that they just infect you. That's what's great. Yeah. To me, like, a perfect example of that is this guy, Cody Hoffm, that I talked about backpacking after he did the Pacific. The pct. I love that one. And all the Brooks Whelan ones that are about camping as well. That's kind of something if you've listened, like, if you're as a listener of my pod, that you. Something you learned that I got into and became. I drive a Subaru now, and I can't. Like, it's all part of my camping origin story. It's great. And it's great to listen to you because that's the parasocial part of it. That's the part of it that's like, oh, here. It's so cool listening to Gabris become curious about something and then follow through. You know, camping, hiking, car, camping, Marshall nuts. Yeah. But. But it only works if you are genuinely curious. It only works if you are actually going to, like. It's. It wouldn't work if you were just like, tell me about camping. Oh, that's cool. That's cool. Okay, if it was just tell me about your passion. But you. Your passion is so infectious. Yeah. You know, you. You have this gene to that. That polymath gene that makes you want to, like, know about everything, but also so you're kind of intrigued by everything and you just don't have enough time to do all the things you wish were your hobbies in one In a, In a month. The recent Brooks Whelan one where you guys were talking about, where he started talking about, like, bike camping and, you know, this, that and the other. And I started to genuinely get so activated in terms of gear. Gear purchase activates an older guy. Like gear. Yeah, I'm not even camping currently. Never mind. Starting to figure out bike camping. And I was like, I'm so. I'm looking at like panniers and all this and I'm like, what am I doing? What do I do? I don't even have a bike. I'm not even. I'm not even regular camping right now. Yeah, I'm not regular camping or biking regularly, but I'm ready to go camping. Yeah. But I got so hyped by that. I was like, fuck, that sounds awesome. Like, the amount of things added to my bucket list from the show, which is kind of what I wanted too, was I kind of wanted like lightly direction in life and like recreation at least. And now I want to hike the Pacific Crest Trail at some point in my life, which is like something you can only do when you're retired because it's like, oh, yeah. But now I'm like, hey, that's a possible podcast idea. You know, Like, I, I for sure traded a bunch of texts with Rob Cordry about hiking the Appalachian Trail when the pandemic started. Oh, man, that would have been a fudgeing dream, dude. I mean, wouldn't that be just great? Yeah. What an escalation of the hike bros bit. Like, you know, you're fucking doing out 12 days with Owen Burke on the road. Oh, by the way, nothing would make me happy. Yeah, no, nothing would make me Happy to be 12 days hiking with Owen. Just doing bits. Oh, yeah. I did a Owen hike a couple of weeks ago. It was a real treat. Yeah, the best. The absolute best. But that's the thing is, like, when you tune into a lot of shows, for lack of a better, like my own show included, it's kind of a similar. You know what you're getting. Yeah. You know you're going to get a comedic talk about a bad movie. Ok. Okay, got it. If you like our version of that, you're going to enjoy the episode, hopefully. But. But to tune into this show, you really are getting a very different experience show to show. I mean, it could literally be eight adults doing a shot of beer every minute for 60 minutes while burping and screaming this. So funny, so funny, so funny. Those episodes, the power hour episodes, I remember vividly, like Weger Doing gravy shots. I remember, like, those are. Those will weirdly be the legacy of the show somehow, because they were live shows that went crazy that people all watched. And then, like, people revealed weird truths like, yeah, talk about parasocial. We. Holy shit. The shit that came out on these were just the version of this show that feels like as it has off as. As it has become, that feels like it could exist as a live show. Right. And does exist as a live show, you know, but. But the other episodes, like, they exist as a true. Like, I would. I. I would love it if, in my opinion, NPR should hire you to do a interview show that is. That is comedic. You know, like, this is. That's what I would. I would love that. I would love to hear. I would host a host. I would love to have a talk show. I would love to have a talk show. I'd love to have a guy bring a sloth out. I would love to have a guy come out and throw me through a breakaway glass window and shit. And like, this. Well, the reality is that. And nobody would. And the reality is nobody would watch it now. Like, the concept of a talk show is obsolete, you know, it is. Nobody's watching the Tonight show or Colbert or was watching, you know, Cordon or anything. All those shows were just for making content for YouTube for their Internet show channels. You know, I remember Cordon saying that on Stern. He was like, the show doesn't make money. Basically, the show operates at a deficit in order to provide content for a massive YouTube channel. Right. So they watch the carpool karaoke. They watch fucking Ariana Grande and that. Plastered with ad. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But the show itself. These shows have minuscule audiences. Yeah. You know, I got to figure out what this. Because I don't. I don't want to stop learning new weird shit. Yeah, Zooks. It's 20. It's the early 2025. Do you got. Do you have anything you want to plug or that you're looking forward to or you're going to try this year or to do this year. Is there. Is there anything on your. Me and some friends made a 25 and 25 list where 25 things. Give me some examples. Some people have, like, do their last will and testament or other things are like, like, sign up for blank. Start composting. Like, sure, sure. Oh, wow. Start composting. Yeah. Okay. Do you have anything. Do you have anything that you're want to do in 2025 or even something that's already on the books but that you're excited about. You know, I will say I. Like, I feel like the end of 2024, we. We talked a little bit about this, you know, earlier, but I definitely feel like the pandemic and then the post. Pandemic. Post, like the collapse of ucb, our kind of home theater really like, blew my live performance thing all over the place. Right. You know, and I feel like it really wasn't until the end of 2024 that I started to figure out, like, prior to the pandemic, I was doing like four shows a week. Right? Two. Two to four shows a week for 25 years. Yeah, same, same. You know, crazy. Two to four shows a week For 25 years. And then cold turkey, quirky took it down to zero. And that, I will say, has been the thing that has been the hardest to put back together, you know, is a. Well, now you're doing dinosaur and how did this get made? And stuff. Which is fun, but. Yeah, it's fun, but it's. It's monthly. It's once a month. It's fewer and far between. It's not a regular. Like, to me, doing live shows is like going to the gym. Yeah, it is. It is a. It's working out a month hustle. And I feel like I'm just. I'm try. I want to be better and more able to do more shows. Yeah. Because to me, especially because there's not as much work happening right now. And as much as I get to do some podcasts here and there, I miss being having a regular performance schedule. And that I think would be huge. Yeah. That we do pretty funny once a month, Me, Dom and Ben. And that feels really good, like. Cause we're. That's not like a who's available show. That's like a. We're trying to get a. The three of us, we rehearse once a month, which is now. That's great. Do you have a coach? Yeah, Will Hines coach. I was gonna say it's gotta be Will Funny. It's really. It's really. Cause once you're our level, you realize coaching is. Rehearsing is as fun as the show. Oh, yeah, yeah. It's. You don't need. Once you've gotten laughs your whole life, you're not like, I'm desperate to make people laugh. I'm desperate to make Ben, Dom, and Will laugh. And I'm. And it just feels good to do reps and try weird stuff. Yeah. Oh, that's a blast. Yeah. I just heard you guys on the Will Hines comedy Bang. Bang. Improv class. Oh, yeah. Where you guys are playing like a special forces team in an improv show. He had no idea how much he set us up for our bread being buttered. He's like, I have this idea, you guys. We're like, we're in. And it just went off so far. Funny. It was a blast. So funny. Live performance, man. I mean, that seems like something that, you know, barring no crazy airborne diseases, will never go away, no matter what. We just had, I think our first human bird flu death in Texas. I feel like fucking Sam Kinison. It's like cows are getting bird flu. Birds are getting mad cow disease. Like, it's like we're all fucking toast, man. Oh, man. But I think the next four years of deregulation, it's going to be great. I think we'll figure it all out. It's going to be great. It's got to be. And our business is poised to succeed. Yeah. I'm about to get off this record and pray that rain hits Los Angeles in the very near future. Genuinely. Holy shit, man. Zukas, obviously you can hear him on how did this get made? And he's one of the funniest human beings alive. So I appreciate you taking the time to come on here. Absolutely. Gabrius, truly, truly a one of the greats. This show is fantastic. You are one of my favorite podcast hosts. You are one of my favorite podcast guests. I mean, from. From Blank Check to Doughboys to anything. I want to listen to you talk about the stuff you care about and be curious about the stuff other people are talking about. You have one of the funniest. This show is fantastic. I'm. I'm. What an accomplishment. Congratulations. Thank you so much, bud. I appreciate all the kind words and I'll talk to you soon. I and listeners will figure this out. What I mean by this. I'll see you very soon. Oh, yeah. All right, later, bud. Also joining me in the High Mighty studios from the Flag One podcast and the. I was gonna say the Foosballs. And the Foosballs. It's Carly Tardis. Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo. What is up, ct? I'm so stoked. It's been a minute since I've seen you. You've been on the East Coast. One of the. You've been on the Beast coast. I'm on your coast. I'm making it, trying to keep it alive out here. And you're back in my old stomping grounds, kicking fucking ass at snl. It was so tight to See you in a sketch. Even though, I mean, I know how writing on the show means you're doing a lot of work, but getting to see you on camera was a fucking. That got me. That's. That got a pop in my house that. Let's just say that it was cool. Leonardo DiCaprio meme pointing, like, directly at. I'm friends with him. It was definitely one of those moments where it's like, this is very cool. I made it on camera on the show that I've always wanted to be on. But also. But also, I've talked on TV many times. Yeah. I'm not. No. Two seasons of a TV show. Yeah, you've been in a. You've been the funny person in a thousand sketches on stage. You know what I mean? And now you gotta be the quiet guy who's like, yeah, yeah. And I was in that moment. I was like, damn. Like, I could shoot a look that's gonna get a laugh, but I don't want to because I don't want Lauren to be like, get him out. He's making too many faces. Yeah. Yeah. But I still got. I still got to get a look off. But it was a moment of like. Like. Cause they asked. So the reason. Reason why that happens is because they. If they put in Devin or Kenan in that part, the audience, it tips the joke because the audience knows that that person's gonna talk. Right, right, right. But it only tipped the joke to podcast fans, right? To people who know who Carl Card is. Yeah. That's fucking awesome, man. Did you have any Bomb food while you were in New York? Did you have anything that. Do you have, like, a new favorite or some shit? Or do you guys order from some spot that you're now obsessed with? I'm just curious. There's a spot called Parm that I really like. Oh, hell yeah. Parm is fire. The Italian food goes crazy. The Caribbean. I live in Brooklyn, so the Caribbean food kind of goes a little bit crazy out there, but I'm not. I only like certain things, you know, I like the patties a lot. There's a. There's like a little Caribbean, like, little truck that's near my apartment that I go down to and get the patties. That's fucking. I love. I love a patty. I got turned onto them. I used to lifeguard with a Jamaican guy who would bring in a patty with cocoa bread and a ginger beer for me like, every Friday. And. And I had. I. I didn't even know about the cocoa bread part, of course. I had Jamaican beef patties growing up on Long island, but when he brought it with cocoa bread, I was like, wait, you could put bread around something that's in a container? Like, that is a dream come true. But then I realized that's, like, what chicken parm is, too. If chicken. You wrap parm in breadcrumbs and then put it on a hero. So you get, like, bread twice. Bread riffs. Exactly. No. And. And right by the job is a little halal truck that's really popular. Yes. They got. Yeah, they got. Not the halal guys. It's another. It's a little truck that's more popular than halal guys. Apparently halal guys, to them now is kind of played out. They sold out kind of, too. They blew up and, like, they're like Shake Shack and in that. They're, like, kind of whack now. Yeah. Yeah. And they're everywhere, too. Like, I'm. I was thinking about postmating some. Something right now, but I don't know if I want to send anybody out in the. In the. Yeah. For those wondering, we are recording during the current, like, apocalypse that's happening in Los Angeles. We thought we might as well get a few episodes in the can. The sky is bananas by me. It's, like, oddly beautiful because it's, like, orange and slate gray and blue. It's fucking. It looks crazy out the fire. The fires do make. The fires do make the sky look crazy. Like, right now, I'm like. Movies. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm in an area where, like, the south of me is gray and looks fucked up, and the north of me is, like, a beautiful day. Yeah. I'm in the opposite based. The north of me is fucked up in gray and black, and then south of me is, like. Is going large. Yeah. What is your rule on. What is your rule on ordering Postmates in? Because it was. When was it? It was during, like, a rainstorm, and it was, like, pretty windy and bad outside. And I was like, I don't want to order Postmates. I don't want to send somebody out in that. But also, it's like, those people need that money. That's why they're doing it. Right. He's on the. That person is on the clock. Regardless. You know, this is a debate. Tiff and I have a lot is because I'm like, there's probably a place close that I can order from and suffer. I can go run and grab it. Yeah. And then I will also just, like, over tip and, you know, greenwash my Guilt into over tipping a person. But now this is the tacky answer. They up so much now like that I'm almost like, I'll go out in the fucking rain. Like, I'll drive stoned to the restaurant and pick this shit up. Because it's like, it takes long people it up. It costs a fortune. And then I also feel bad that I made someone do that. And I know, I know my driver isn't the person who put the wrong fucking food in the bag or whatever, but like, yeah, so that makes. So I've been trying to. My. One of my 2025 resolutions is to use the delivery apps less. And like, like I keep telling Tiffany, I'm like, I'm gonna have more foresight if we're gonna get so fucked up. We're gonna have food ready to go in the house or a plan in place. Like, pick someplace close. That's our go to. Cause I, I feel, I looked at my. Like American Express will divide your money up by like where you spent it. And I looked at like, what I spent my shit and I'm like, I'm. I don't eat. I don't have a house. House. I don't have a car, I don't have nothing. And then I saw my Postmates and Grubhub expenses and I was like, that's disgusting. Because I also go to the grocery store and I also go out to eat. So that is just delivery. And that is an insanely high number. It broke my fucking heart. And I'll say this, at living on the east coast and the west coast, Postmates and Grubhub and all the places out there. Absolutely necessary, 100% necessary. Yeah, yeah. And those dudes weather any storm. They got the oven mitts on the bike handles. Yeah. The built in plastic bags on the handles and they just run up and get you. But it's also like, you don't know where. I don't know where I'm going out there and stuff. Here in la, when I order Postmates, I'm being lazy, plain and simple, right? All I gotta do is get up, go to my car and go drive. Which is what I like to do. Like, unless I'm in a rush. And also, you can't even if you are in a rush, you. You can't rely on Postmates to be like, I'm in a rush, I gotta order something. Yeah, right, right, right. The amount of like ice cold fucking chicken nuggets I've popped in my mouth, like upon delivery or whatever, you know, like, oh, I. I gotta recook the wings when they get here. Exactly. And I don't want this to come across as complaining. I know I'm. I'm. I know I'm receiving peak tech. This is the same reason why I don't complain when, like, the WI fi is off on a plane. I'm already, like, in seven layers of the future. Like, I'm not about to be like, this is bullshit. I want to look at Instagram. I want to look at asses while I fly. Like, no, I can wait. I can wait a little bit, but I'd be checking it. Yeah, yeah, Maybe just now. Maybe. Come on, Delta. I just get one cheek. Just one cheek for the flight. To get me through the flight. Why don't I have saved photos on my phone? Carl, anything you're looking forward to in 2025? Like, anything you got big planned for yourself that you're excited about or something you want to try? You know, not in the resolution department necessarily, but anything that you're like, oh, this is the year I do blank or some shit. My resolution. I know you just said not in the resolution department, but. No, it's good money. It's all encompassing. Yeah, no problem. So I am notoriously not a movie guy. Yes. And so my resolution is to watch more movies and watch. Watch tv, Expand my media, like knowledge from. From. From outside of YouTube and TikTok. Outside of YouTube and TikTok. And family. And family. That's the only. Family Guy's the only serialized show I watch. I watch Family Guy sports and then YouTube documentaries, and that's all I do. So this year, I plan on. I want to watch more movies and tv. Like, I want to, like. Like, when I get back to New York, I'm gonna, like, start Tulsa King, or that. That new show with Billy Bob Thornton. Landman. Yeah. Yeah. Smart now. Yeah. Then you'll finally have something to talk to Sean and Hayes about, too. Yeah, exactly, because they love that shit. Sean loves that fucking dad TV bullshit. We text him about it all the time. They. They love. They both really like, so. And Jerry Jones. You see the Jerry Jones scene? Yeah. That's fucking crazy. He's, like, not a bad actor. He wasn't bad at all. That's great. That humbles me. Who can't get a fucking acting gig to save my. Even if he was. Even if he was improvising, which would be. Which is even more impressive. It's like, bro, this dude is improvising this shit. Yeah. He's adding real reality and gravitas. And it's Ham, Billy Bob and him. Like, that's a good question. Jon Hamm, Billy Bob Thornton, and Jerry Jones. And Jerry Jones is acting his ass off. That's so fucking crazy, dude. Yeah. You would think the only time you'd see Jerry Jones act would be on SNL or some shit if like. Like playing himself, but that's bananas. He's staring at Jon Ham. He's like. You can see it in his eyes, his devilish eyes. Jerry Jones is the devil. Hey, you're talking about. I. I understand there is a. Some race. Race behind that issue, but also, I'm a Giants fan, so I. I hate him. I'm white, but I hate that motherfucker. Yeah, the Cowboys. It ain't just about race. It's. It's about. He's a white devil, too, but he is a. He's a football devil and a white devil. Two separate devils. But that man, like, looking at his eyes, talk to Jon Hamm, and he's, like, getting emotional. Then he's looking back over. Looking back over at Billy Bob being like, and you too, young man. You gotta do this. I'm like, God damn, Jerry. He got me. He ate down. As the gals say, Jerry ate down. He truly. Between that clip and the clip I saw of like, don't worry, Dad. I tell him to pull out and finish on my stomach. That I saw from Landman of, like, Billy Bob's daughter talking to him about fucking the quarterback or whatever. I was like, I think I might need to watch. I love the Taylor Sheridan shows too. They're so dumb and crazy. And I'm like, I think I got to watch Landman now. So if you start it, I'll start it. And we could fucking text about how crazy I'm starting. I'm going to start it. And the goal with that, too, is to go home. Like, go home and make healthy meals while I watch the show. You know, like, cook healthy. Because I don't cook as much in New York as I cook here. Right. Because your hours must be fucking. My hours are famously crazy on that show. And also famously being supplied with food at any given moment at. At the job, too. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, we gotta pay for that shit. Little. A little insider in info. Surprising no. Surprising no one. Yeah. Between. Between Wednesday and Saturday, we get meals. We get them. We get a. But Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday is our latest night. They do. They will give us, like. And it's gonna sound bad, but it's actually a really nice gesture. They will Give us like fast food, like at like midnight or 1:00, just like, you know, hey, here's a little treat while y'all are still up here burning the midnight oil, right? Yeah, kind of like when you're working on another show and shit's going late. It's like, we got pizzas. I know. Yeah, pizza too. Grown ups want to eat, but like, it's one in. One in the morning. Grab a slice. Yeah, they'll bring pizza too. God, I would be so much fatter, even fatter if I fucking had like that food flying in all the time. I don't trust myself at all. I made the writer's assistant. I said, don't let me eat carbs after nine. So when I come to you and I give you my card, like to order some food, it's gotta be like, what's this spot called, Westville? Or something like that. Or a dig like, I gotta eat something healthy after 9:00. So he says, if you're coming, saying, I need food, here's my credit card. And he knows they'd be like, sorry, bud, we're not getting this. We're not getting this. Shout out. Taylor Wang. She's dope as hell. She's a 17th floor writer's assistant. And I go to her, I'm like, taylor, I need something to eat. But she's like, we're not getting carbs. We're getting a seafood and a veggie and a. Hell, yeah, that's good for you, man. That's good, man. Also, I need to improve my sleep. Like I'm. I'm bad at sleep. Yeah. So that I know also. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's, that's that, that, well, you can hold on to into your 30s, but once you get. I'm dealing with that, with my wife. She's awful at sleeping, but she's now, like, gotta figure that out for like the sake of her life. Like for like living longer and keeping your sugars down and shit like that. Exactly. That shit's important. Yeah. So it's just the whole watching more movies and watching more TV is for me to take my ass home. When it's time to go home, Don't. Because there'll be some time I'll be in the office late and then I'll still be like, I'm bored. I don't feel like going home. Let me go across the street, get a drink, you know? And it's like, instead of doing that, no, take your ass home. It's 12 o'clock at night. And if you have something to look forward to, like, oh, I'll throw on Landman and I'll whip up this fucking leftover turkey burger or whatever. Exactly. Exactly. I don't feel good. Yeah. Yeah, that's tight. That's awesome. And go to sleep. Yeah. So that's what I'm looking forward this year. Yeah. I'm trying. I'm trying to keep my fridge and freezer a little more stocked so that even if I. If I go off the reservation on food, it's like a frozen cauliflower pizza or some Trader Joe's bullshit rather than. Because I've never spent less than. This is going to sound like a brag, but it's more disgusting. I've never spent, like, less than $90 on Postmates by accident. You know what I mean? Like, I'm like, oh, Tiff, you want some too? I'm like, oh, we might as well get drinks. Oh, let me get a. An appetizer too. And then I'm like $112 at, you know, doghouse or something. Yeah. A restaurant I live close to and have also postmated before and felt like a. Because I literally, it's like, get your big ass up and walk down there and then you can reward yourself with the shitty hot dog and save 16. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. It's fucking crazy. The future is upon us and we really need to make sure we're not fucking. I don't want to go full Wally. I don't want to be one of those guys in like a. You know, like, they're just. Someone walks in and puts quesadillas in my mouth and. Yeah. Rubs my neck so it goes down. So it goes. So it goes down. That's hilarious. Good boy. Good. Johnny. Carl, I appreciate you taking the time to come on here and talk to me, man. This is. This is crazy for me, wrapping up this pod. I'm so happy that I. I met a lot of great people through podcasting. We met through more like ucb, but it's becoming friends with you and touring, doing doughboys together with you and doing shows and being on your pod. Having you on my pod has been a real fucking treat for the last few years. So I appreciate everything you've done. I can't believe this is ending. I'm happy. I got to come on here and give it a proper send off. And let me know when we start our next pod and next week. Yeah. Hell yeah, bro. You think. You think I'm broke as. You think I don't need that $80 a month from athletic greens. I'm ready to fucking kill for it. I'm paying. I'm paying two rents. Two rents in the two most expensive cities in America. I'm gonna do. You gotta get a Miami spot asap. I gotta get a Miami. I gotta move next to DJ Khaled. Gotta get a family sized jet ski for one with a like station wagon of jet Ski. Exactly. Thanks, dude. Well, thank you, Carl, and talk to you soon, brother. Later. Later. Also joining me in High and Mighty Studio. He's been on numerous times talking the same topic. It's La familia Griffin Newman. Hello. Hello. Hello. I was doing the count. I was trying to do the read. The first one we did, I believe was talking about Fast and Furious as a franchise up until 7, which at that point was the most recent one to come out. Right. Yeah, I think we did that. Then we did. It ends with us crying, describing the ending of seven, which is still maybe the strongest ending to one of their movies yet. Absolutely. So then we did catch up episodes when they came out on 8, on Hobbs and Shaw on 9 and on 10. That sounds right, right? Yes. There are five proper. Yeah. Hobbs and Shaw was. Was a low point in not just podcasting, but in cinema. But yes, we. We did episode 98. This is episode 500 right now. Episode 98. We did the Fast and the Furious up to number seven. I know. And then like, you know, every 58 weeks we did another one. Yeah. I mean, I feel like we've said versions of this on the past episodes, but I think it bears repeat. I feel like this is what actually made us unqualified friends. Right. We have said this that we knew each other and we were friendly and we would run into each other and we would do shows and stuff together. Some. I think I've known you since you were like 14. You were my UCB improv intensive coach teacher. But then it was like, right, we're just sort of like in the New York comedy scene together. Yeah. Always bumping into each other. Then you. We both get into the podcast world, but we both also have this weird attachment to a arguably one individual. But yes, he's sort of the prism. Everything expands through the prism of vin. But. But yeah, we. It was like we didn't connect over Pitch Black or Triple X. We connected over. No. And I even remember it was like, you know, you start a podcast, you're a year or two and you're like, I got to like reach out to other podcasters. You go on each other's shows. That's how everyone grows. And at some point, it was like, I'm gonna be in la. I should do high and mighty. You should do blank check when you're in New York. And I was like, what should we talk about? And I think you threw out. I know you really like Michael Keaton in the Fast and Furious movies, right? Yes. Do either of those things. I look good. Yeah. I know you love Keaton, and those are two of my big ones. Yeah. And I'm like, keaton would have been a good episode, but we wouldn't have felt the need to be like, hey, every time Michael Keaton releases one of his five movies a year. Year. We have to check back in. We were just done, like, an overview of the guy. Episode 397. American Assassin, episode 404. Good, Rich. Yes. And, like, we could have done the same thing with Vin. And I think it would have also just been like, we talked about this weird guy that we're obsessed with. Right. America's weirdest movie star. But us making it, like, the franchise and leaving it as a. Like, where does this narrative go? Really opened the door. And I think there was something that happened which was like, you had done with Justin Tyler a web series called Strong Island. Yes. That Riley Solner and I were in. Yeah. As our friends that could get away could ostensibly play a child compared to us. Yeah. And it filmed at your real childhood home. Right. With your mom hanging around. And then I took a trip to la. I email you. We plan the Fast and Furious episode. I come over to your house and you go. I'm just realizing you have been to both my home in LA and my childhood home, which I feel like 99% of my friends have done. Yeah. I think it's like, literally, you and Justin Tyler are the two. Right. And you were like, that's weird because we're not that close, even though we like each other. And then two hours later, we were in your. Your room crying, describing the end of Seven. And it was like, something has happened. Like, we have become close now that qualifiers are off. That song will still get me, dude. It came on, like, I. I'll put it on when I need to, like, tap into something, because I. Yeah. That feeling of, like, sharing the emotion, talking through what that means to us, and then feeling engaged and, like, I guess we got to keep doing this every time one comes out. I do feel like it was the turnkey on the structure of our friendship that made us, like, friends. Yeah. Agreed. And I Also think it's even like, weirder that we both have like such strong opinions that are. And this is so rare in like movie that we line up exactly like we understand what we are in love with. But it is like I'm battling between ironic and non ironic in any given moment when I'm watching it. Absolutely. Like, I think Tyrese is one of the most unfunny people ever, but Roman is one of the funniest. Like, I cannot explain how much I love Tej. No one knows this. Mike Carlson of podcast the Ride talks about this where, like, his love of Avatar started firmly as ironic. And he loved the bit of repeating shit from Avatar. Like he was obsessed. And then he's just like. And then at some point the line got blurred. It's my favorite thing and it makes me cry, you know, And I certainly had that experience, like watching the Fast and Furious movies in theaters, which I. I think we talked about in that first episode where I was just sort of like in and out on the first three through four, and then the end of four, I was like, holy shit, am I getting like choked up? And then five, I'm like opening night, like standing up in the theater cheering fast. Five was my way back into the franchise, but also, I would say, reignited my love of going to the movies, period. There was a lull in New York in my 20s where I was doing shows every night, so movies made less sense. I going to the theater in New York sucked for a long time without seating. It's like, I gotta go line up an hour outside of Union Square to go see this movie or whatever. And so it got frustrating. But then me, Ben and Gavin were an improv team called Outlook of the Poet, a three man team. And we started. Started running in cage match. Cage match was at 11pm and we started going, weird time. What do you do nearby? Exactly. It's like, hey, let's start going to like an 8 o'clock movie. And I went and saw. We went to NC 34th. Or did you do the clear view 23rd and 8th, depending on what was playing. Yeah, but we saw. I saw Fast and the Furious Fast five there. And I was like, yeah. I turned to Ben and Gavin. I'm like, was that fucking awesome? Like, was that like a blockbuster? And it did. It did like everything you wanted to do. And. And it's not just Point Break with cars anymore. It's now like Mission Impossible meets Point Break meets whatever. Yeah, you and I have both repeated this anywhere anyone will let us for years. That is a perfectly structured movie that is like, a film that should be, like, taught in schools. If you're like, you want to make popcorn entertainment, this is how you do it. And it's, it's the thing that I feel like you and I agree on where it's like, these movies are silly and they're ridiculous and they're absurd, but they're not stupid. No, they are. They are. Like, we, I think we use this reference for Vin a few times, but, like, quarterback being in the musical. You know what I mean? Yes. But it gives it this magic that not a lot of other people. People. And I've said, I've said it countless times, but there's something to his style of acting that lets you apply a lot of stuff to it because he's so, he's so, like, beige that you get, like, you, you can, like, just put your feelings in those moments. And, like, he does let so many people shine. I know there's all the, like, he can't get knocked out or whatever, but he. They're balancing casts of, like, 13 to 16 people that I give a shit about. All, all of them. And they're all bad guys. And then good guys, like, they just stick, they die. They come back to life, right? With like, if you actually sit down and try to, like, break down the narrative, it has been established over 25 years. You're like, these characters make no sense. And yet you and I are like, we have a compass about what Tej would do and what he wouldn't do. Right. I. And like, nine gets Tej and X gets Tej. Wrong. Yeah, agreed. Agreed. Right? I, I, I have ruined at least two parties when someone's like, well, Tokyo Drift is technically. And I'm like, okay. I'm like, strap the fuck in. And I'm like, I need, like, a chalkboard, like a dry erase board. And I'm like, okay, this is when Tokyo Drift takes place. This, this, this, like, connecting all the freaking dots. It only being two speaks to a level of self restraint that I do not have because I, I must have done. Done that at 10 parties. I must have ruined 10 parties. You only go to, like, 11 parties a year, so that's. It's a big problem. If I overhear, like, a couple at a restaurant, like, the table next to me having this conversation, I'm, waiter, send them champagne. I gotta go. Can I. Give me the specials board and a dry eraser. Yeah, you're wiping the chalkboard off. Wiping it off. People coming out. I'm like, it's also Buko. Who gives a shit? Listen, technically, no. But here's the thing. You reach out, you say 500th episode. Want to catch up with people from the history of the show. I'm thinking, of course, yes, absolutely. Would love to do it. This feels like a bad moment for a check in. It feels like our beloved franchise is an absolute standstill. It's a weird state which we can unpack a little bit. And it was like, what are we even going to talk about? I guess we'll mostly just wax poetic about the past conversations we've had about these movies. And then, hi, Dwayne. Two words are uttered and I text you, I might get a tattoo. I might get a fucking tattoo that says, I might cry in this episode as well. I said, I don't. I. We might need five hours to talk. I know this is like a super cut, like small segments with everyone. It's too. Dwayne is. I mean, it's. It's fucking War and Peace. I. Dude, it is. It is so powerful. And honestly, it just backs all our evidence about Vin that he is like the sensitive meathead. Like, yes, I. And like, look, the Rock is fun to have in movies. He cannot do what Vin does. He can't. He has no patience. No. And it's what you said of like, it's this weird balance of like, as you said, like, Vin's performance style, especially as Dominic Toretto, as he's like calcified into what Dominic Toretto is, right? As like this sort of like, spiritual force. It does have this weird beige energy, as you said. But then also he has this like, bizarre over cranked emotionality at times, right? And this like, battered, like, you know, like, poet's heart inside of him that. That sometimes is like an ill fit, but is always, like, very compelling to be like, man. He really, like, believes in the pathos of this shit, right? No one else would take seriously. And then also, he is just the weirdest man in the world. Like, everything about him, you're like, his name is Vin Diesel. He looks like that every year. He looks weirder. He sounds like a motor. You know, he has. He has like three franchises up in the air. He plays D and D. He's a complex individual. Individual who also isn't at all, which is, like, makes it more complicated. He's the most complicated and the simplest man in the world. And I got so many texts after I, Dwayne, that were like, what. What is your reading of that moment? What is being said here to anyone who doesn't know. Vin Diesel was asked to present the outstanding achievement in creative box office accomplishment or whatever. This dumb ass award that the Golden Globes that just, like, include blockbusters, where it's like the prizes for whoever made the most money. It's like, not to do the fucking Don Draper meme, but that's what the money's for. Yeah, right. We know what the highest grossing film of every year is that is tracked. And they're like, well, we're not giving it to that. And you're like, so you're giving it to the best blockbuster. And they're like, it's the best blockbuster that also made a lot of money. Okay, okay. It's like trying to be like the populism award. That makes no. Very bizarre because it's also not like, it's like the fan vote, like, the thing the Oscars did a couple years ago where, like, Flash enters the Speed Force One best, like, ROFL copter moment or whatever that was. And that was like, the public votes on this and they, like, jammed the votes. You know, this is just like the same voting body is just sort of like, what's the best movie that the public likes? But they brought Vin out to present the second year of this award. And in his classic Vin fashion, Vin does a speech where he says, like, in my career, I've worked with Sidney Lumet, Ang Lee, Steven Spielberg. Like, he needs to remind you the three serious directors he worked with, the three Academy directors he worked with that 15 years ago, he did other things besides franchises where he was the lead and ep. Right. And he almost framed it as. As, like, first and foremost, you know me as the favorite actor of oturist directors, but did you know I'm also a very successful franchise movie star? Like, then he transitions to like. But I was so thrilled when the Globes asked me to launch this. And I'm like, you didn't launch it. They did it last year. But this is Vince Revisionist. Nothing happens until he does it. Right. It's not real until he's asked to do it. Well, it's like he is his own light. It's not until he shines on it that he even knows it. Exactly. Yeah. And then he announces the nominees and presents an award to Wicked. All of this would have been a low key, funny Vin moment, except the first thing he does when he gets on stage and the camera's on him is he's up there and he's adjusting. I think he starts speaking and then cuts himself off and goes, hi, Dwayne. And the camera cuts over to Dwayne the Rock Johnson sitting at a table looking. Been very unamused. Yeah. Vin flashes the world's biggest shitty grin and just goes on with the rest of his preamble about how he's worked with Lumet and Spielberg and Ang Lee. And the Rock hasn't. No, Dwayne has not. Yeah. Now this is the power of. I think this is. This is such a crystallization of what I like about Vin Diesel. Because he's being. Being alpha. Yes. But he's being charming and sweet. He's calling out a co star that they famously have beef. And he's not being a dick. He's just saying hello. But there's something so powerful. It's like. It's like the quarterback winking at someone after they busted their balls. Like there's something. There's something so powerful about Finn saying that and then smiling and then also saying like, I'm up here presenting because I also have cool credits. Right? Right. He's like, I have cool, serious, legitimate credits. But also basically implies that he's the biggest blockbuster actor of all time. Like, this is what I'm aiming at things that the Rock hasn't done. And then says, by the way, I'm better at your thing than you. He's right. He's not wrong. And I spent a lot of time after this hey, hey, Dwayne moment and us. I knew I was going to talk to you. And something I did not. I don't think I've ever put into words about vintage in that I find to be super powerful is. He is 10% less of a sellout than any single other actor of his caliber. I agree. Like, of the kind of movies he's doing, he's not also like, you gotta buy the Diesel brand Nos for your car. He's not. There's not a Dominic Toretto Chevy Cavalier that's coming out. There's not. He doesn't have a Corona commercial that he does. Does. Like he could do all that shit and print money and not be judged. Because in 2025, there is no such thing as selling out. It is get your bag culture. It is what is wrong with almost every single facet of society, in my opinion. And the Rock epitomizes it. And Ryan Reynolds going on Fallon to promote his new credit card. It's fucking crazy. The. We're in nine new verticals. That is shit. You never hear Vin Diesel say. Vin Diesel will say I've got the beautiful Familia is back Together again. I am writing a creative script. It is Creative Sunday. Like he. He will sing a fucking song with tears in his eyes into a microphone before he'll say, buy my energy drink. And that is what makes him awesome. No, I'm like, what is. What is the only time I have seen Vin Diesel do a sort of like direct address as himself to promote another thing. And it was tying into F9 in 2021. His very viral DA movies. Kind of like, it's time to come back to the theaters thing. Yeah. Played at amc, but I think right before they kicked in the Nicole Kidman thing and it was like. I am not comparing them in terms of talent, in terms of quality or consistency of output, certainly in terms of like their importance to the industry in any way. But I'm like, it's kind of just him and Tom Cruise who are like monastically devoted to the idea of the movies and nothing else. Like everything they do is about serving the movies. Vin's not doing fucking tv, you know? No, Vin's not promoting products. Like, if Vin is promoting a product, he's like, recorded a new song and you're like, does he have an album? And it's like, no, he doesn't have a record deal. No one wants to touch the shit he's self releasing. This is just other creative output. And you can question the fucking results of this, man. Especially the non Fast and Furious movies. But like, as you're saying, yes, all he posts on his Instagram is like him working out, him with his family, him singing and him being like, we think we're finally getting close to the fourth Triple X script. You know, like, everything is just like the stories he feels compelled to tell. 20 years of him being like, I'm going to make Kojak next. Seemingly just because he's bald and his grandma liked Kojak. And I mean, the seriousness in which he talks about Groot is like insane. It to me, it's like, it's. And like the Rock will be the lead in a movie that is cost $400 million. I hate comparing the two constantly, but they are just like publicly beefing. So. But we have to. He's like, we're in. I got Tara Mana and we got four verticals. We have had over 90% completion rate of our. And Vin Diesel will be like, I spent a beautiful day with my closest friends, Jordana Brewster, real family. And he'll be like. And also, he has not left one person in the dust from the franchise. He has gone out of his way to roll people in that were roasted, like, for being in the franchise. Franchise. And bring them back. And yes, call it fan service, but give that fucking kid from fast 3 another crack in a movie. Put fucking bow wow, bring Bow wow back. Like, that is like, he cares about. And those are the movies he's not even in, and he gives a shit about them. Correct. And let's say, like, much like Tom Cruise, both of them are insane, right? Like, they're insane, lunatic people. People who, like, don't live in reality, but they're the kind of celebrity I want in terms of at least an audience member. And, like, what they're giving me and what they're giving to it and, like, what I'm taking from it, you know? And I think, you know, Ving Rhames always talks about, like, I could never repay Tom Cruise. He, like, made me a millionaire so many times over. He made me the one actor he carries over into all the Mission Impossible movies. And even when it was like, they're hard rebooting Mission Impossible, they want this to be Tom's last movie. Jeremy Renner's being grouped. We're not bringing back any of the cast. He was like, vin's in the last scene and we're paying him a million dollars. Like, that is the thing they talk about that last scene in Ghost Protocol where he's, like, catching Ving up. He's like, ving gets a million dollars. That's what he gets for these movies. And he. We're not going to make one of them without me. Right? And without him. And like, Vin, whether it's him, whether it's, you know, Neil Moritz, whether it's whatever, but it's like, this is a guy with a star ego to block people from being in the movies if he wants to. Has done that for, like, 10 people. And it's the root of what is interesting about this rock thing is, like, they hate each other. They clearly have very different work styles. They both have, like, egos too big to exist in the same movie and not feel threatened by not being the clear number one guy. But Vin's response to all of this has just been to constantly call out publicly, hey, Dwayne, we owe the fans to have the two of us on screen again. And that's what the hey, Dwayne moment is. It's like he. He flashes his most genuine grin and then sort of plays it like he doesn't notice that Dwayne is giving him the stink guy. He's about the movie. It's about the movie. Yes. Thing The. The subconscious is. He's inviting Dwayne back to his franchise, of course. So, like, he's asking him to, like, bend the knees, number number two or seven on the call sheet or whatever. Yeah. And. Yeah. But then the Rock. The Rock doesn't need Fast. And this is what pisses me off. Like, the Rock doesn't need Fast and the Furious, but the Rock should want to do Fast and the Furious. Like, I'm excited. Yeah. Killing Machine's Excite doing a Safdie movie. It feels like he's finally starting to make some daring choices. But I'm also like, my man. Fast five is what really elevated you. You were like, 10 years of being, like, the Rock. Feels like he should be the next great action star, and it's not totally working. And he makes things like the Rundown that are great but didn't, like, totally blow up at the time or things that were hits but no one likes, you know, like, Journey to the Mysterious island or whatever. And, like, Fast Five was the moment where it felt like it was like a public demand. It was people being like, feels like the Rock should be in a Fast and Furious movie. Vin responds to that. They put him in the movie. It pops. It transcends. It's the pinnacle of American cinema. Right. And I'm like, you kind of owe it, man, to the franchise and to the fans. And what's annoying about this is we talked about this when we did our Fast X episode. I think what we both agree is the worst of the franchise and has. I know it's very crazy to talk about it with this, like, bad taste in my mouth. Totally. Only. Only fast movie I've seen once. I have not rewatched it yet. I think. I think I. I thought on the. I thought when I was driving back to my apartment to come to talk to you, I was like, I owe that movie a rewatch. I have a flight coming up. It's going on the iPad. I'm going to get. I'm going to try. I. But I just. I'm not excited about it. No. I saw it twice in theaters because I was like, maybe 40x will help. And it didn't. But I also. I. This is a real dorky thing. A thing I deeply appreciate as a physical media nerd is that, like, most, like Blu Rays, DVDs, whatever, you know, 4Ks, there's like, this thing that drives us crazy, which is, like, they establish a packaging style for a movie, and then with the sequels, they start to, like, change the style. And so you're suddenly like, oh, they don't all match. They don't line up right, right, right, right. And it's either like they're evolving the style with every new movie or like they come up with a new style for the fifth movie and then they reissue the first four in the new style and you're like, fuck, do I have to sell the first four and rebuy them? They have had this one style of like Blu ray and now 4K, maybe even start with DVD steelbook packages for the Fast and Furious movies that has just been continuous, has been unbroken. And it's like they just change the color and the lay who the characters are, but the layout's the same and they look so nice where you're just like, fucking 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Perfect and fast. X came out and they kept the Steelbook thing going. And I was like, I gotta buy it. And I was like, this is the movie I own that I hate the most. And I actually do not know if I will ever put this disc into a player. But I'm, I'm just like, I respect the fact that they're making my shelf look good and I'm hoping they can save it for 11. Now 11 is in this weird place where it was like 10 was maybe the most expensive movie ever made. It did all right, but it was a big drop off. Seven is very much like the box office peak. Eight did hugely well. Nine was a drop because it was like 20, 21 theaters reopening. It did well for a 2021 movie. And I don't think anyone held it against it, but it was like, well, weird times. A lot of it was VOD. 10 was like a big drop down and when the budget's gotten so high and part of that is there's so many actors baked into it, they have to outdo themselves every time. All these stars have demands. It's an unwieldy production that needs to like justify 15 different characters existing and having their own things to do and whatever that. Like this is the first one that kind of lost money. And so like Universal pumped the brakes. This movie ends on a cliffhanger. It was set up in as like two part finale. The next one's going to finish it, but they never had a script for the next one. It's not like one of these things where they wrote one long script and cut it in half. They were like, let's do this and then we'll figure out what the next one is. And so it's on this weird cliffhanger. The public didn't like it that much. It lost money. There have been all these public stories of Universal execs being like, they're trying to figure out how to get it back down to size. They want to get the, like, final movie, bring it back to the. The roots back to street racing. You know, bring everyone back. And it's like it's kind of impossible to convince all these people to take less money now. And also when the stakes have been like, they go to space and they swing bank, trying to shrink it now seems a little crazy. Yeah, really tough. So they're seemingly at this total standstill going through different writers there. I've not heard a single update since X came out that makes it sound like there is any forward momentum. Momentum. Like they're just sort of like stuck in this logic puzzle. Yeah, it's a little nerve wracking because I even Vin, who's like the king of like big breakthrough in act one, you know, like posting, posting like the final draft icon and saying like, we made a big breakthrough, but not. None of that shit is happening. And none of it should say the Justin Lin shit too. Like, he got like kind of fucking boxed out of there, right? He was supposed to do both these final two parts and then he quits or is fired or everyone just splits permanently, like one week into filming. So all of that is weird. And the Vin tension has been this sort of central part of it because he had said, like, vin's a candy ass. I'm never doing those movies ever again, right? Then he has a couple flops, including Black Adam has meltdown over that. And then suddenly he shows up in this end credits scene at the end of Fast X. That was by all accounts shot five weeks before the movie. Came out in a panic saying, I need back in. And he whips off a swap mask and you see that it's him at the end, right? And he says, like, it's go time or whatever the fuck he says. And people are like, oh, shit. He's willing to get over his stuff and come back and like get in the ring with Vin again. And then like a week later he posts on Instagram. I don't remember if this had happened when we recorded our episode, that that end credit scene was teeing up, up a new solo Hobbs movie. Not even Hobbs and Shaw two, just Hobbs. Because Statham's back in Maine feed, right? Statham's back, right? And everyone's like, that's not what we want from you. No one wants to see Hobbs on his own. We didn't even like, yeah, exactly, dude. Just get over it. Like, even if it's one scene, even if you CGI the two of you together and you don't have to be in the same room at the same time, you gotta just fucking get over this. And he won't back down on it. And he keeps on being like, I think the Hobbs movie's moving forward. That might actually be the next Fast and Furious movie you see. So it's like that's seemingly stalled, but he's saying that's fast tracked. Fast X2 is like completely stalled. And Vin's doing this moment of just trying to, like, call him out publicly. He's done all these Instagram posts being like, dwayne, remember the good times, times, you know, posting photos of them with their arms around each other, looking at sides on set, being like, come on, you gotta do it. And I had so many friends text and be like, what's the deal with the hey, Dwayne moment? Is that him being oblivious or is that the most, like, aggressive thing ever? And I was like, it's passive aggro. It's not even aggressive. It's like aggro as like an affectation, but he's like smothering it in friendly. And as you also said, it's not a dick move, but it's absolutely him being a. It's like a very bitchy thing to do. That is part of what I like about very theater. It's very theory. Yeah, it is, it is. And you saying that's what makes Vin Diesel powerful. Yeah, Right. You saying it's like the quarterback, like, doing something on the field. It's like, no, it's like the star theater kid doing something caddy mid show go. It's actually like the star theater kid catching a touchdown and throwing the football to the quarterback. Like, I could do this too, you know, like, right? Yeah. And it's. It's so complicated. We can't even talk about Vin Diesel without, like, having to get out. A Rosetta stone of personalities. He's like such an. He's an enigma. But it's undeniable that this moment lit the world on fire. Right? Like that. People, like, sat up and like, he is smart, good businessman. He knows that's a good businessman. And it's like, balls. Now in Dwayne's court, Dwayne looks sillier for his reaction. Yep, do the right dj. Yeah, totally. And it's like, if Dwayne's like, fuck it. Fine. I'm in like fast x2 happens quickly. I genuinely think that. I think if Dwayne is like I'm ready to play put me in. I'm part of the team. Whether it's like back as the second lead or in like two scenes or whatever it is. Yeah, I think that's like the jolt this movie needs to just get done again. Also, don't you think the Rock Dwayne, if he doesn't, if he wants to be Hobbes so bad but doesn't want to be in the fast franchise, he should just make a movie that is like I'm a like special forces guy and I. And I'm the, and I'm the Vin Diesel of this movie. And I pick my five cast members and I pick and. And I just, I play a Hobbs adjacent character who is the rock with guns. Just be do another movie like this and I think it would do to see that. I think if a non Disney got help me if, if Dwayne the Rock Johnson made an R rated action movie, I think it would do fucking gangster. Like I think would do big numbers. But he wouldn't because it's like it's about we got to. The kids in China need to love my films or whatever. You're like, that's the frustrating thing is we talked about this in the Hobbs and Shaw episode. But Hob, he like shaves the goatee. Suddenly he's a lot friendlier. You know, like he wants to be the goofy one now. And I'm just like the whole fun thing was this is the one franchise where you got to play a shit heel, right? And you were just kind of a dick, kind of a know it all. Which I think we're seeing is more close to what you really. But this is the magic of the franchise is like everyone is showing themselves more than they want to admit in these characters. He's got to get back in there. Griffin, what do we think for fast X2? Fast X I, fast 11, whatever we might be calling it. Like are we five years away? Four years away? Like here, here's what's tough. Is like I believe vin is now 56 or 57, not young. This is another problem is like they can't crack it. But also like clock is ticking picking and Universal has been very upfront about being like, these movies are too expensive. They have too many cast members. This is us like sundowning the main narrative. And then we'll probably do Fast and Furious spin offs which then can be smaller Right. Whether they're new characters or preexisting characters. Tokyo Drift style stuff, whatever. We use the brand name but like there's an ability to shrink it down. I don't think shrinking it down for the finale is possible. They gotta do the fast Avengers and go back big. But I'm like, if it takes five years, he's 60 plus when it comes out. And like, if I. I love Vin. I love everything about him. But I do not trust him to be like, I guess now I'm the old man in the movie. Like, like, because Tom Cruise is like 71. Like, you know, skydiving and shit. Like none of these. Robert Downey Jr. Was like 59 when Tony Stark got his wife pregnant. It's like, what the fuck is this movie? Like to your point? I'm like, much like, how, how much I would love to see the Rock do like a really nasty R rated movie. I would love to see Vin like post Fast and Furious, do his version of like a garbage Unforgiven, you know. Hell yeah. His. His nobody. His like, yeah, yeah, totally. I'd love to see him be like, you know what? I'm like, freed of the past characters I play. I can start fresh with a guy who is of an advanced age. What about an old like warrior of like, because he loves D and D? Like an old aging barbarian. You know, like the old Conan the King storyline or something like that. Anything like that I would love, but I'm like, I don't. I think he has too much ego and vanity to let Toretto be that. He wants Toretto to ride off at physical, physical peak. Even if that physical peak is aided with a lot of CGI cosmetic work. Right. He's definitely gonna hold a car in one hand and Letty in the other at some point, even though he's 61 or whatever. Right. And his kid will have aged a weird amount of time. Thirteen year old. But it'll be like one year has passed. All right. John three years younger. Oh my God. I even forgot that. Yes. Oh, man. Griff, I'm, I'm. I got my fingers crossed for Vin and Dwayne sorting it out. I think we're right though. That. That's the only. That's the one thing. It's the one thing the movie needs to do. The one thing that I think gets the movie going. And I think Vin and which knows it. Yeah. He knows like the Rock adds, you know, 100 million overseas money or whatever. You know, like it's a given. But also that's the thing that like shakes the sort of like complacency out of the fans, you know, that everyone's a little like, oh, these movies are getting repetitive. They probably should have ended after Walker died. Yeah. It's a great meta marketing plot point of like. Absolutely. And the Rock is back. You know, let's say this very scary times out in Los Angeles where you are right. And like the ripple effects of it are great. And smallest among them are like, this is award season and all these award shows are getting postponed or canceled or scaled down. The oscars has like 3 times now delayed their voting and their nominations, claiming the ceremony is going to stay the same, but who fucking knows what that ceremony is going to look like and when. The only thing I'll say is if the Oscars are smart, Vin should be presenting again. They should be looking at that Golden Globes moment and going like, this guy needs more opportunity and Dwayne to be on a global stage present together like Siskel and Ebert, like, like a little. Absolutely. Animosity. And by the way, if Vin says yes, which I think he would, and Dwayne says no, which I think he would. Would, that's. Then they should fucking leak to the press. Finn was ready to do it and Dwayne said no. Right. I mean, it's honestly one of the few things keeping like the Fast and the Furious Fire burning is absolutely awful pun for current LA times, but it's, it's, it's keeping the engine running. Yeah, that's. Yeah, it's keeping it revving. It's getting the nos in there. Yeah. Griffin, thank you so much for coming on. You've been a part of so many episodes and now you are part of what I think is coming out Tonight be the six or seven hour finale of I Am Mighty. Much like Fast X2. Yes. Gotta wrap up all the cast members. Yes. It also cost $316 million. Yeah. Athletic Greens is gonna have to fucking shut down because I'm gonna need so much money. There's three power hours within the finale alone, which you've also done. I won't. Yes, we talk Fast and furious, but you did do a power hour, which was a very fun experience bringing you into that world. Yeah. A lot of people concerned I was not going to make it through alive. And I think I held my own. You lived. He lives. Griffin lives. Griffin, your podcast Blank Check is one of my favorites. And you should check that out. Listeners. I'm assuming you do know about it. If you know about High and Mighty, we also talked about 2 Fast 2 Furious on that as that's true. And I think I relayed this to you. But the Predator EP you did with us last year, I think was if it was not our biggest episode ever, it was very close to it. It's in the top three most listened to. And I think it's just. I kept hearing from people where they're just like, that's an automatic play for me. Gabriel's Predator is just the exact episode that is such a perfect fit. One of my favorite movies of all time. Find something good to have you on for again soon. I do think I feel a responsibility to the community to say this. I feel like we just have to promise in some way, in some form or another, we will do an episode on Fast X2 even if it takes 25 years. Yeah. Even if it is all of our respective charity. We will find some way to do a talk about that. Of course. I promise you. And then if not at one of my improv shows, I'm going to step out on stage and go, hey, Griff. Bye, buddy. Also joining me in the High and Mighty Studios, host of segments and CEO of this fucking company is Jake Irwin. I'm actually the. The CO cco. Cco. Oh, okay. So the co. Chief Creative Officer. Okay. And is your CO the. Your CO for life? Yeah. Yep. Okay. Well, welcome to the High Mighty Studios, the CO cco. Yeah, that sounds good. That's much cooler. Hurwitz, thank you for coming on the pod. But slide. It's a pleasure. It's an honor. Really happy to be here, but sad to be here. I don't want the show to be over, but you know, I guess we have to. We have to move on. 500 episodes seems like it seems like the right time. 500 episodes. Start of a new year. Yeah. I think I'm at nine and a half. Almost ten years of this episode of this podcast running. Damn. Yeah. Yeah. It's time I recently and you were the first guest. You and AD Were the right first guess and last and now this is like the last episode. Holy shit. Episode one and 500. I think you might have been on one in the middle there during. On a road. Yeah. We talked about porn stars at some point. Nobody should listen to that and I don't know if that's even on air. I hope not. I know we did six hours off air, but maybe we did a little bit on. On the episode. So what porn stars you got. No, no, no, no. Holy shit, Jake. It's been a fucking ride now I'm one of the longest running Headgum podcasts, second only to the people who started Headgum. You and Amir. What's going on? I know you guys evolved from. If I were you to segments. Now. What is like, what has that been like, that change, that growth for you guys? You know, it was kind of like the. It felt similar to you. It felt like the time had come. I think we had done 800, 900 episodes. We'd been going for more than a decade. And we were like, you know what, let's just. Let's end this show and take a break from podcasting. And then we ended the show, but didn't really take a break from podcasting. We were like, we kind of have to keep doing it, I guess. So we'll just come up with a new show that has even less structure than our. Our. Our show, which was entirely fan submitted. Right. So we basically didn't do anything for that show and now we do even less for segments. Yeah. Well, that is kind of like. I mean, that's sort of the origin story behind High and Mighty. Was trying to do something that was as low of a lift as possible for me. And that way I'm able to get to 500. Never missed a Thursday. I actually have over 500 episodes due to a bunch of bonus episodes and shit. Yeah. We were talking with Betsy and Mano about. I did a power hour. The first power hour was actually at the Commonwealth that. No way. That you guys were living and letting us record. The first studio was a cavernous living room in was just like in our den. We'd be hungover on Sunday and be like, oh, wow, Gabrius is here. That was really nice. Her friends would just show up and record podcasts. It was pretty fun to roll into your house with like 24 beers and get wasted and be like, can we order food here? You guys like, yep, go right ahead. I'm smoking weed in the backyard just like this. It was a fucking time. And now you have. We. We have Bicoastal Headgum Studios. There's fucking celebrities on the network. Big. And not just celebrities from the IAC family of the last, like actual non Internet celebrities. Like tv. Yeah. People that don't know us. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. People who aren't immediate friends and have been in hardly working videos finally related to us. Yeah, exactly. I was trying to. I decided to look through the Headgum podcast list just to see. And it was funny seeing like all these like family members and like these like podcasts that only lasted like a Month or so. Yeah, it's fucking. It's. It's pretty wild. It really is. And now we have, like, David Cross comes into the New York office, and I just avoid him because I'm afraid to talk to him. Yeah. Such a. It's such a far cry from, like, coming down after taking a shower, and you're just in my living room recording me obsessed with the Japanese soaking tub in that random house. Oh, my God. Yeah, dude. The fact that that's 10 years ago, and I cannot stop thinking about. Because I didn't understand why, like, how it was built. Like, anything about it. Like, it made no sense. You had to squat in it. Yeah, it made no sense to me, but it really did. So the bathroom was cool? You had this? Yeah, yeah, the bathroom was. Yeah. It could have accommodated a larger tub, but they made the choice for the. For it to be a soaking tub. Yeah. And I just love the. That's the day I learned what a Japanese soaking tub is. And I've said that phrase way too many times since then. Yeah, it's been a fucking ride. I wanted to say thank you to you. And Amir reached out to me and said, hey, we're launching a podcast network. And we're. I think the exact wordings, because it really did butter me up, was like, and we're asking all our funny friends who don't have podcasts to make one with us. And I'll. I was like, I'm in. I wanna rip off Jeff Rubin slash Joe Rogan's podcast and let it go. And you guys were like, yeah, sure. Whatever you wanna do. Yeah. And then I had no idea. Like, I. I had done a few comedy bang bangs, and I was on some other podcasts, and then I was just like, yeah, I'll start my own podcast. No idea that I would travel the country doing it, do it for 10 years, have all these insane guests, meet a bunch of people, like, do multiple power hours, raise tons of money for charity during the pandemic. Like, all this shit we went to just for laugh. We went to Montreal. We've been to Austin multiple times together. Yeah, I remember that. Those North Door shows were the fucking fun, man. I do miss, like, one of the hardest I've ever laughed. Like, just following you around with the Rosenbergs. Like, we were little groupies after a show. I think I remember just, like, the three of us surrounding you in, like, a. One of those, like, backyard parties after the show. And just, like, we. Neither of us, none of us were talking, except we were just listening to you and cracking up the entire time. It was like we had our own private show. It was great. That was a fucking. I remember distinctly that I was stone cold Steve Austin dressed as a referee so that Rosenbergs were arm wrestling each other or something. Like Carnell was arm wrestling one of them. Yeah, I forget all Nick Rad was arm wrestling Dave. I think. Yes, that's what it was. It was Dave versus Nick Rad. And I was for some reason had a bald cap and a referee shirt and jean shorts on. I was some kind of stone cold referee. And I remember Dave wrecked his knee on like the. On the speaker on the stage at North Door and like. Yes, it's still fucked up to this day. Jesus Christ, man. Twinovation. I was surprised to see that they had a recent episode off when I was looking at the. So was I. What the fuck? These guys are still doing it. Jesus Christ. They're getting married. They're moving like all this stuff that I randomly see, like, to Innovation, which I thought was one of the craziest fucking shows I've ever done. And I couldn't believe how like. And then I see, I'm like, oh my God. And also Nick Rad. There's a name that was like randomly memory hold. You just said it opened up because his house was the studio for a while. That's right. In Brooklyn. Yeah. Yeah. Holy shit. Yeah. You guys offering up? This is some fucking modern ass shit. You're like living in a place that you're also letting people record out of and stuff. And now you have real studios in Brooklyn and Silver Lake. Yeah. You guys are fucking cool as hell. Yeah. I was looking at the email that we sent you to like launch your show and like I sent you a contract which is so like now we have lawyers. It takes nine people at Headgum to launch a show. But it was just. Amir was like your editor. Amir helped you produce or something. Yes. Yeah, Amir was my. He's my OG engineer is Amir Blumenfeld. The co CCO was also the guy who was putting my episodes together and posting them for a little while. Insane. Yeah. That's fucking bananas, man. Feels crazy. I mean, I feel so old right now. But when I started the podcast, I was also 32, like not young, which is so crazy. Crazy. Like I started that as a not young man and now I'm legitimately a middle aged man going like, well, time to move on, sister. I mean, I'll still have action other podcast. Yeah, well, funny enough, Action Boys was episode two was Ben and Stanger Talking about Predator. Yeah. Because I looked at this old email, and it had all of your, like, you know, it had Betsy Amano with Taco Bell. Yeah. Stanger with a Predator podcast. Well, just. And these were all, like, episode ideas, and now they're full on. They're full on, like, kind of sub genres of my podcast, which is I described Betsy and Mano as being neighbors on. In the High and Mighty hood. Like, they are, like, in the Sesame street ification of my podcast. They, like, live in, like, a nearby townhouse or whatever. It's fucking. Fucking crazy to think, man. Yeah. And then Action Boys is a Patreon podcast that, you know, pays my bills. And we have several hundred episodes of that. Like, and that is a spin off of this. Of High and Mighty. After I did, like, 15 episodes of action Boys on High and Mighty, we decided to launch a Patreon. And I could not tell you, it was like, a year and a half before the pandemic. We just accidentally did it at the perfect fucking. I've never been ahead of the curve. Like, I should. I should say part of the reason why I'm ahead of the curve is because you and Amir, and honestly, like, a few of the other IAC people, college humor people, were people I always look to because you guys were kind of on the cutting edge of making kind of decent money in the industry. Yeah. Some kind of, like, Internet hustle. What's going to be the next. Yes, exactly. Like, monetize it. Jna, were the first guys doing a lot of those, like, weekly videos with as. As versions of yourselves, like, these things that eventually became sort of what all the Internet is. So when you. When you guys were launching a podcast and were gonna ask me to get involved, I, like, was telling. When I was asking people around, I'm like, should I do it? They were like, well, yeah, if you want to. I'm like, I also, like, kind of trust Jake and Amir to be, like, slight Amir even more than you to be slightly ahead of me. Yeah. Believe it or not, that robot might be just slightly more ahead of. That's what I based my entire career on, actually. Just hitching myself to that horse. Smart move. That's one of the most powerful ampersands in Internet. The Internet industry. But, yeah, so I was, like, stoked to be ahead of the curve with creating High and Mighty and then ahead of the curve with jumping Action Boys to High and Mighty to Patreon. And I credit you guys so much. And our friendship is now on 20 years. It's like fucking that's the fucking craziest part. That's like, we have. We have hardly working videos from when we were, like, legit children. Yeah. Like babies. We met on. It was. What was the Bohemian Rhapsody. Yeah. I ran. I don't know how I ended up. Because I had met Streeter on something else. And we had. Gabriel is the funniest guy in the world. And I was like, well, I think Streeter is the funniest guy in the world, so I have to see who he thinks is the funniest guy in the world. I thought Streeter was the funniest guy in the world when he was like, hey, do you want to do more video? I was like, hell, yeah. You're saying it's $100 for the day I'm in and then ends up getting like a fucking billion views or whatever. I'm like, holy shit. Brohemian Rhapsody, guys. It's exactly what it sounds like. I wrote that video with Sarah schneider in, like 12 minutes. Yeah, it was. And you write itself. It really does. I think the breakdown is like. Broke a lamp. Broke a lamp. Lamp, yeah. Right. It's really a first draft, that thing. And it was so much fun to do. I met. I went from kind of knowing who Streeter was to meeting all of you guys. And then I did a good enough job that I kept getting asked back and then eventually would become friends with everyone at college humor who are now scattered throughout the comedy verse doing all different kinds of shit. Which is. Yeah, one of those signs that you guys were in a special place at the time, too, is that almost every single zero. Duds. Almost. You know, like there's like, nobody. And if there was one, we're not going to call them out right now. Sorry, sorry, Gurwitz. No. A lot of. A lot of Emmys spread out. A lot of Emmys in one podcast network. A lot of Emmys and then a few Webbies. Hey, you know, those are equally important. Yeah, I know. We know, brother. You're holding it up right now. I'm sitting on it. You were wearing a T shirt that says Webby. Award winning podcaster, so I thought I could say that. Jake, what. What is the future of 2025 hold for you? Like, things you want to do, things you want to plug here, things you want Headgum to do. Like, what's some forecasting for the. For the Hurwitz man? Well, I mean, I love the team that we built at Headgum. I. I kind of love that I am a little less involved now. I get to Hear ideas. I get to be. I get to be there for just the fun part part now. Right. I hear pitches I like, can help. You don't have to come make coffee and see me first thing in the morning working in your life. I don't have to do the contracts. You know, you should have never been doing those. No, that thing is full of loopholes. No one. Oh, I know. Just wait, brother. I got Lev Ginsburg taking a deep look at it. Yeah. No, we Spotify came to us and told us at one point that our contracts were really bad because all of our artists own their own shows. And we're like, oh, we thought that was what made them good. Yeah. Because that's what, you know, made them good for us. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's. I think that's actually aged well because then there was like an age of people wanting to own the shows, and that really sucked for everybody. Yeah. Amir. Amir said it best when. Because he explained it to me when he's like. He's like, we'll just practically be a hosting site that'll split ads and help you get ads and split ads with you. I was like, that works for me. And I. Seems completely reasonable. Yeah. I mean, all born of us getting fucked over by iac. I was just about to say, all you got to do is take one Internet job where you get absolutely fucked and lose the rights to your names. Like your first names. That's right. We finally got the rights back to our names, I think maybe like two years ago, just as they became completely worthless. Now we. We own all the Jake and me videos. Yeah. Pump for Amir and Jake videos. So that's the only for the Webbies, guys. Hell yeah. Look out. Get pumped. But I'm going to DM. I'm going to DM. My first campaign over at. On NADpod. Oh, that's awesome. That's really never DM before, so I'm putting all of my effort into that right now. I can't believe how popular. I can't believe how long I've been podcasting and playing D and D and I somehow missed those two together. Yeah. That absolute money making. Mountains of the fucking people were clamoring for that. No one knew. It's. We didn't know they wanted it. Yeah, we had no idea. But I don't think it's too late for you because the D and D podcast audience is voracious. Yeah, I might. I might have to figure out a way to dip my toe back in. Or if you ever need, like, A random PC or NPC for. Would love a barbarian in a Speedo. Yeah, I'd pop in. I'm a beach barbarian. That's literally what like my dream role is. I smoke seaweed and wield a sword made out of a conch shell. You have to make your own campaign. This is too good. It's all just like beach bum specifics and shit like that. DMing your own campaign. From being a sort of fucking guitar jock guy into all of a sudden. Now you start playing D and d. Now you're DMing a campaign. I love to see this growth for you. You Jake? Yeah. Girls used to be into me. Not anymore. Then you get married, having kids, start DMing. You know, what the fuck? What else is. What else is there in life? Life is over. Everything ends. How is family life? Family life is great. This is an aspect of you that I've just am. Because you moved before it all happened and everything. So I've just never associated this with you, you know? Like, this is so new to me. Yeah. I've got a 19 month old. It's fucking crazy. Crazy. That's a two year. Almost a two year old kid, dude. That's wild. Wild. Yeah, it's wild. But it's. It's a lot of fun. Now she's like, she's just talking all the time and she keeps on saying things that surprise me. The other day she pointed at my belt and said buckle. And I was like, nobody taught. Who taught you that? When did you learn the word buckle? And I know this is impressive to anybody. Listen. Listening. No, this is impressive to me. Yeah. I'm like, please. I'm blown away. So everything that she does, really, really, I don't know, makes me. Makes. Makes my heart melt. That's. That's beautiful, man. You know, because you used to really just get so touched when like Amir would learn a new word. And now. Yeah, it's like your daughter that is. Is impressing you on a daily basis. If Amir could show emotion, nothing. Nothing would shatter me more. Okay. Well. Yeah, well, stay unshattered, buddy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey. We all need a kind constant. Much appreciated, dude. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. You are one of like a number of guests that I wanted to get for the 500th episode. So it means. It means a lot that you took the time. Well, it really is an honor for me. And I know you. You thanked us for. For coming to you up top. But I think that you're. You're just one of the most Authentic people in. In the world and definitely in podcasting. So I think that, like, the show is so good because you. You're just who you are. You're so effortlessly funny. And from the beginning you're like, I want this show to be whatever I want week to week. And it has been, and it's been incredible. I was like, I think the only way I could do this every week is if it's self serving and not a lot of work. And I was. We were like, okay. By the way, I think that now a lot of people are actually following your lead because we hear pitches all the time. And a few years ago, everybody was like, all right, what's my. What's. We read a chapter of Lord of the Rings and we discuss and like, all. Everything. That's my niche. And now all we're hearing from celebrities is just like, oh, it's just my show. It's just whatever is interesting to me. And we're like, oh, that's the Gabriel model. Yeah. Which I ripped off of the OG Joe Rogan. I just never made the turn to having on, like, fascist enablers or anything. But if you ever want one or two by accident, there's a lot. There's a lot of audience waiting. Yeah. If I was concerned with my athletic greens ad numbers, I think I could get a couple of fucking people from the Trump campaign on and then really push my limits here. Yeah, that's next. Some guy who believes in aliens and, like, measuring the skulls of minorities will be like my next guest to try. That'd be the only way to really start making that fucking ad dollar. Yeah, dude. Then you'll bring the podcast back. Yeah, the second it's like, hey, I got an idea to make some money. I'm like, I'm back. Episode 501. What was I telling? I did this whole. Jake, thanks for taking the time, brother, and good luck with everything and enjoy that new belt buckle. Yeah, thanks, brother. I'll talk to you soon. Bye. Also joining me in the high and mighty studio is the guest on episode three, Holy shit. My former director and my current director of my heart, it's John Flute. Hello. Hello. Oh, buddy, how are you? I'm good. How are you? How sad but exciting. 500 episodes. 500 episodes is disgusting. That's like 10 years. Yeah, I'm coming up on. It's like nine and a half. It's like nine years and eight months because I did a bunch of bonus episodes and shit over the years, so who really knows? But it's just about 10 years since we recorded episode three at Jake and Amir's house. But it was the first episode recorded as well. The second episode recorded. Third episode to air. Was it the second one? I thought I was your first one, but it was not at their house. It was at your house. It was at my house. At your house. One of them was there in the room, just listing the whole time. Yes. Emir was, like, engineering in my room. Yes. Holy shit. Yeah. That might have been one of the first ones recorded because Jake and Amir were the first guests. Ben and Stanger were the second guests. Now that we see where that relationship has gone for us. And then John Flynn was my third guest. Talking sex and relationship. Finally, you and I got to chop it up about sex. Right. We just needed microphones. That was the only thing that was holding us back from not talking about it beforehand. Right, right. And as any listener worth their salt knows, you've also been on, like, countless episodes talking about the Oscars and roundups and predictions and whatnot. Yeah, right. Yeah. Author of Baked. You gotta get yourself this book. It's got a lot of great tales in it. It's from an. I read it on vacation maybe. Maybe five years ago at this point, already out of my brain. I could reread it today if I wanted. Oh, nice. And that's not a dig against the book. That's more of a digging against my break. Right. Because you had a lot of weed. Yeah. I ate one of those cookies when I read it to, like, in honor. I brought those cookies with me to Hawaii and it was a real treat, man. The good old days. Unlicensed black market edibles. Completely. No idea if it was 9mg or 8. 85. Still have no idea. Who knows? They were rarely 9 is all I know. Oh, man. I still remember the first time Tiffany tried one. She. She said. She said to me, I don't even know what's real anymore. She was like, trying to. She was trying to read Twilight after having one cookie. She's like, I'm gonna just lay down and read for a little bit. And then she turns to me, she goes, babe, I don't even know what's real anymore, am I? Yeah, yeah, of course. And her first time getting height period. So it was. I'm honored that she was like, oh, I trust John's. John's Edibles. Yeah, it's more. It's more of her undue confidence. In all, like, how hard could this be? I've never. I was like, babe, I'm three times your Size. And I've been laid the fuck out by these things in the bed. But, John, John, how are things with you? What's. What's. What's going on with you? You got any big Oscar predictions? You have any dark. An Oscar favorite right now? Do you have. I haven't. I mean, the nominations were supposed to come out this week, but then they pushed back. Yeah, Yeah. I don't know. Did you see. Have you seen Emilio Perez? I have not. The Golden Globe winning, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's nuts. My husband was like, oh, do you want to watch this movie? It's on Netflix. And I was like, okay. I knew nothing about it. You know, it's like a musical. Do you know Trans musical starring Zoe Saldan? Yeah. Yep. And the songs are I Bananas. I mean, it's. It's. And it's. It takes place in Mexico, but it's directed by a French director who doesn't know much about Mexican culture. Any sense. And so, of course, it won the Golden Globe. It is like. It's got HFPA written all over it. It is like. It's got three different foreign countries involved and Selena Gomez. Oh, okay. Only murders in that building. I've actually had bad luck going to movies recently because my husband and I, a week ago, or like, maybe two weeks ago, went to see the Brutalist. Have you seen that one yet? Yes. And after the first hour, there was, like, a power surge in the whole block. And so, like, we had to, like, go back and watch it again. I was like, I have to rewatch the first hour of this three. Better than watching the back hour, the second half. Trust me. Right. It gets real dark. No, we did go back and watch it, and then a few weeks ago. The commitment you and Brian have is just intense. Like, all right, well. Well, let's just watch the four hours. We'll do it again. But then two weeks ago, I went to see a Complete unknown, and the same thing happened where the power went out an hour in that one. I'm like, I can wait till this one comes out on streaming. I don't need to see this other big screen. Yeah, I went and saw den of Thieves 2, Pantera on the big screen. I don't think it'll get any play in the nominations, but not even below the lines. I mean, sound editing, it sounded good. Sure, sure, sure. Have you seen the Last Showgirl yet? I saw that. That last week. No, but I. That is, of course, high on our list here in this house. Anderson is really good. The Movie is not. No, me and, me and Tiff are big Pam heads and always have been. Sure. Yeah. True believers. True believers. I'm, I'm very excited to see that. I, I, I have so many. We're recording this in mid Jan. Hopefully by the time this episode drops, I've caught up. But I have so many holes right now. I'm like, I haven't seen like, you know, 10 of that. What I think will be the Oscar, I think will be the 10. Yeah, yeah. I've seen the Brutalist and I, it's crazy to say, Loved it. I thought it was a. Maybe I say, like, it was a great film. Yes. I didn't think it needed to be three and a half hours, but it was really good. It didn't. I. Yes. I don't think it needed to be either, but it didn't bother me either. I felt the same way about Wicked. Have you seen Wicked yet? I have seen Wicked. The number one blockbuster prize, Golden Globe, whatever it wins, whatever that is. Please come to our award show. We're not gonna actually give you anything. Ariana Grande is gonna be there. We promise. I, I had seen the Wicked play in like, as a matter of fact, with Tiffany early in our relationship in like an 04 or 05 or something. Yeah, I saw it when it first opened and haven't seen it it since, so, I mean, I never remember anything. Didn't read the book and I was not excited to see the movie at all. And I somehow, this is going to sound cruel, but I just didn't hate it. I was like, oh, I was expecting to like, how cruel of you. I was expecting to hate it. Like, I was just like, okay, I'll. Tiffany, you know, one the way some people do, one for the studio and one for them. When we go to the movies, it's one for me, one for Tiff. Although I went to Pantera alone. Anger number two, but that's okay. That's all right. Alone works as well. But I couldn't believe how, like, not bored I was with Wick. Exactly. Because the musical on stage is 2 hours and 40 minutes, which is what this one just being the first act was. And I was still like, oh, yeah. And I was like, there's a few things you could trim. But I don't know, I didn't mind it that much. I mean, I didn't mind it at all that I thought the guy who played the prince, Fury, Fiero, I thought that was like a. I mean, granted, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Ervo were Fantastic. Yeah. But I was truly impressed by him. And it's also. I think the character is written in a really fun way. So, like, I. I was like, oh, I like this movie as it's like I came in here expecting to be like, all right, I'll eat an Oedipal and chill for two and a half hours. But by the end of it, I'm like, I guess we're gonna see part two, babe. I gotta see how this ends. Yeah. I thought she was wicked. Turns out she might not be. Yeah. I do hate the whole, like, relitigation of like, actually, actually, Cruella De Vil couldn't help but kill 101. Right? She was the victim of her upbringing. I'm so tired of that. Because it, like, ret. Really fucking moves. Removes the teeth from like. Like, if you're like. We're like, why are we dropping a house on this wonderful woman? She was friends with Glinda. That's Glinda's friend from school. Oh, well, I mean, there's no pure villains anymore. No. And that could be said in a really interesting way. Like the way they used to say, like, a villain doesn't know they're a villain. They're just living the only way they know how. But now it also means like, oh, actually, when. Well, even like the Transformers. Transformers. One is like, Optimus and Megatron were friends when they were kids. It's like, not only were Transformers friends, but they've been kids. Like, how does that work? Like, everything is just being like, so confused. Like, everything. I mean, as a Fast and the Furious freak. The next episode, whoever was the bad guy in the previous movie. Yeah. Welcome to la familia. Yeah. Do you think that's in their contract or do you think that their first movie is just an audition to join the franchise? They're like, holy st. I can't. We're not going to get rid of Statham if he's down to do it again. You know, he was available. It's just. It's cuz it to like the first movie is Vin is Toretto is the bad guy, quote, unquote. Like, you know, Paul Walker is. Is. You know, I haven't seen all of them, so I don't. Yeah. O. Yeah. Well. Well, you know, Oscar sees its eponymous. God, when is retirement? I have a feeling it's never coming. Put it on my list. I got to retire when I finally. My union pension from the working at the factory comes in the content factory. Billy Joel really spoiled us, didn't he? What a. Uh. Are you excited about any movies that are coming out? Because we. We also used to do the preview episodes too. Oh, we're excited about it because we have in 20. In 2025. For me personally, we have the next Mission Impossible and we have the third avatar, which are two. Oh, yeah. You expected an avatar to come back so quickly. I fucking Cameron is just in New Zealand going, get back in the fucking water, people. Get your fucking suit. Mocap suit. Fires are coming. Get in the water. Fire and ash, baby. This one's about the fire avatars. What does that mean? What it is. It's called fire and ash. So I'm assuming it's about like volcanic avatars or is that bad timing? Yeah, perfect timing. It might be. Well, it doesn't matter if you. You can't make a movie about anything anymore because it's like, like, like we did a bit with the action boys live show where we. We ran in and took over the audience with guns and masks on. And the guys who are the people who run Dynasty typewriter were like, hey, can we just have a brief talk about. And you know, me, Ben and Stanger, being old men who grew up on action movies, were like, oh, yeah, that would be a little crazy in current times. And like. And the. One of the managers was like. And you know, just like three days ago there was that shooting. I'm like, well, we can't go off that. Yeah, we're going to be three days from another one. And so the compromise was like, that's. It's been three whole days. Well, then now's the time people have gotten. We got 51st dated out of this. Yeah, but it is like, oh, Avatar 2 is the way of the water. But like, we might be out of water. You know, like the pistachio industry might, you know, dehydrate. All of us in this country in this state. That's true. It doesn't matter. We're all going to be fighting conscripted into the water wars anytime soon as well. But for you any, except I'm assuming Avatar Mission possible high on your list. But also. Well, I'm excited to see mission. The last mission possible was great. I mean, it's always fun to watch Tom Cruise almost kill himself and he's doing it for his love. I've said it before, I think he wants to die on set because it's the only way that, like, Scientology doesn't get undone as well. Because, like, if he just dies of, like, old age, people will be like, he's not superhuman. He has Satan's. But if he dies on the movie set, like, like that's how he wants to go, obviously. But based on his choice voices. Yeah. Would you rather die doing a herald than just like old and decrepit in your head? Not, it's either I either want to die or making the ultimate third beat connection. And we see I, I, ideally, dying is the ultimate callback too, in some way. So people, I think you're just acting. Then they all take the bow and you're still out there hearing the laughter from the audience as you die. As like, I evacuate my bowels and all that barf on myself or whatever happens. So, sorry, what movies are you, are you excited about? I mean, Wicked for Good Part two, of course. Oh yeah. What else is coming? I don't, I never know what's going. My husband will just come in and be like, do you want to watch? Do you want to go see this movie? My husband goes and sees like five movies a week. Like, he's like, I can't, like, my brain can't do that. Like, I just, like, I'm like, I, I saw a movie four days ago. I can't sit in a theater again. Like, if I had, if I had the time, I still don't think I could do more than like two or three a week in the theater. But like, throwing one on at home, like, I, I can get up to five. You can kind of do other stuff and yeah, yeah, I could be like, this doesn't have to start at exactly 7:35 with 30 minutes of trailers. This can start right after I'm done eating. You know, like, I could bend it to my mind composite. Yeah, I can. Yeah. Are you excited for like, the new Marvel movies that are coming out this year? No, not really. Nothing. No. Me neither. No, I, like, there's few things I'm excited like, it's not coming out this year, but like, I, I'm more and more excited for like, I'm more and more excited for like, the directors, my, my people that I like making their new movies. Right. But, but at the same time, I'm always excited to see like, something I knew nothing about that pops up. Right. Yeah. My recommendation for you as a surprise, if you haven't seen, because it also just landed on Amazon prime for free, is Hundreds of Beavers if you haven't seen it. Oh, I've heard about that. And it costs like $10,000 to make or something like that. These guys, it's pretty much like a live action looney Tunes. I don't know how they did it. It's like a lot of, it's black and white silent film with like literal like title cards and stuff. I've never seen anything like it. I mean, I'm assuming If I was 140 years old, I would have seen a lot of stuff like it, but now it's just a Buster Keaton ripoff. Yeah, it's really, it's really funny too. Like, it's like, like. And I, I, I highly pitch that to listeners. And you, if you guys haven't seen that, I think, yeah, I've heard, no, I've heard good things about that that I will definitely check out. I don't know. I did like, I would have to look at a list of movies that are coming out to be like, oh, I'm excited about that. Yeah, same. I'm, I'm coming completely. Cause I also, I used to spend like one day a week back in the day watching all the movie trailers on Apple movie trailers. But now trailers have gotten like, too informative. I'm so ready for that Wolfman to have to not sit through that ever again. Right, right. Well, that's the other thing too. If you go to the movies enough, the trailers hound you. Right. There should be like a weird law where if you've seen a movie or something, you are immune to seeing it, to seeing the trailer. There should be a weird law where as an amc, a list member, I get like a different entrance and time and I can skip at least there's like 30 something minutes before every fucking movie and every movie's two and a half hours. Like, I have to, I have to like piss before Kidman gets on or else I'm going to miss a chunk of the movie. That's like your, that's like your sign to go. Yeah. I will say this. When I saw the last Mission Impossible, you remember how. Because it was like as we were coming out of the pandemic and whatnot. And so Tom Cruise did a little like, thank you for coming to the movies thing. And then it was followed by Nicole Kidman and she got a bigger hand than he did. And I was like, that's how it should be, dude. I forget what we went to go see. Oh, and maybe it was wicked. Oh, no, it was Nosferatu. They played. We saw it. Yeah, it was pretty, I dug it. Tiff loved it. We saw it on like AMC laser, some version of their kind of projection. I don't even know what that is. I have no idea. But you know, it's like whenever we're trying to like buy a ticket on amc, we're like, should we go IMAX laser, Dolby or the other kind? Just not 3D. There's like a yes, but there's like a laser. Like little pre show. It's like millions of lights, blah, blah, blah, laser. And they played it twice back to back. And it was fucking crazy. And I was so worked up. I'm like, I'm already nervous I'm gonna piss during this movie. And now that's. They're like rerunning fucking laser promos. I don't even understand what they're talking about. 10,000 lumens of light power. I'm like, this is all going over my fucking head, chief. Ooh. Karate Kid Legends. Okay. Yeah. That I'm excited about. And they're doing, I guess a live action Lilo and Stitch. I don't know how that's possible. Yeah, I. That's another tro. Another, like, trend in movies I hate is. Is remaking Disney Live actions. Yeah. It feels just like a way to fuck over the animators. And like, I think they're doing it to extend their copyright. Ah, yeah. And also people do keep going. M3gan 2.0. Ooh. I'm excited that I'm excited. Although it doesn't make sense. Cause it's a prequel, but it's 2.0. Yeah, you gotta call it that for the nomenclature, but it doesn't make a lot of sense for a prequel. Oh, that Trey Parker. Matt Stone. What's his name? Oh, Kendrick Lamar. They have a movie coming out. I'm excited for that. What? Yeah, that. I did not know about that. That is bananas on paper. That's the kind of shit I'm. That's the kind of shit that gets me excited. July 4th. 4th of July. Hell yeah. Get pumped. Should I watch Emilia Perez? Will I enjoy that at all? Is it just like ape shit? Like, yeah, you definitely should watch because the songs, I mean, it's so funny, like being a musical theater person. Like, the songs in this movie, they're not good, but they also don't function the way songs do in a typical well written musical. So they're just weird moments where people are just talking and they're like, penis and vagina. It just is nuts. So, yeah, definitely, I would do that with maybe some substances if you have the opportunity to do that. I'll try substances for the first time for this. I love that musical theater talking because I can't really sing, so Every single time I end up doing one of these musical improv shows, I'm like, but tonight we're supposed to go to the store. You know, you could just do that. And people like, yeah, I think, you know, these kind of music, you don't need a pitch or anything. The trick is energy and. And pauses at random, like adding commas. But I don't believe, you know, fuck am I talking about? Johnny Flynn, thank you for taking time to talk. Oh, it was my pleasure. Congratulations. This is. So you've been a big part of the show, but. And I'm assuming anyone who's listened to episodes know bigger. Part of my creative life is the director of my one man shows and bartender on them, which is a way to say a co star. And, you know, we've been working together in some form for like 18 years now, and it's always been exciting and appreciative. Always been fun. Yeah, yeah. I'm going to miss it because even though, like. Because I've listened to every single episode and it does feel like getting to hang out with you. And I will say this, there were times where, like, the episode would pop up and I'm like, he's going to talk about fruit for an hour. And then I listen. I was like, I'm completely engaged. Like, it was really fun. He's going to talk about fruit for like 16 out of 60 minutes. Yeah. The rest is him just going like, I'm trying to lose weight still. It's not happening. Are you ever. Do you think you'll ever come back with like a. Like you and Mitch just like, randomly come back and record another episode in January of next year? I'm wondering. They'll have to be some version of that. Like, me and Mitch will have to come back, do an episode. Griffin kind of made a promise that the next time when Fast11 comes out, we have to, like, somehow do an episode about it. When I'm nominated for an Oscar, I think I'll have to bust you out of what? Whatever. I can tell you what it's like to go to the Oscars. Yes. All right. Yeah. But I'll have to rescue you from what you're teaching, like, musical theater in a retirement home. I'm 71 in a fucking. I've finally been nominated for my turn as a villain. Yeah. A complex villain. Aha. It's actually my. It's the origin story where the villain's just a sweetie little boy. Maybe society's the real villain. How about we drop a house on society? Scarecrow John, always a pleasure. Anything, Anything. Anything you want to plug or even anything you're excited about for yourself or to do in 2025. Like, I'm just excited to get a job. Yeah. Hey, are we all, brother. Hey. Kind of similar to my 2024, you know, it's an ongoing uphill battle, however you want to frame it. Thanks again, bud. Bye. Thanks, buddy. Also joining me in the High and Mighty Studios, the first guest of this podcast, the first engineer of this podcast, and the guy who said to me, you should have a podcast. Why don't you do it with us? It's Amir Blumenfeld World. Hello. Wow. I had no idea. I mean, I know we tried to convince you to start a podcast. I didn't know as your first guest. Yeah. You and Jake are. Episode one, just like. So what should the show be? It is kind of that I don't remember. And I can't listen to it because I hate the sound of my own voice and yours. Love. Jake is awesome. I put his up way hot in that episode. Isolated the track. Yeah. Mask luffs. Yeah. John Flynn, who was on episode three, remembered that we recorded at my office with you engineering here, even though we. Yeah. And then we had some good laughs with Betsy and mono and with Jake talking about recording at that Commonwealth house that you guys lived at for a while. That was awesome. Probably the highlight of all of our lives. Yeah, it was like, peak. Like, anything can happen in this city. You guys are, like, living and working in, like, this weird, random, giant house in a cool neighborhood. And we did the first power hour, like, in your living room and then, like, order food. Yeah. I think I. It was so long ago. I think I did one of the power hours. You might have. I feel you did. I think you did one of the UCB stage ones, I'm for sure. Yes, I think that's true, too. But I barely drink anymore, so it's funny to imagine me drinking that much. Yeah, it's funny. It was funny to imagine you then when you did it's enough, but almost 10 fucking years. You did episode one and episode 500 and a couple in between, which is kind of a crazy situation, man. Well, I wanted to say, you know, I've been telling everyone thank you so much. Like, thank you for starting Headgum and giving me the opportunity. And, you know, I mean, thank you for being part of, I think, the longest running original Headgum show. I don't know what it is now. Yeah. I don't know. It's because, like, you guys switched to Kind of trans you guys transitioned to. We completely. We were born, if I were you, assigned advice. Podcast at birth. And now we are. Now we are even less of a premise, which is. Yes, very, very fluid. Very premise fluid. Yes. And so is it. Is it Exploration Live or something like that or similar. It's called segments, but it might as well be. No, no, no. I mean, are they the long run? Because they've been around for a long time, right? Exploration Live. No, they're a newer show of ours. I'm talking about. How long has somebody been on the Headgum? Oh, yeah. I mean, I fear to say it might be Twin Ovation. Yeah, well, dude, I. I had this laugh with Jake because we were talking about. We were talking about the North Door shows, which were always a fucking wild ride ride. But I said, I looked through to see what other Headgum podcasts were. Were. Were going on, and I saw two innovation had a 20, 25 episode, and I was blown away. I was like, holy. I can't believe. By no other reason than I did that show so many times back in the day, recording at Nick's apartment in Williamsburg, recording live. Recording live in Austin or whatever. And, like, I can't believe that show is still on. And not because it's bad or weird or anything. It's just because. Holy shit. Yeah. Making Twin Ovation now the longest running. I think they had some down times. Yes, yes. I don't think they have been as regular. And you've definitely had the most, like, 500 is the most purely Headgum episodes a show could have. Yeah, you're definitely still number one in that regard. I've never missed. I never missed a Thursday in almost 10, and I even have done a couple of a week. I was doing, like, Banshee bonus episodes at one point. Also at the Commonwealth House, where I'd be there where, like, the stunt coordinator from the Cinemax series Banshee would be coming and be like, this is so stupid and complicated. Like, yes, it's a. Yes, it's 11 flights of stairs up to the house. And yes, we'll be sitting in a living room with some other weird weirdo on the ones and twos. I can't believe it took me that long just to figure out how to do an H6. Like, when I was like, once I got that, I'm like, well, Chris, Amir, whoever does not need to. You're all in the room with me. Yeah. Like, I've always felt weird that I had to, like, have, like, a parent sit there for, like, an Hour. So I'm so glad. Definitely intimidating at first. You're like, I don't know anything and I don't want to know anything. And then it's like, it's literally just pressing a button. Yeah, it's. Oh, it's easier than you think. Until there is one small issue and then you're like, okay, I got nothing. Yeah, I have only like 8 bit Nintendo knowledge. I'm like, all right, I'll blow in it. I'll try putting the SD card out and then put it back in. Like, I have no breathe on it through my shirt. Yeah, the T shirt. Blow. Wow. Yeah. That's a fucking legend, right? That was the original masking. Oh, Yeah, I know. Dr. Fauci says does not work, though. I had a lot of alt right friends that were like, you can't blow on it through a T shirt that does nothing. I put horse paste in my copy of Final Fantasy. All right. Worked. Yeah, I got Game Genie and Ivermectin. You can't. You can't fuck with my Nintendo. Literally no difference. Although they did have, like, when CDs used to skip, they, like, had some cream that you put on the cd. Yeah. What was that about? Yeah, that, that. Yeah, it was like KY Warming liquid or something. It was called. I think it was. So you could get your dick through the hole in the skin. Yes, if it's thin enough. Not even a laser disc can get it through. Thank you for guessing it might not be, but unfortunately, I don't want to put you on blast on episode four. Unfortunately, I could fold my dick and put it through and have. And will again. I could get 40 CDRs on there. Young listeners are like, I don't even know what a fucking CDR is. I used to. Used to buy a common 50. Yes, exactly. From Best Buy. I'm gonna be like, I'm gonna make so many mix CDs. And then like sophomore year, college, you're like, well, 47 discs left. Burn a movie. Somebody could do that. Like, have you heard of dvd, rw? Like, holy shit. What rewritables? Oh, man. I'm gonna save porn on top of porn on top of porn until I'm gonna be making my own little KY Jelly for the CDs. Now Amir 2025 is upon us. What does the future hold for. For Headgum for you personally? Do you have any things you want to do or things you know you're going to do this year? Whether it's inside of podcasting or outside or inside of Headgum? Or outside side. Like, what do you. What do you. Yeah, I definitely need to get. I definitely need to get on that. Well, headgum is turning 10, so I think we should. We used to have Headgum parties every year, which were kind of like fun gatherings for podcasters to get together and celebrate Headgum. That obviously stopped during COVID and then we tried to bring it back and then Covid came back a little bit. But I think HG10 is. Should warrant some sort of event. Yeah. Oh, that's so. Like, I didn't even put that together. I'm so up my own ass that I've almost had 10 years that I forgot that that would mean the company is as well. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. 10 years, man. 10 is a lot. 10 is more than we thought it would take to grow this company to the size it is. We thought this would be year three. Right. But you know, we're here. We're finally made it. Yeah, you've made it. And. And now it's just smooth sailing from here on out as the podcast industry stops non stop growth. Yeah. Well, fortunately, Hollywood is melting, so everyone's looking for that island in the. In the distance. Yeah. And it's podcasting. For now. Right. For now. We'll see. Correct. Let's keep. Let's. We're betting big on it. So an HG10 party. I like the sound of that. I like the sound of that. Newer, bigger, better shows. Honestly, the office is top notch. I can't imagine a better studio space. So I don't even want to talk about, like, expanding beyond there. No, but getting. Getting it more crowded would be fun. Yeah. Yes, I know. I love that you guys added a second studio with camera capabilities and shit. Such a smart idea. Fun. Yeah, I love. I will continue to be there monthly with the Action Boys. Just to keep. Keep seeing everyone over at Headgum. I'm sure I'll be guesting on Doughboys or whatever. Whatever Nicole Byer and Lapkis. Bullshit. Whatever they're watching next. You're stopping. You're stopping high and mighty. But you're continuing your puzzle podcast journey. Yeah. Action Boys. I still have Action Boys. And who knows, maybe later on in the year you'll people can hear another potential podcast. Wow. Wow. You heard it teased here first. And then also, of course, it doesn't happen. So if I just have to do it. Yeah. Emma, can you take that out? What? The last episode that aired six months ago. You need me to take that out? People keep asking. No one is asking. No one. Listen to all 18 guests and. And pinpointed that one moment when you mentioned to Amir you might do another podcast. Oh, you. You'd be surprised. People listen to the. The medley episodes, like the ones about your birthday. Oh, are you gonna do that? That one's coming up, too. I. You're just gonna stop that right before. I know it feels crazy, but the episode 500 of it all, and, like, the fact that the power. The last. The 10th power hour was, like, a couple of months ago. It felt so. It felt so natural. The end of the year was upon us, and, like, it all just felt like a transition time. The 10 years of it all, the 500 episodes of it all felt just like if I didn't end it now, like, when would I. And then 506. Yeah, that. That's exactly what I was afraid of. Was like, all right, well, episode 531 is the last one, and it's me, and, like, I'm talking. Talking squirrels with fucking Jeff or whatever. With Jeff. Did Jeff come back for this episode? No. Jeff Rubin. Oh, yeah, Jeff Rubin did. Yeah. Yeah. The good Jeff. Obvious. Yeah, yeah. Like, Jeff with a G. Get bent. No, no, no get bent. No. But, yeah. Jeff Rubin, who was kind of the inspiration behind this podcast. Because when you guys came to me and asked, in my head, I said I would love to do it, but I want it to be, like, whatever I want. So it's an easy lift. Like, you know. Cause I had ideas for podcasts, and now I'm glad I chose none of them, because it's like, I'm gonna read two pages, some Lord of the Rings. It's like, all this shit would have been so upset by now. Yeah. And harder and harder to find guests, which ends up being, like, one of the hardest parts of podcasting is producing your own podcast and getting a guest and getting their audio. Even though I don't do the editing, Shout out Emma Mars, Amir, Chris, all the people over the years, but just having to, like, upload or get the fight, like, all that stuff is not what I want to be doing with my time. Like, and I'm not. You do have to love what you're doing. Otherwise, it feels like a chore, and it's. It registers. I wouldn't get to 500. And so Jeff Rubin's podcast was, like, just kind of chasing his curiosity, and I was like, oh, that's exactly what I want to do. I'm just, like, a little less nerdy than him, which is not. You know, that's not a huge victory. To be less nerdy than Jeff Rubin, everybody's less nerdy. But to be a little bit less nerdy, everyone's less nerdy, I guess. Amir, thank you so much for coming. Like, this is all. You know, I just. I'm so happy to catch up. I wanted to give you an official on air. Flowers as the kids. Yeah. Wow. I appreciate it. I'm not even dying and I get to reap the joy of hearing somebody. Don't say stuff like that. Oh, teaser. Teaser for my episode. My new podcast idea. We're gonna kill Amir. When does this episode come out? In, like, two weeks. Right before your birthday. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I. I should have. I should have a birthday friend on to talk about. You bring up some valid points. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But these medley episodes are always kind of fun because talking to someone for 15 minutes is. Is a treat. You know, like when you usually have to strap in for 70 to 90 minutes of conversation. Feels good to just be like, thank God I don't have to do another hour with Amir. Well, I don't have enough. I start bringing up Lakers. Like I know anything about it. Thank you. Finally. So then I could fucking talk about. Yeah. And I know nothing. I'm like, Magic Johnson, Genie bus, Showtime. Pretty good. Pretty good. Thank you. Not nothing. Not nothing. I know. Giants. Giants, if you want. Hell, yeah. Not this year. I don't want to talk about them or think about them at all. No. God, no. Not this year's. But, like, this has been awful over the last 10. There's gotta be a few highlights. There's a couple in the last 10. Yeah, but that's the fun of being a Giants fan. It's like, we've won Super Bowls and we've had, you know, nearly winless seasons. Could have been worse. You could. Aren't there a lot of jets fans in Long Island? How did you go? Giants. Yeah, that's. We. That's weird. I always joked about it growing up, and forgive me for my flippancy, but I always said it was. The Italian kids were Giants and Yankees fans, and the Jewish kids were Jets, Mets. Like, it kind of. And I don't know if that's because of parents who came from Brooklyn or Queens. Like, yeah, I don't fully understand how that worked out, but my dad was Giants, Yankees, Islanders, and Knicks, so that. Those were the teams I grew up watching. And the great unifier. Yeah, my brother had some, like, rebellious years where he thought he was an Eagles fan because, like, our cool cousin was an Eagles fan. But normally, you Just go the way your father does in a way. And I never had that rebellion because I did. Did have a Super bowl when I. A giant super bowl when I was like 10. That I can remember. Right. And that's like enough to lock it in. That's enough to lock it in. Is the Bills missing a field goal and you like, barely understand what's going on, but you're so hyped that all these grownups are cheering 31 years later, you're like, God, we fucking suck. I can't believe I would have sacrificed that. I could have been a Patriots for 20 years. Spent every Sunday learning a language instead of watching the. I could have learned the piano, the mayor of Sicily, the dream. Instead, I just know who Brandon Jacobs is. Hell, yeah. That's not useful. Where there's a Brandon Jacobs. Good poll. That's a great pull because that's from a very specific era of like, are they. Who cares about these guys? Great fantasy running back. Oh, yeah. Put up some good numbers, Amir. You can. Guys, you can check out his podcast called Segments. It's. If you listen to this podcast, you more than likely also know Amir's podcast. Or don't. It's really up to you. Totally honestly, no pressure. He actually. That's really cool, Amir. He. He says you don't have to listen to him if you don't want. Yeah, I'm sort of. I'm trying to use reverse psychology to get people to listen because I'm actually don't need you because I have so many loyal listeners already. But if you guys want to jump on, I could totally. I could probably get you in. Are you with any girls? Yeah, two girls for every guy. Two girls. What? We share our podcast. Like an exclusive club. Also, what came up on the. Jake, the. When I. The segment when I talked with you. Thank you. Yeah, a little subconscious marketing there. We talked how we all met on Bohemian Rhapsody. Right? College humor alums. And then I. Then I did like a hundred videos in between then and now. Including. Including Hardly workings with you guys and the sleepovers and all that shit. The all nighters and all that. Recently watched the one where you're like, you're illiterate. It's one of the funniest sketches I've ever seen. The book club one. Yeah. You're buried. It's just buried in a YouTube channel. Like no one will ever see it, but it's one of the funniest sketches I think, ever. More people than you think in their, like, 30s and 40s. Will you quote that video, to me, will remember that video. And in that video, I'm like, well, that's because you're a Jew. Like the gurwich or. And maybe even you. I forget. I say it like I'm not in it. So I can speak really positively about it without seeing, like, I'm. I say it like twice, which. And it makes no sense, like, contextually. But I am just being, like, weirdly defensive and stuff. But it is like, people are like, I love that video. And I'm like, what is that video? I rewatched it. I just like, like calling my friend. Well, that's because you're a Jew. And I'm like, oh, there's. There's a lot worse on YouTube if you search anybody from 2007 to 2010, what we found funny. Yeah. Well, God, never look me up there. Yeah. So I urge you to look for the flukes an episode and that's it. What is it called? Hardly Working Book Club. I'm gonna watch it again. Yeah, I think it's called Book Club or All Nighter Book Club or Hardly Working Book Club. One of those. One of. One of my favorite hardly workings of all time. Now, this is such a weird poll because I barely remember it. And if listeners don't even know what we're talking about. Hardly Working was the sort of, like, college humor writers as themselves sketch show with the digital shorts. Yes. But you guys, all you. You guys made actual digital shorts that were, like, premise videos with actors and highly produced. But then you guys had a bunch that was just like, around the office. Yeah, yeah. And one of them, like, someone comes over to Streeter, it might even be you, someone comes over to, like, look at his computer, and he's trying to hide something. And one of the things he does is he just opens an umbrella and, like, puts it in front and it's like he's fully panicked about. And I don't remember any detail, but the way Streeter plays it. A very funny dude. And the way he opens an umbrella and puts it down in, like, front of the. The tower. Not the monitor either. Now people are also wondering what tower is a monitor. But it's just. It was one of my favorite videos. And I already had known you and Streeter at this point. And so, like, to me, it was just like my friends being in a very funny video. And that one has always stuck with me. And I'm going to track that down and I'll send it to you as well. There's no way to find it because all you remember is an umbrella. Streeter opening umbrella in front of computer. Right. Streeter hardly working. I mean, all the hardly working cannot still be online. That would be fucking banana. I mean, I'm sure that would be illegal. Yeah. Streeter wouldn't have a job for one. Yeah. About time. Take that down a peg or two, actually. And Streeter is. Before Bohemian Rhapsody, college humor produced some dumb, like, Beer Fest games and hired a production company that I was working at. And then I was on that shoot as just a funny person to help produce. And like, I was like a AP or. And I met Streeter, who plays a referee in. In that episode in whatever this fucking dumb thing was. And so we had a. A van ride two hours north out of New York City and back where him and I connected. And then I think when you were looking for an actor for Bohemian Rhapsody, he's like, I have I met a guy who's 24 and seems like a frat borough. Yeah, nailed it. Slight less nerdy than Jeff Rubin, so I think he's perfect. Slightly less nerdy. Yeah. He falls somewhere in between the Jake and Amir spectrum. In between Pat and Jeff. Thank you. Question mark. Thank you, Sad face. Amir. We should. I would love to have a longer conversation over one single beer about. Bring the podcast back, baby. We gotta record it. About all the dumb videos I did and some of the memories of those people we worked with back in. I mean, you really worked with. But I feel like I was around a lot. I mean, I'm still friends with so many of those people. So randomly like Vinnie Pione and itext, you know what I mean? It's like these people that I've now known for 20 years. Yeah, our 20s was actually 20 years ago at this point. It's kind of crazy to think I graduated college in 04, which is the year on at like, bodegas that you need to have been born in to buy beer now. And that seems fucking crazy. Like, people born the year I graduated college can legally drink. That's upsetting. That's correct. It's like LeBron guarding kids who were not born when he was drafted. Oh, God, that's terrifying. And in a way, we are the LeBron James of digital comedy. I've been saying that for years. Yeah, I've been saying on the Magic Johnson Genie bus. Those are two different people. I think. I think I'm confusing that with Magic School Bus. I smell a college humor original. That is all it takes is like one pun and seven minutes later. No, that was one thing. You guys did, right? They were always like, three minutes, so that's. Thank you. Appreciate it. Except for Bohemian Rhapsody, which is, like, the length of the song, which is like six minutes. It's a long song. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Amir, this has been a real pleasure, bud. Thank you so much for coming on. Good work. Thank you again, and congratulations. We'll send you a trophy. 500 headgum episodes. Here's five record that some say should never be broken. And unfortunately, it will be someone better. You'll have to ship that trophy to Jeff Rosenberg in a year. Also joining me on the 500th episode, one of my favorite persons to read when it comes to television because she watches even more than I do. It's Ashley. Ray. Hey. I'm so glad to be here. Five hundred. Five hundred. Five fucking hundred. Jesus Christ. It seems insane. I've never done anything for 10 years straight. Like, there's not any I've had. I mean, I guess I've been married for 20 plus years. Uh, but smoking pot. That's it. Smoking weed. I'm on. I'm on 14 days off right now. Okay. Wow. So I did promise many people I would take a break in the new year. Then the fires happened, and I got stuck in cal. In Chicago for, like, a week because all my flights got canceled. And I was like, hey, if I'm going to be stuck in Chicago, I'm smoking pot. So. Well, dude, it's super relatable. Like, I was like, the world is testing, like. Like, they're like. I'm like, I'm gonna take a little time off at the beginning of January. And the world is like, oh, yeah. Well, here's. Here's bad news after bad news. Yeah, we're gonna be burning trees. Well, that was the other thing, too. I felt like I'm like. I'm, like, locking the windows up and sealing them and running air filters for aqi. And then I'm about to, like, blast a blunt in my. I was like, maybe I could keep taking some time off, but I'm going to Florida to visit my mom, and I think in order to engage with family, I will. I am packing joints is when I guess what I'm saying. I intend to break, but this is the longest I've been off since I was, like, 26. Like, it's crazy. I lived in Germany for a bit when I was 21, and the first three months I was there, I couldn't find a weed dealer. And that's the longest break I've ever. Yeah, My other break before this was 10 days in Colombia on vacation, like, because I was drinking. Oh, you know, I did go to. I went to Columbia, too. And you know what? I was there for, like, a month. And actually, the first week, I did not have weed. Then a friend brought me some, and then I went to Santa Marta, and I found a guy who sold me the bunkest weed I've ever had on a beach. And I was just like, fine. I tried to buy weed from one of those guys who was trying to sell me coke, or as they called it, their white coffee. He's like. He's like, you need white coffee. I'm like, I need green coffee. Coffee. And like. And he was like. And then he held up a vape, and I'm like, brother, no disrespect, but I don't even want to. I don't even want to smoke vapes from companies, no less. A guy on the street. I do not trust this shit. Yeah. Oh. When I said I wanted weed, this guy was like, hold on. This will be a whole thing. He left for, like, 40 minutes and was like, don't leave. I'll come back here. And he came back 40 minutes later with just the worst dime bag. He even got me, like, a little bowl because he knew. He was like, you're not going to find papers or anything here. And it burns, like. You know when it's bad, and it burns, like, black. And you're like, oh, yeah, no, this is Lee. It was that. And I was just like, been there. I've been there. Vacation weed is always the wildest. You would think, like, when you go to the islands, you're like, oh, this black. No stereotyping. But this black dude with dreads who runs the Jet Ski thing, this probably has bomb weed. Nope. No, not at all. Yeah, you get a little spoiled from California. Even when I went to Amsterdam, I was like, oh, the weed is not as good as I get in California. In Chicago, weed is legal. And my friends were like, oh, come on. This dispensary. And I was like, first of, this is a weed prison. You can't even see the products. You have to look at a computer screen, and then they bring it out of a cage. And I was like, no. In California, you could go into a. Like, a head shot or, like, one of the illegal weed shops, and they'll just be like, do you want to just put your face in the barrel? Scoop it out? Go ahead. You want to chew on this? I will say, I think some of my favorite dispensaries I've been to, and this might be solely financially, are in Oregon. I found in Portland. Like, you get, like, the level of care and customer service that you get in California, but you get the price point of not being in Los Angeles, where you're like, I'm like, wait, how much is it for this? I was there for one week with the travel show, and I dropped. And on the last day, I was like. I was doing the math that a Delta flight, because I'm a. I'm a diamond. I'm like, if I. If I use miles to fly to Portland to buy weed and smuggle it back, it would, like, save me money. Like, it's fucking crazy. You can straight up get, like, $50 ounces there. And it's good weed. It's not like, the stuff here where you're like, oh, it might give me cancer. It's, like, actually good weed and it's cheap there. Yeah, it's wild to be like, I might become a legal weed drug runner, like, of my pee. I mean, walking through TSA with, like, a brick in my ass just. Just to bring it back. Well, I mean, in the Portland airport, they don't even give a shit. I have taken so much weed through there. And, like, I one time just melted weed because I tried to smoke what I had outside. Then I was like, whatever, I'll put it in the back. And the guy just looked at me and laughed and was like, yeah, lady, it's fine. This is fucking porn. I'd rather you just go through with the weed than everyone stand outside trying to smoke their last date. Yeah, it's nice when you finally meet a TSA agent who's also an anarchist. But that could really only. Only happened at the Portland airport. And only with weed, actually. Anything else, please be strict with it. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Water beat me to death for having a bottle of water, but let me get fucking six blunts through. Ashley. It's 2025. The year is kicking off. I come to you for these recommendations all the time. What are you watching or what Are you excited about coming back? We were briefly talking about severance off Mike. So severance season two, I'm hyped for. I think 2025 is the year of severe severance. We've been waiting three years for this season. Mad long. Yeah. So I think everyone is just eager. If you haven't rewatched the previous season, do it. You still have some time. I did, and I was like, thank God, because I forgot half of what happened. So dive back in, get Ready? Because every review is a plus. 5 stars, 100% on every critic score so far. I don't think Ben Stiller is letting us down. Okay. No, he doesn't. I don't. Like, the cast is phenomenal. That first season was so interesting. And it wasn't like, yes, the last episode is bananas, but it's not one of those, like, Netflix kind of shows. Not to use them as a, like, example here, scapegoat here, but where you're like, oh, the last moment of the last episode is tight, but who cares about a second season from this, like, severance has got me hyped for a second season. Yeah. I mean, they had the cast yesterday, like, in a glass box in, like, Grand Central Station or something. Thing. Like a deal. That is. Apple TV does not promote their shows. Yeah. I mean, nobody does anymore. Not like that. Not marketing stuff. That's fucking exciting. Yeah. They went from, like, no billboards to, like, get them out there, get them in the street. People gotta watch the second season. I could not believe that Adam Scott and Britt Lauer and fucking Zach Cherry were all there. Like, that's even crazier. Not people who kind of look like them. Yeah. Kind of look like most activations are. It's like, oh, they kind of look like them. Or like, oh, I. I guess like, Zach had time, but of course, not getting at it. And it's like, no, they all were there. Yeah. Fucking hell. Good for them. Yeah. Severance I'm very excited for. Yeah. I'll give you a true crime one because there is a really good new true crime show that's premiered on Max called the Curious Case Of. You might be familiar with it with the Curious Case of Natalia Grace. If you watch that whole thing, which did have a third part that came out, it is worth watching. That story is insane. But they've made a spin off that's just called the Curious Case of. And each episode looks at an in depth, like, wild Internet case that you thought you knew and you don't. The first episode is all about Bam Margera and, like, the guardianship he's under. How he, like, fought his brother and tried to kill his whole family. He got forced into a guardianship and rehab with this woman who created VR AI software to help homeless people stop being addicted. Oh, this sounds like straight up. She created something that she used as to test on unhoused people is the sign of, like, that's what villains do in TV shows and movies. It is 100% like, the worst black mirror experiment. She like, found this guy who's like, yeah, I interview homeless people. And she's like, do you think they'd be willing to come into my practice, put on this VR headset where I put them in the most triggering situations they've ever been in and recreate, like, the streets? And then I just kind of monitor how they do. Jesus Christ. Like, she ended up, like, one of the people in it died. It was this whole controversy, and a lot of people don't know she is the person they brought in to be like, could you help Bam Margera? Jesus now. And we. And each. And each week will be a new one episode. Yeah, one episode. So, like, you get the full story. Like, it's not like you end this and you're like, oh, come on. It is like, oh, yeah. Everyone involved in this is probably horrible. Please, someone help Bam Margera. I hope his wife that he married is actually a good person. But the doc will just leave you, like, oh, no. Oh, goodness. That's. That's fun, too, because I'm so tired of having to watch, like, four episodes to get, like, what I think. As much as I love the Grey's Anatomy liar story, just because of, like, I love comeuppance for liars, and I love, like, right in the room gossip, even. Yeah. And so it. It hit really hard. But I was like, this could have been one episode. That could have been one episode. Like, when it just got. Yeah. When it got to some of the parts where they were just like. And then she lied about her favorite kind of cookies. Yeah. Right. Okay. But then she was asking us to bring her these cookies. I was like, I don't know that we needed these details, I think. No, we. We already hate her for the Tree of Life synagogue line. Like, we do not need to go much deeper than that. But, yeah, we're. We're good here. Here. But, you know, there's some good true crime out this year, and I'll. I'll give you more good shows to high potential. I'm obsessed. Okay. High potential is the. I mean, first of all, Kaitlyn Olsen, one of the best to do it best. I think she's a modern Lucille Ball. Agreed. She and she. We. Me and my wife just randomly the other night because she loves high potential so much. We re. I've Re. I've watched all of it, so Always Sunny. I'm like, you should watch It's Always Sunny. Because we also started AP Bio, I love. Which is having a resurgence because they finally put the whole thing on Netflix, and people are like, wait, what is this amazing show Glenn Howerton was in? And I'm like, I was screaming about it. Yeah. I watched a few episodes on the day because I had friends that worked on it and I liked it, but I never, like, locked in. And now my wife's watching that and High Potential. And I'm like, babe, if you love these two actors, you're going to love it. So he. Sunny. She put. We put on. It's always sunny. And Caitlyn is so raw in these first. In the first episodes, I'm like, she really can do anything. But let's High Potential. High Potential is the show I want to exist. Yes. A light comedy that's also a procedural, starring someone who can hold a show down and also with, like, an emotional heart of a missing person case that will make you cry every so often. That Peace Story is such a. Or Running Sea Story is such a brilliant fucking idea. It adds such a layer to the show. And it's not much. They kiss it, like, every once in a while. It's always just like, a little bit. If you're caught in the latest episode, the cliffhanger is literally just one guy going, yeah, you guys used to call yourself the Rays. I know your family. And then he gets out and walks into a church, and it's truly the most bomb moment. You're like, oh, my God, he does now. And when I tried to tell my friends later, they're like, so he knew their last name. What do you. Okay. And you're like, you don't understand. They've been giving me, like, morsels for fucking. Maybe he did run away. Oh, no. The car was found. It's such a good show. I think it's the return of network tv. Okay. That's what it does feel like. Also, no one else in the cast is anyone. I mean, with the exception of the Scrubs Nurse. I can't remember the actor's name right now. Who? I love Scrubs Nurse. The guy the, like, her main kind of cop partner guy. I think I've recognized him as, like, the hot guy in some things. You know, he seems to play like the hot guy in hour longs. Yeah. Hot kind of bad guy. Yeah. And I like him. And then I love that it's with the Janitor edition. It's not about her and him. The hot cop. Yeah. I'm glad that they go, will they, won't they? Between them, it's like, that's pure business, baby. I like that. They are like Platoon. Like, it's rare. You see Fun, man, woman, platonic relationships. Yeah. And then they just tease each other. She's like, you're so dumb. He's like, oh, you think you're so smart. You're a psycho. It's the best. And who wouldn't love a show where the premise is a woman joins the cops because she's a funny genius and she doesn't have to do any of the cop bullshit. They just bring her on to help cases because she's cool. It's like, such a cool idea. Kind of put things together, and it's like, she's a consultant. She's not a real cop. It's fine. It's such fantasy, because it would be like, what I dream of. Of like. Well, actually, Gabrius, you are pretty aware of a lot of things going on in the world. You could help us. And I'd be like, I can. I know I can. Look, I do believe I could be a detective. I believe you could too. I follow your social media. You have. I was gonna say, before Christmas. I did solve the case of who killed JonBenet Ramsey. Dude, if people are not following Ashley, she is one of the best followers, because you are maybe have hyper fixation issues. And I do. I do. That is very much true. And you are capable of insane things where you're like, hey, in the last two weeks, I've watched every single documentary about mountain climbing, and I have strong opinions about mountain climbing now out of nowhere. And that's why I love you on social media. A, you watch everything. So I like to see your reviews. And then the third one is you just randomly, every once in a while, receive the ire of the entire Internet, and you do not back down. And I'm like, it's like, you made one joke about polyamory this week. As of this week, you made a joke about polyamory, of which you are a participant in the culture, and everyone is attacking you, and you are not standing down. And it makes me such a great follow because I somehow make both sides mad. Like, people were angry because they were like, I just hate polyamorous people, and I hate that you're joking about it. And then polyamorous people were like, I hate that you joked about this because you're not polyamorous, so you can't. And then when I'm like, well, I am. So now what? Now everybody's just mad. I. My other favorite controversy got embroiled in was just like, yeah, I can eat 100 milligram edible. And everyone's like, no, you Fucking cannot. You'll die. You'll die. And I was like, I. It's. I've done it. I'm alive. I'm not saying it's the best plan, but you're just going to fall asleep and probably miss your Uber eats order. That's all. That's. Don't drive, but you can definitely handle 100 milligram cookie. Okay. Like, I watched some TV shows, some movies, and it was chill. Everything was fine. I'll tell you what, I've been on this tear of mediocre, mediocre to good Netflix thriller series because this last I needed, like, that's a comfort food of mine. And this week I've needed it. And I've been kind of trapped indoors with more time. So I've watched, like, Black Doves, the Recruit. I just watched the Madness with Colman Domingo, and they're all pretty good. But. But I just, like, I did the Madness and. Is Colman Domingo's voice the best voice I've ever heard? It sounds so artificial, you know? Like, it sounds so. Like you're like, Are there actual people who speak like this? There is at least one, yeah. I like, practice. And then it's the. You watch him in anything, and that's just his voice. Yeah. You're like, oh, okay. That is. That is wild. And it's so real. Muncie Daniels. Great fucking name for a lead, too. Yeah, I've been doing a lot of those on Netflix, too. I think it's. I did the new season of Squid Games and Frank. I haven't done that yet. Yeah, it's very disappointing. Basically, they took this last season because the guy was like, look, I don't want to do three seasons of this show. Like, I didn't want to do more than one. And Netflix is like, but you see how much money it gives us. So let's figure this out. Give you money? Would you like more money? So he was like, I'll do a final season. And Netflix said, we're going to cut it in two. So this second season, it is truly your. Like, what? Okay, I watched like 10. Like, what did we learn here? Like, it's. Oh, I think I'll have to wait for the next part to drop. I think the next part comes out in November. And I've just been telling everybody, just wait, because it's so frustrating. And just as it ends, you're like, we finally got to the point. Like, let's see. That's what I was talking about, that Netflix shit, where they're like, they're building it all to make you watch another season. Another season. So I do feel like Netflix has fallen off a bit lately. I just. Even with the kind of documentaries. I used to love a Netflix doc. They had a Jerry Springer one that just came out. Not worth your time. Yeah, they. I don't like the, like, the way they approach docs anymore. Like, they're a little too poppy. Yeah. Like. And I want them. I don't want them to be. What's the. What's the documentaries you always make? Discovery id. I don't need it to be Discovery id. I need it to be. It doesn't need to be that. And I hate that they've become their own formula, whereas, like, used to. What I love about real docs is that when. When a different director or producer makes them, they feel different, you know, and now they all feel too similar with, like. It's just like, the same form coming every time. The Jerry Springer one, it was like. And the whole doc is just like, hey, the Jerry Springer Show. Did you know that people had problems with it and it was kind of a crazy show? Yeah. Yes, I knew. I knew that when I was watching it. It's like, yeah, I don't think anyone. When we were watching this was like, this is good. I think everyone. This is good for society. There's like, this wave of documentaries right now where they try to convince you that everyone loved a thing and that's why they're making this doc. It's like, no, we didn't all love Jerry Springer. We all knew it was bad. We were all kind of forced to watch it, which I think young people might not understand of just like. It's like, there was no. It was fun, but if I was home, I'd be like, I guess I'm watching Jerry Springer. I'm watching Jerry and, you know, end up jerking off to women bodybuilders on the Richard Bay show without being homesick. Unless you don't have cable tv. It's like, Wheel of Fortune went off. Now it's Jerry. That's how. Exactly. There was also a doc on Peacock about Girls Gone Wild. And personally, growing up, I always saw those commercials and was like, yeah, that's not good. Those girls are drunk and being taken advantage of, and I don't want to do that. It's bad. And this documentary is like, actually, every millennial woman desired to be on Girls Gone Wild. It was the great honor amongst women. We all wanted it and thought this was a great thing, and it was popular and cool. And I'm just like, what? Okay, sure, I guarantee there are a handful of women who wanted that, but I do not believe society did. I'm pretty sure society was like this Joe Francis guy. I'm not going to get in a Winnebago. And I mean, did I use my parents credit card to order it and did I get in big trouble for it? Yes. But I'm a heterosexual. Boy, at the time, I think most girls were like, I think there's a reason these commercials come on at like 11 o'clock night when all the kids go to sleep. And yeah, that guy's a creep. Like, God, the amount of things from my childhood that I kind of just like lived in. And now with like hindsight, I'm like, I was participating in something awful. Like, I just remember being like a kid and being like, Monica Lewinsky sucked his dick. Like, that's fucking crazy. And now I'm like, wait, she was 20. Like, you know, like, he was the president. Yeah. As an adult, I'm like, wait a minute. She was howled. And this. Wait, yeah, like, like I had to watch American Crime Story Impeachment to get the real story. Okay, Ashley, before I let you get out of here, is there anything maybe outside of TV or in your personal life that you want to do or are looking forward to doing in 2025? Do you have anything lined up that you're excited about or even just like, I'm going to try to do blank this year? Well, turns out in 2025, I am learning how to speak to Chinese. Oh, right, yes, they're taking TikTok, which I actually don't even. I barely use TikTok. I don't care about TikTok. But everybody was like, rednote, it's this new Chinese app. We're just gonna download it because fuck America, if you're gonna tell us we can't use Chinese stuff, we're gonna do it. Well, it's sort of funny. Cause it's like, oh, we never did it because we had TikTok. They're like, well, we're gonna ban TikTok. It's like, fine, we'll just go to the naked. Eliminate the middleman. This is now a. We're going to the Chinese TikTok. Yeah, the real Chinese red Note. We will sell your data app. And I'm hitting yes. Track me, take, have it all. They're teaching me so much over there. I look, I'm already number one on the Duolingo Mandarin Chinese. Like, like emerald board. Okay, I'm Winning that one. I'm in. I'm learning the language. That's such a. I mean, that's a true smart move for when we're eventually America's a Chinese colony or whatever, you know? This is hot tea, baby. I love it. Okay. I love all the memes that are coming out or the images I'm seeing of like, hi, my name is Brian, and I'm your Chinese spy. I'll be reading all of your information and reporting it back to my government, the Americans who are like me being fluent in Mandarin after being forced to use this app for three months, it's like them singing these Chinese ballads. That's gonna be me. I'm all in on it. And also, I just want to say I absolutely do believe the Chinese are gonna take over the world. That language is so hard. I. If they can all know that they're genius. Yeah, that's like a buy in. That's a buy in. That's wild to be raised on that. Yeah. I'm like, oh, they're all mega geniuses. Our. Where our thing is stupid. You just learn an Alphabet and you sound it out and they're like, 10. And I have, like, a million characters memorized because that's just how we do it, right? Oh, yeah. I'm reading it and writing it is even Seems even more intense. Yeah. Another great joke I saw was, hi, can Chinese people make a joke about Americans that what's like, a stereotype about us? They were like, why do you eat, like, you have free health care? The realest shit? That shit hits hard. It's so good. I saw somewhere they're like, why do you drink your beer at, like, ping pong tables? It makes us stronger. Yes, I saw that. Ashley, thank you for being on the show over the years, talking TV or getting high with me on stage. I appreciate that. It's been. You're an example of someone who I don't know if I would have ever become friends with if not for podcasting. So, like, at least there's one positive to the industry I could find. Doing your pod chat, chopping it up, doing mine, getting to know you. And it's been a real treat to become your friend over these last few years. It has been so great. Congrats on 500 episodes. It's always a blast. Thank you so much. 500 more. Yeah. Follow Ashley Ray. Please be Ashley Ray on everything, including Red Note. Get on Red Notes. See what she's doing. I can't wait to see you fully adopt Chinese culture. It's Good. In Chinese. Okay, I'm in. Fuck, yeah. All right, babe. Thank you so much. Thanks so much. Hey, Mike. Also joining me for the 500th and finale of High and Mighty. He's been a guest numerous times and trivia. The first podcast I was ever a guest on was his. It's Matt Bessa. Wow, I didn't know that. Trivia. I'm going to put that in the Improv for Humans trivia game. Yeah. I believe the episode was me, Conroy, Hubel, and you. And it was at the old Earwolf Studios, the ones that were on Sunset and before. I had just moved here, and you were like, you should come do my podcast. And I had never done one. As a matter of fact, I don't even think I knew you had a pod. I only thought of, like, this American Life and WTF as podcasts. And then. So that was my first experience. I'm like, this is fun. Because I've long loved the radio. Harold. Like, or the bats, as we used to call it back in the day. Yeah. Ask cat for the ears, my brother. But remember back in those times when podcast was a new word? I. I literally remember being in a car with Scott Ockerman and him explaining the word to me. And I think my thought bubble was like, so you record radio. I don't understand what the concept is here. So the radio show gets recorded and you can listen to it later. Yeah. Gino Lombardo, his. My first appearance on Comedy Bang Bang was me not understanding podcasting. And I kept calling it DV off a radio, TiVo radio. But it's just wild. There was a time in my life when I was like, what is podcasting? And there, like, when the app showed up on your iPhone, I was like, whoa, what the the is this? And then all of a sudden, I'm like, now. Been a huge part of my life the last decade. It's been how I've kept my lights on. It's how I've met so many people. That's all I am now. I'm a podcaster. Yeah. I'm no longer better for worse. It's like, it's. It's silly for me to go, I'm an actor in Hollywood. Really? The joke I always make is like, I'm an actor, writer, comedian. But my. My tax guy, my accountant would say, I'm a podcaster, since I don't make any money doing anything else. And not, like, I make a lot doing this, but it's definitely not my acting money. My SAG money ain't exactly where my podcast money is. Oh, brother. No, no. And I'm so blessed to have found it. Like. Like you. We're like. I mean, obviously, maybe some listeners are young, but I was a comedy radio guy growing up. Like, I loved Howard and I loved Opie. Okay, hold on. Let's just pause on that, Howard, because I was about to say that earlier I wasn't doing podcasting. I'd have to track it. But I'd say the first two or three years of the Improv for Humans podcast was not a podcast. It was me doing my. My. Me doing cosplay of Howard Stern. I was trying to do the Howard Stern show meets Ass Cat. Right. Like, we had. We had Eric, the paid intern who I'd mess with. Right. You would have people call in, kind of argue with them and stuff like that. Yeah. And that was all me wanting to be. Do the Howard Stern thing. I'd grown up listening to him and loved him all the way till very recently. I haven't listened to him much since, actually, in last few years, but for so many years, he was the best. Yeah, he was a huge part of my life. Opie and Anthony. My dad worked 3pm to 11pm in the city, so he was always home in the mornings. Granted, I was at school frequently, but if I wasn't, he would have on. On talk radio all day long. It would be Mike and the Mad Dog, Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony and Imus in the morning, Don Imus. So it'd be like four hours of talk radio while my dad did chores and worked out or whatever the fuck he was doing around the house. And so, like, I was. That was just instilled in me. And then you would, like, overhear these things that were, like, maybe a little risque, and they'd be like, this is playing in the car. Car while we're driving to the beach. They're saying like, oh, you know, he's like, ba, ba boo. Like, all the bullshit is happening. You grew up in that where? It was just. I. I grew up in Arkansas, and the first time I heard Howard Stern, it was sent to me in the mail on a cassette tape. Yeah, I luckily was. I would listen what the things you're saying. I'm like, holy moly. I can't believe this guy is doing this on the radio. Were you. And I know you did the May I help you, dumbass. Which I guess, you know, could easily be a podcast idea. I mean, you know, privacy and caller ID has changed that a lot. But, like, I Was a Jerky Boys fan big time when that tape came out when I was a kid. Like, I so like all these audio mediums and I always make the joke. I'm old enough that my college major has the word radio in the title. I was a radio, tv, film major. And I'm like, what the fuck am I gonna do at radio? I graduate in 04. I'm like, no one's listening to the radio. What does TV mean, though? Exactly? Yeah. Now what does TV mean? I don't know. And now I'm. I know now the major is probably called content, which would make me fucking shoot up a school. When I tell my daughter, like, just go watch tv. She literally almost doesn't know what I mean. Like, oh, I gotta go watch. I can't use my iPad. I gotta use the TV in your room to watch a streaming service saying tv. TV is just the device now. Yeah, for us it was like. It was like the. The medium, but now it's the device. You don't want to go, I'm an actor in streaming. Yeah, yeah. Sounds like someone's pissing on me. Catch me on your iPad. Like, you know, like, tune in. Don't forget to open up your iPad Wednesday nights at 8:30 to watch my new Peacock series. I feel like fucking insane. Yeah, dude, the thing that just paid my sag. I guess I shouldn't make fun of it. I probably still signed something that said I shouldn't, but it's part of a device I don't even have or know how to operate. I'm like, I'm the guy for this. And check this out. I'm like, I don't even know how to do this or where to find me. Dude, that's me. I'm like, I'll do anything that's SAG to keep my. I lost my health insurance post pandemic for like a year and had to pay out of pocket. And I'm like, well, I can never let that happen again. So cut to me being in like, a fucking Harry's ad. I'll do whatever it fucking takes to make sure I make that number. Now. Blue Chew. I'm in the Blue Chew ad. What happened to my boner? Didn't that guy used to be on Modern Family? This can get my boner back. Thank you. Cool. Thanks, Bluechew. Thank you, Adair. It feels so crazy to be wrapping this up at 500 episodes. It doesn't feel crazy to be done at 500 because that seems like. I don't think I've done 500 of anything in my life. But it also. So it feels. I don't know, it feels good. Like, I'm not out of podcasting because I'll still be doing Action Boys and maybe some other stuff. No, if you retiring from podcasting, that'd be ridiculous. I'd be moving home. I'd be moving to my mom's house. You know, I don't want to go. Everyone should focus on one thing because that's what I'm doing. But, you know, there is sense. That does make sense to some degree. Yeah. No, it feels good to like, remove some stuff from my plate of like booking guests and uploading and the constant, like the one thing that if you're like, I never want to miss a week, which is kind of, I think, important to the, to the medium. It ends up being a touch overwhelming at times where you're like, okay, well, it's Wednesday. I got to get an episode up on Thursday. Hey, Emma, can you edit tonight? I was finally able to get someone to talk to me for 90 only one time because of crazy scheduling. I had to do a solo episode where I answered questions on Twitter because I just like, could. I had. I felt the need to put one up and I was like, fuck it, I'll just go. And then if you want to feel crazy, talk an hour into a microphone with no one responding. I. I'm not good at that. When I used to listen to Marin do the. I just thought to myself, I can't do that. I have to. And that, you know, speaking of Howard, you know, Brett is my Robin and my Fred wrapped into one. And I feel silly. I would feel silly having a sound engineer there and not talk engaging with them to them. That seems weird to me. I talked about that briefly with Amir. Cause when I first started, he was engineering the episode. Even though he was the owner of the Headcom company. He also was engineering the episodes. And I would be like, I need to learn how to operate this H6. So you are not in the room. Because I either need to engage with you, but the premise of my show is kind of like, let's have a long form conversation. And just having a third person there looking at levels with headphones would give me too. Like, it started giving me too much anxiety. And I'm like, the one thing I didn't want to learn was the tech of podcasting. But I had to do it just to get one less person in the room for the same reason, because I felt like. But now I have a guest who I invited to come on my show and now I'm engaging. You know what I mean? Like, it didn't make sense with my format, so I had to like, be like, okay, time to learn how H6 Dropbox, Zoom, fucking QuickTime, all this stuff that I never wanted to learn, I've now had to learn. Kind of like when I edited my first reel together. And I'm like, I guess I'll learn Final Cut Pro. I guess I'll learn how to edit and produce. Ugh, nightmare. Look, let's get Back to the 500. You are one of the great podcaster entertainers, my friend. Thanks for that. All your listeners know that. And 500's a nice round number to end something at. But whatever yayas you get from this format, you can still do as whatever an extra episode of Action Boys or whatever you still have have that platform to get right. Whatever this is of this podcast and this part of your skill set that you like to work every once in a while, you can still do that and find that. Yeah, I even have said to myself that I want to do more. Like, the thing I like most about podcasting is talking to someone who's like smart and funny for an hour. And I'm like, I could do that over lunch and not record it. And I'm like, my 2025 resolution is to catch up more with. With in IRL unrecorded. Because that's what appeals to me too is talking to people like and having the pretenses of like, you should come on my podcast was like, hey, you're Sarah Squirm. You make me laugh a lot. Would you be. But this was pre snl, obviously. Would you. Do you have anything you want to plug? You can come on my podcast and do it to my small audience, you know, and getting to like catch up with people like that. She's also a Long Islander and big Howard Stern head too. So it was, it was a treat. But it's one of those things where the stuff I will miss from High and Mighty. I like you're saying I can get elsewhere and I will learn to seek it out elsewhere, but I'll always, I'll always want to be doing a podcast because it does. It feels like such a great companion to like or a model modern version of always doing, always having a live show. You're doing. Right. Yeah. And even though you never feel I was self deprecating to or including you and the deprecation of that's what we are podcasters, but so fucking what? Yeah. I mean, it's just. It's just as crazy. That's the new medium. It's just a crazy. Crazy as a word is I'm an improviser. Like, you know what I mean? Like, they're both just like, what are those? And you're like, yeah. No, it's what I dedicated my life to. Like, it doesn't seem. Or if you were to say, what, years ago, what I thought a road led to was, I want to be a film actor, a comedic film actor, and I'd love to be a sitcom actor. Okay, cut to today. I literally don't think my daughter knows what the word sitcom means. So that. That's almost like there's so the bear. It's like that show. The bear is just hitting us in the face of, like, there's no such thing as sitcoms anymore, you dumb fox. How many times does the bear have to win? Because that's what there are. Sitcoms. Are you little. So that. That's no longer even a thing. Right. And then comedy movies, there's so few. And there's. It's. I don't know who the last one was. It's like Steve Carell or right there. We haven't even had her name. We haven't even had someone. Yeah. Since then, there hasn't been like, oh, that person's in a movie and everyone goes, sees the comedy movie. That doesn't exist anymore. No, I know. That's exactly. That's exactly. My exact thing is, like, I want to be in comedy movies. I don't care if I'm just like, the small part. But, you know, you watch, like, grow up. Watch the fucking McKay movies, the feral movies, the. The Apatow movies. Before that, the fucking Zazz movies, the. The Ben Stiller movies, the Jim Carrey movies. And you're like, I want to be the guy who's like, in the hot dog stand. I want to do that one scene. Like, that could be me. I could be in these. Pretty much, Sandler's the last man standing. I feel like him. He already has making. He already has a list of 11 friends who get called for every. Oh, yeah. And I love that about him. I gotta say, I'm jealous. I'm bummed that I'm not one of them. Exactly. When I see some of those guys, I'm like, there's that guy again. Only in Sandler movies. Good for Sandler. Yeah. It's such a fun. It's. Yeah. He's the only one doing, like, he has what I think would be my dream career, which is impossible to even. I don't think there's a path to it now. Like. Like, no. And there's a lot of people with much bigger names than us. That's their dream career, and they can't get there. And they can't get there either. Right, right. That's the crazy thing. And it's so. There is, like, this realist moment of, like, the thing I do want to be doing, though, is actively trying to make people laugh. And if the reason I can do that is pushing out a podcast every week or, you know, a couple a week doing live shows, I. That's. That's the artistic pursuit. Yes. I'm bummed that I can't get, like, I did 50 episodes of ABC sitcom, and now I have a house. Like, fine. That'll never be what I get. Like, which was what? You know, I thought my whole. The last 20 years, at some point I'd turn a corner and it'd be like, now I'm in everything, like all the other comedy people. And now that. That's not a thing I'm realizing I'm like, all right, well, then keeping myself, you know, engaged in the world and making people laugh is enough. It is actually what I really wanted. I thought. I didn't want. I. I didn't always think it would be really cool to be in seventh lead in a bad sitcom. I wanted that money so that I could just keep doing this other bullshit. Oh, man. That is the blessing is that. That is one of the blessings of podcasting is it's very easy, it's affordable to do, and you can put it out to a lot of people. People without having to answer to anybody else. Yeah, there's so few gatekeepers, especially once you're on Patreon or Eventful or whatever those. Those are called. Like, once you're doing that, you're really, you know, and people are paying. And so there's like, this element of, like, I'm appreciative of what you're doing, and I can tell you're appreciative of what I'm doing because you're paying. So there's, like, this interesting, like, dichotomy where now there's no gatekeepers and people are getting what they want from me, and I'm giving and I'm doing what I want for other people with no one to step in and go, like, actually, I think we could rebuild this first act of this conversation about this Dolph Lundgren movie, and we can really develop it into something, you know, you're like, walk away. I do not need this at all in my life. Just like it. It feels like back in the day doing shows, you know what I mean, where you're like, no, maybe this is only funny for like the nine people standing here and under St. Mark's but these nine people are having the time of their lives. We are on stage having the time of our lives. And now with, with podcasting, you just don't have to be hope for only NYU students in the East Village to show up. You know, it's people with the Internet connection or an extra $5 a month lying around. And now all of a sudden. And you don't even need that big of a crowd. This is the other thing I always talk about with podcasting. If you got 250 people at your UCB show on 26th street, that was a fucking jammed house and that felt electric. If you had a hundred, still a great fucking house. If you had 50, you could do a show for them. And then all of a sudden podcasting is like, it could be 10 listeners or a thousand or a hundred thousand, and you don't even know. So there is like, you get to have that same juice, I feel like. But you know that 15,000 listeners is like my average, or 15 or 20,000 is my average listeners on high and mighty. Which is not amazing if you're trying to sell ads on a podcast. But if you're, we're happy your entire 20s with a hundred people in a crowd, this is 15x that. Like, that's exciting. That is. Yeah. I try to remember that and appreciate that a lot. And when you go to another town and they come out and support live show, that seems even more real. And I mentioned on episode 498, which has been out, that I'm winding it down and people have been really sweet and forthcoming with compliments and more listeners than I thought I had who were like, I've listened to all 500 episodes. I was like, jesus Christ. And that feels good too. To know that people were along for the ride and it wasn't just shouting, shouting into the void. That is the one. If we're comparing, continue to compare live shows to podcasting. You don't get to hear a shit ton of laughs. You only get to read the Reddit thread is like attacking you from one freak, but not the 14,999 other fans who are excited. They're just at home laughing. That's a good positive. Thank you, John. I'm Glad I have people like you and my wife in my life. I just. I never. Danielle's so happy to hear that. When she said, I'm so happy to have you and Gabriel's in my life, she's like, thank you. You do put me above him, right? But it's. It's hard. It's hard to remember because it's easy to focus on the negatives. It's easy to focus on the shit. Our pay, Our Patreon's down $15 this month. Or people hated this bid or whatever, you know, and it's like, that's three to six people of the X amount of people you have. It's like. And also the other thing is the Internet and this feedback loop, like, spotlights the two negative loud voices. You're less likely to have, like, 10. Your most loyal listeners are probably not going, great app this week. Every time you drop one, they're just going, I'm here. I loved it. I'm moving on with my life, people. It doesn't have to be a thou. It doesn't have to be 300 people. Like, I just went down to Miami because my in laws live near there, and I decided I'm just going to do a show at a theater down there. Fuck it, the Villain Theater. But I looked at my subscriber list. I'm like, oh, boy. Only got like five subscribers in Miami, man. I don't know if I'm going to get a grind crowd. But I did get a crowd, like, and for whatever the size of that theater was. And then they were very appreciative afterwards, the five, especially if that. You know what I mean? Like, that, you know, there are people who, like, feel that. And then this is also another power of podcasting. If you go to another town and do a show and only 35 people show up, but you can air it as a podcast, you know what I mean? Like, then it's not like, oh, we lost money, or this is humbling. It's while these 35 people listen to it, and now 15,000 more again. Like, and like, the 35 that got to be there live with me when the recording is fucked up, too. And it's just like, you guys didn't press record, dude, I did a whole show in Seattle with Devin Field. He happened to be in town. I'm like, bro, you got to come on my pod. I'm. I'm torn. And at the end, I'm like, so how do you want to do this? Like a USB thing? Or like. And the woman Was the woman engineer was like, wait, what? And I'm like, do you want to. Like, we transferred. Like, we didn't record it. I'm like, you didn't record it? And in my head, I go, I should have said ahead of time. Let's confirm how we're going to record this. But I just assumed you knew a podcast taping had recording involved. And I was like, nope. Wait a minute. You definitely. Yes. You were in Boise. Yes. And we showed up. Were you there when we walked down the stage for the first setup for the recording? And they had the mics. I don't think I'm exaggerating. I think they had the mics on microphone stands, but not microphone stands. Like, guitar stands. And they had them spaced, I think, like, 10 yards apart. Yeah, there's like. And it looked like they were set up for, like. Like Neil Brennan's comedy special or something. Right. I'm doing five mics now. Oh, yeah. That was fun. Then you're like, oh, yeah. I guess we have to explain all of this. Something I didn't think we did, but I guess it makes. That was always when you would tour and you would have, like, a rock venue or something. And they were like, all right, what do you need, brother? And you're like, a table. Three mics and three chairs. And they were like, all right, well, what kind of table? What kind of. And I'm like, you're overthinking it. You're overthinking it. It's like, okay, and you want handset mics and one in the. And I'm like, over. And then you hear them in the Backstage. All right, they want to. They want a table. They need some kind of table. Like, it's like you've asked for an ice sculpture. I know. It's so a table. And I guess, I don't know. Chairs. Can we get them four chairs? All right, we'll talk to somebody. We'll see if we can do about these chairs. Okay, good call. Good call. And are you gonna have any live music? Like, the questions they always ask are like, and how many people on stage? I'm like, three. And they're like. The whole time, I'm like, yeah. They're like, when does everyone come out? I'm like, at the beginning. And I understand this is new to you, so I feel. I'm trying to be cool, but also, it's basic. We did Miss Saigon in here last week. I know. A touring show. Besser, is there anything, obviously, you want to plug? But more importantly, 20, 25, just kicking off. Is there anything that you want to do or you have planned to do that you're excited to do this year? Looking forward. So weird. Cuz my daughter asked me that yesterday. Oh, cool. It was almost so whimsical. She did it in the. In the car as I was driving her to practice. She's like, dad, what is it? And she wasn't. It wasn't like a resolution either. It was literally like, what is something that you want to do this year? And this is my wife's 50th, so I'm kind of making this her year. And we're going to go to Europe. Yeah, there's been. There's a lot of plans for her, so I'm not even thinking of it as my year at all. Right. But the one thing I've been wanting to do for a while is play at the Whitewater Tavern in Little Rock. Oh, hell yeah. Place I want to play with you. Let's go. Let's do it. And that's been on my agenda for a while, but I just haven't set a date, so I was like, well, that's something I want to do. I want to play live there. Because I've. I've had that in my mind for a while. So I'll answer that. About that. Well, look, make my wife and daughter are happy. Other than that, look on. Look on both of our social medias and. Or listen to pods to find out when me and Besser and whoever else will be in Little Rock at the Whitewater Tavern. Yeah, maybe. Maybe in the spring sometime. Yeah. And improv for humans.com is my. That is my podcasting and my subscription. So, yeah, get on. Come on, Miami. Let's get some more subscribers. I got tons of listeners in Miami. I got tons of Miami listeners. Oh, yeah, Cool. I have no idea. Besser, thank you so much for coming on, man. This is funny. A lot of the people I'm talking to on the pod, you know, I'm like, well, thank you for all. And it's almost as if, like, we aren't going to text, like, shortly after, you know. Well, thank you, Bester. It's been a pleasure working with you these years. And I guess we will talk tomorrow about future jobs together. All right, dude. Well, congratulations on 500. Thanks, man. And. And this isn't like when Jordan, you know, he retired and then he came back to the Wizard. You're like, no, dude, you should just retire. You are focusing your powers. Yeah, I'm switching to baseball. That was the metaphor. The highlight of what Jordan did is also joining me for the 500th episode finale of I and Mighty, the behind the scenes genius herself. It's Emma. What's up, shitheads? Oh, my God. Shitheads. We are behind the scenes officially with eee, my engineer, Emma Erdbrink. And we are. We are. I can't believe this. This is the finale. I mean, you have, I know, a herculean effort ahead of you. As I just. I looked at the folder and I'm like, there's like 20 interviews in here. I'm so sorry. I've been. I've been importing as we go. It's good. It's going to be like a four hour episode. We might be action boys with this one. Finally. I know, Finally. We've been trying for 500 episodes, so we finally did it. So crazy Emma, you've been on board for now. How. How many episodes? It's been several years at this point. It's been years. Whatever. 20. I joined in like June or July of 2018. Mars passed the torch to me then, so whatever that was. That is a couple hundred episodes. Yes, yes. That is 300 something. 200 something. At least. Holy shit. I was thinking, like, I'm going to do the intro of this episode separately, but my guests are always like, it's crazy to watch the intro live. You have listened to me scream that intro so many times, as much as a listener of the podcast has. But you had to do it sometimes. I listen to him multiple times. I was just about to say sometimes multiple times. And you also fix the audio, so you have to listen to it. The raw, worst, loudest, most nasty versions. Always. Yeah. The clipped out version versions. You guys know how many peaks I fix. Yeah. And how many times at, like, theaters, I have to be like, gabrius will come in screaming. And they're like, yeah, okay. And I'm like, no, you don't understand screaming. Like, drop your faders to the bottom, he'll blow your system. His normal interview voice is louder than most. And then also his intro is 3x that loud, so be prepared. Yeah. And the amount of times afterwards, they're like, you weren't kidding. He does scream. I was like, I don't. I told you. I can't believe I'm only doing it one more time. Like, it feels crazy. I know. So none of these guests have gotten like a full Intro for their 500th appearance? No, I think I'm going to save it for just alone. I think I'm going To. I like it. I think I'm going to film the zoom and scream it like. Like locked eyes to my. Are you going to cry? I'm going to see if I can get there. Well, I told you and when we first. When this first started happening that we were going to end it at 500. When I told my. I, like, told him and like, tears came to my eyes, I was like, oh, I'm gonna get emotional. I know. Emma, you've been such a. First of all, a huge addition in, like, getting the work done. And it's been a real pleasure working with you. Like, truly improved my experience doing the podcast when you joined up. And hopefully the listeners, maybe they, you know, you might not. The trick to a really great producer and engineer is you don't know. You don't know how good she's made the. Every episode for you and for me. You don't know how shitty it sounded when I got it. Like, your. Your skill set, your vibes, what you do for this podcast, they're all like, so integral to me enjoying myself doing this. So listeners who aren't. I'm assuming if you're familiar with my podcast, you're familiar with who Emma is. She's a celebrity in the podcast industry that's kind. I've lucked out to work with like, some of. I mean, I've worked with tons of engineers because I've been. I've had a show at every fucking studio. Yeah, but you've gotten. You've got, like, collected the Pokemon of the best producers. I've got all the best. I've worked with, like, you, Mars, Chef Kevin, Brett Morris, Devin, like all these legends across Josh Richmond, like, so many amazing people that have done so much great stuff. But. But that's. Cause your vibes are so good. Like, working with you is that good. Everybody's like, yeah, I'm gonna get over there and do that. Thank you, Emma. That is so sweet to hear. No, this. This show has been like, one of my favorites for years. Like, I always said if I left podcasting or got some kind of other job, I would keep high mighty because it's like, it doesn't even feel like work. It feels like I'm just like tuning in for my podcast for the week or whatever. You don't have to smell like the new chicken fingers or like, you know, it doesn't make me starving by the end of it sitting too. Bioengineered food studios two days a week, you know, just at home going like, okay, what's he shouting? About now. Oh, the entertainment behind the curtain. Gabrius does his own scheduling, which is my least favorite part of podcasting. He took the worst part of the job and did it for me. Yeah. And I do hate that part. Yeah. No, it's so fast, and I'm so glad to not be doing it anymore. Even though I do the scheduling for Action Boys. That's at least two guys who never travel or do anything like. Right. Yeah. And I. The only reason, at least I guess this, you're scheduling for your own schedule, so it makes sense. It feels a little better, but, yeah, I'm so happy to, like, eliminate even the light amount of producing I have to do. Like, it just feels. Yeah, it opens your schedule up in a new way for new opportunities. That's what I was thinking. Like, it's very sad to see High Mighty go, and I'm sad to take it out of my weekly rotation, but also that just kind of opens up a few hours a week for each of us to try something new. Maybe together, maybe separately. Who knows? Fuck yeah. I'm always down to try new shit. Yeah. Let's make a new network. Let's go. I'm on board. Emma, of course. Also my travel buddy. When we do Doughboys on the Road, which I've guested on frequently, I need someone else who blazes so I don't have to smoke a joint solo after the show. Weiger was telling me he saw you at the Brutalist on Christmas Day and that at intermission, you and Tiffany went out and smoked a joint. And he said it was like the second half of that movie. I haven't seen it yet, but he's. The second it gets way heavier. And I was like, that is such a gamers move to go, like, face, not just, like, casually smoke a joint over, like a, like, 20 minute period wherever. Like you would at home watching a movie. You're, like, sucking it down, faced it at the fucking intermission. We went back inside. And then the second half. Mack Truck. The second half of the Brutalist is heavy duty. I was like. I looked like Tiffany. I was like, why did we do that? Yeah. I was like, that is a choice. We could have just waited. Yeah, it was fun. It's awesome. Usually when I'm on the road with the boys and, like, smoking by myself at the end of the night outside the hotel, like, I'm like, don't worry, I smuggled flour. I'm. I don't even want to fuck with these road vape bullshit. No. I used to do road Vapes. I don't. I don't like that anymore. I've tried to eliminate because I've decided that, like, I used to just vape. Have a vape so I could, like, do it in my hotel room and do it. And then I was like, why don't I just eliminate that also? Emma, I've been telling a few different people this, but this is day 15 of not smoking for me. How do you feel? I'm. Don't tell me it's good. No, dude, this is what I'm. I'm like, it's awesome. I don't want. Yeah. I'm afraid to admit to myself the level of clarity I have. Like, I don't want, like, I'm gonna smoke this weekend. So, like, I'm excited to forget how good I feel, but I have been getting out of bed very easily, and I have been not eating, like, a full nother meal every night, which is. This is more specifically I. And dude, no, I'm the same way. I'm like, I don't eat. Like, I'm not a breakfast person. Not really even a huge lunch person. I'm like a snack pick throughout the day, drink my water, have whatever. And then I have, like, we have like, a big dinner that's kind of our. We. Me and Mike are both on the same schedule. But, yeah, I do have this, like, insatiable need for, like, a sweet meal after my meal. And I, like, should figure that out. I know. And it's so crazy. I. This is the longest I've gone since I was, like, 26 without support. Yeah. I can't say I've done that. No. Two weeks is so crazy long. But I will tell you what, after day five, they get really easy. Easy. Just like after day five of blazing in a row, it's easy to do days six through 16. Yeah. Yeah. Right. After five days off, once, I mean, it helped that it was like the new year. There was wildfires which kind of made me less. Yeah, the air's got plenty of smoke in it already. I'm like, oh, keep the windows closed and the air filter running so we don't get any of that smoke in here. And then I'm going to fucking take a blunt to the dome. Yeah. So this is Mitch the other day. He was like, is it safe to eat food that's been, like, made outside or is, like, that bad, too? And I was like, I don't know, man. I elect to put smoke in my lungs multiple times a day. So, yeah, I'm not Thinking about it that hard. I'm built different, baby. Yeah. I don't know if I actually am, but I. Like, I'm about to find out. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome though, man. I. It's funny. Last year, in 2024, I made. And this is gonna sound so like, stoner addict type person, but I made a deal with myself that I wasn't gonna smoke weed before I went to the studio at all, which I like, usually, like, we'll smoke a joint while I. The morning or whatever and just like, how I start my day. And then I was like, before I go to work, I won't. And that was a thing in 2023. And I was like, wow, this is actually really nice. Well, that. That's. I'm like, awake and clear. What's. What's really crazy is when you're like, oh, things are 5% easier. Like, I. Yeah, I thought I was making it easier by getting stoned before I did. You're actually. What you're doing to me, I'm. If I can articulate it, I think is. It's. It's making it feel easier when you're high because Tiffany and I always joke about like, oh, I gotta do laundry or I gotta do blank. I gotta do. Let me get high and do my. This chore. That's kind of boring, but that's now more fun that I'm high. And then all of a sudden you're like, well, that took an extra hour. Or we always joke stoner tax when you leave your iced coffee on top of your car and drive away, or you're like, oh, I've been looking. I've been looking for my keys for inheritance half hour, and they're in my jacket pocket, you know, like. And you're like, I just taxed. Or you do stuff when you're stoned. So then sober, you can't figure out what you did. You're like, I put that somewhere. I know I just saw it yesterday even. And you remember the moment. Is it? And you remember the moment in your head where you go carrying it around, put it here so it's safe. And then you're like, cannot remember where. Yeah, but where was it? Yeah, I do that to myself a lot. It's funny you say that, because I have. We got back last Tuesday from the holidays, but the fires were a raging, so we just didn't and unpack for a few days because we were like, yeah, maybe we gotta put this back in the car and send it back out of here. But I Have a mountain of, like, laundry and stuff to put away. And I was like, I'm gonna go through the closet and get rid of some clothes and do a little cleaning while I, like, unpack and put stuff away. I'll get stoned and sit here and listen to probably Gabriel's 500th episode while I, like, fold these clothes or whatever. And it's, like, been four days, and everything's still just sitting there. Touched it. And I'm like, okay, well, that's like, me. I'll be like. I'd be like, all right, let's sit down and work on this script. I'm going to get a little high just so I can, like, unlock the creator. And I'm like, oh, now I'm a little high. I need a beverage. I'm like, oh, beverage. When I'm in the kitchen, I'm like, I should probably make lunch. Yeah. Like, all of a sudden, next thing you know, it's like, all right, it's been two hours. Let me sit. I should get high again. I'm not even that high anymore. Now you're like, the highest guy. I got to roll another one. Oh, my God, it's 8pm I got to start cooking dinner. So I'm like, oh, fuck. I didn't do anything. I didn't do any of the things I was going to do. But then on the flip side, it. It does help me. Like, yesterday, I was mixing an episode of Doughboys that we decided to flip quicker than expected. So I had. I usually space them out. Cause it's like two and a half hours. To listen to it once is a lot. But I didn't have time for this week. So I was like, well, I guess I'll just, like, get stoned and lock in. And it locked me in so hard to my desk. I just, like, mixed the entire two and a half hours without getting up. It's like, well, sometimes it really does work. Yeah, just not. Not for everything. No, it. It. It. It. It is helpful. I use it more now as a kid where I'm like, if you do blank, blank and blank, then you get to go smoke. Like, I'm a dog. If you make. If I. If I poop on the pad, I go poop in the potty. It's like, my nephew is potty training right now. We were staying with them for a week over the holidays, and they're giving. He gets mini M and M's if he goes pee in the potty. And so he would, like, come out of the bathroom with his two mini M and M's. And he'd go, I went pee on the potty. Hell yeah. That's like me with my joints. Like, I wanna pee on the potty. I get to smoke my weed now. Yeah, I went to the gym, so now I'm allowed to smoke. I did my fitness for the day or I got my four errands done. And I'll tell you the craziest thing that I've noticed. Cause I don't really like to drive when I'm high. And so not smoking weed for the last two weeks. I'm like, oh, it's 4:00pm I can go to CVS. I don't have to. Like, normally I'd be like, I gotta go to CVS tomorrow. I gotta go tomorrow morning. If I didn't do it in the morning, it can't happen. Because now I'm high. Because it's 3:30 and I'm done for the day. I do that even though I can like walk to Walgreens. I don't have to get in my car, but I'll be like, ooh, the sun went down. I guess I'm doing that tomorrow, right? Yeah, I'm home for the night. It's. I'm like, when I was a PA, I'd work to like 9pm every night. Now I'm like, well, it's 3:15. Time to shut it all down, get high and start. Yeah, dinner's in four hours. I better start, you know, chilling out. Yeah, I'm trying to, like get better at moving my day. Like earlier in the day. I'm like, I'm. Mike and I are very similar in that we're kind of night owls and we like to sleep in. And so, like, very often I'm not sitting down to start my day to like 1:00pm yeah. And then. But then it's like 9:00pm and I'm like, holy shit, it's so late. I don't want to be doing this anymore. And I'm like, all right, but you just did a normal eight hour day. It's not even like late. This is all the normal day, Emma. This is all the shit I'm going through. Obviously, like. Like, I'm obviously older than you, but in the last couple years, I've been like, okay, from 10:30pm to 1:30am I do nothing but watch stuff or play video games. And if I. But when I get up at 8am, I do way more between 8 and 10am than I've ever done at night. And all of a Sudden I'm like, oh, I could shift my whole day earlier if I. It sucks. It sucks. Training yourself to go to sleep. Yeah. But if you just wake up at 8am four days in a row, it's impossible not to be tired on day five. And you're like, I'm going to fall asleep at 11 for the first time ever. And then I moved like everything up and like I'm doing thing and not just. Not just these last two weeks where I'm not smoking. I was doing this. You've been doing this like all last year, right? Yeah. And. And it really is. I'm like, I'm doing so like I'm getting to the gym at 10am but I have already done a few things around that house. Like, I've cleaned, I've did last night's dishes, I got out the emails, I set up the record, whatever I had to do. And I. It makes me feel. And now I know there are people listening who are like, I gotta be at my job at 6:00am, you know, and I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't have requires. I'm at a theater until 2am so like it all shakes out. Yeah, exactly. No, I did. It's funny, my mom used to make fun of me for like, because she's very much an early riser at work by 7am kind of person and I am not at all. And I think she thought I would become more of a morning person as I got older. As people think. That's not how it works at all. Yeah, especially if your job does not have people who are early morning people are frequently just have a job that requires that. And like. Yeah, exactly. Like I was a bartender for years. My job started at 4pm and went until 4am so like I was sleeping until 2pm and that just like was the schedule I had to live. And then, you know, it's hard to get out of that. But I. Yeah, I've been trying, but I'm still stuck in this loop where I'm like, all right, the alarm is set. Tomorrow I'm getting up at 9 or I'm getting up at 8:30. And then it goes off. I'm like, I too tired. Snooze that. We got it. We got rid of our phones in the bedroom. We got an alarm clock. I did the same thing to put it on Mike's bedside table instead of mine. Thinking that would make me get up easier. No, he just snoozes it for me. Thank you, babe. Hit snooze. Got it. I don't even have to say. He's just like, yeah, Tiffany is going through the same thing right now where her alarm is going off at 7:30 and waking me up. My alarms goes off at 8 and. But I'm like, all right, well, I'm up a little early. I'll get up and then she'll snooze her alarm, then shut it off, and then at 10am I'll go in there and go, babe, okay, I think you gotta wake up. And I'm like, well, your first alarm went off two and a half hours ago. That was. That was me for so long. Or I would just like. Especially when my phone was like in the bed or in the room with me, I just grab it and I would hit the first news and then I would just fall back to sleep with my phone in my hand. And the second it started again, I would hit it again and I would do that for like two hours. And I was like, this can't be good for me. And then Mike was reading about it. He's like, it's absolutely just like. That's where it's so much worse for you to do. You're better off going back to sleep. Either wake up or go back to sleep for a full night. You're not getting any restful sleep when you're sleeping in 10 minute naps, which two hours. It wouldn't be high and mighty if I wasn't disgusting for one minute. Get gross. When you wake up early and have to poop, but then you don't have to get out of. You're like, I can wait. You have to get out of bed to poop. But then you. Yeah, but then you're like, oh, I don't actually. I can go back to sleep for an hour and a half. I find 90 minutes without. Without that poop in your stomach is like one of the best sleeps you can get out of the best sleep. It's funny because I am like a chronically constipated person. So, like, I'm literally drinking my lemon water that I drink every morning. This is the only thing that makes me poop on a regular basis. So get after it. Shitheads or non shitheads? Non shitting heads. Yeah, yeah. Non shitting heads that I literally. We get bags of lemons from Costco and juice them like once a month and put them in little ice cube molds and freeze them. And then every morning I pop a cube out and put a little hot water on it and let it like melt. And then I got Lemon water. Whoa. A plus life hack. It's juicing a lemon every day. It's not. I remember, like, I was like, there's no way I'm gonna get up and, like, cut a lemon and juice it every morning. Like, I just. I'm not going to fit it into my morning routine. But this works great. I got Mike doing it. I got my mom doing it. Oh, I might get on that lemon water tip. That sounds honestly great. It's like, so often I drink my lemon water and, like, instantly have to poop. It's a great way to. I do not need any instigator. I don't need that help. Waking up. Waking up is enough. Yeah, but exactly. It's good for the gut. Some vitamin C, even just getting the water first thing in the morning is integral. It's funny. My version of that, like, best 90 minutes of sleep is Jimmy, my dog doesn't sleep in bed with us. She, like, has her little. We have a little sun room off of our. Our bedroom that has, like, a little couch in it. That's, like, her preferred spot to sleep. And she will, but sometimes in the morning, she'll come get in bed when she hears that we're awake. And what? She'll, like, get in bed and, like, put me back to sleep. Like, she'll curl up touching me or on top of me or in a way that, like, she's so warm and cozy. And that's, like, the most restful sleep I ever get. She's the sweetest. Is like, contact naps with my dog. That's where you feel safe. You're like the mom. You're the alpha pack leader. This is my baby. This is my mama. Yeah. That is so sweet. She's the best. Emma, I'm asking just about everybody, is there anything in 2025 that you're. We do a lot of looking back on the 500th episode, obviously, but I want to do some looking forward. Is there anything that you're excited about in 2025 either that you want to try to do or that's already on the calendar that you know you are going to do. It doesn't have to be a resolution or anything, just something you're excited about. Well, my. My sister has a best. One of her best friends from college is getting married this year in Thailand, and so I might go international in that way for the first time this year. So I might go with my sister to Thailand this summer. Oh, hell yeah. Highly recommend. I've never booked yet, but I am hopeful that that works itself out. Because I think that would be awesome also. Just like, me and my sister have a little sister trip. Love that. That sounds awesome. I'm trying. I'm trying to. I was kind of doing this already at the end of the year last year, and we did a thing with the Doughboys fans called Move, which was like a fitness, like, fantasy fit football thing, but for Fit your fitness. It's a weird little app. I don't necessarily recommend it, but it was a fun comp. I did one season of Move with my ex rugby team. We. Because one of the guys was friends with the creator, and I did one full season of Move. Not for me either. No, it's definitely not for everybody. It did get me moving way more than I thought it would because I was like, oh, I already work out consistently. Like, this will be. I'll just log what I'm already doing. And then I worked out way more in that, like, month, six weeks that we did it than I normally do. And I felt awesome. And I was like, you know what I need to like. And I've been. Was better at it in 2024. And I want to be even better at, like, just moving my body every day, whether it's a workout or just like a walk or like, even yesterday, I was kind of tired and it was late, and I was like, I don't want to do this, but I got on my peloton for 20 minutes and I was like, that's just so easy. It's 20 minutes and it's. It's so cool, quick. And as the dumbbells will say, it's better than nothing. Like, that's all. Yeah, exactly. It's better than just crawling directly onto the couch and passing out. So, like, I am trying to just like, and. But without the, like, pressure of, you gotta work out. You ate this, you ate that, you gotta do this. It's just like. No, you just like, my body feels better when I move, so I just want to move. Oh, hell yeah. We gotta be. Even if it's just outside wiggling around. Guys, keep an eye out for Emma. She's walking the streets with her dog, wiggling. You don't want to miss it. You could catch me in Echo park just wiggling around. Emma, thank you for a doing, for popping on air for the 500 episodes. Thank you for having me. Thank you for editing this fucking beast together. And thank you for all you've done. Yeah. And one of the things that would make me sad about ending high and mighty would be not Having you in my life anymore, but I don't think that, like, that is. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So I got ideas. Thought that makes. This is. What makes me very happy, is knowing that, like, that I'm. No, I'm. I'm so excited for you and for the future of whatever. Whatever. Like this, you know, hole in the schedule makes room for. I'm stoked to see what comes next. And I've. It's been an honor to work on the show for the past eight years. Whatever it is. I'm. I'm like. Part of me is like, I guess I'm gonna have to go back and just, like, start listening to this podcast or something. I don't know. I haven't listened to the episodes from before I joined, so I guess I could go check those out. God only knows what those are about. Fucking 10 years ago, texting you like, we gotta take this. Yeah, I found the 11th episode we have to take down. All of a sudden, everyone's like, I thought he said he did 500. There's only 101 online. Times have changed in the decade that this has been going. Indeed, indeed. But, no, it's been an honor, and I love this show and I love you, and I'm so excited for all future projects, and I'm. I'm sad to see this go, but I think it's what. I think that's one of the things I'm excited for in 2025 is I've been thinking, like, maybe it's time for a schedule change. And then the universe kind of just handed it to us, so I was like, well, okay, then I'm kind of excited to see what new things get started in this new year. So. Yeah. Emma, thank you so much, babe. Thank. Also joining me for the 500th episode slash finale, the host of the big gay movie Spread Cheeks, it's Mark Rennie. Hello. I don't host anything anymore, though. No, it's Rip. Rip. I'm alive. I'm alive. And that's the most important part my podcasting career, I guess. I do a Dan Lippert's comedy bang bang thing once a month, but that's about it. Yes, yes. Right? The Bill Walton travel, extravagant. I'm off the watch a movie, talk about how gay it is. Train. Oh, a wonderful train when it was running, but, you know, who needs it? Like most trains. Yeah, it's called the Wayside. When they're running great when they're running not so great when they're tipped over. Mark, how have you been sir, you've had a hell of a fucking year behind you. I had a crazy year, but I'm doing well. You know, it's an insane January already. Already. I know. Already. This 2025 is off to a rolling start. I'm going to be in Florida for Inauguration Day and I'm so scared. Oh, my God. Just to be like MAGA flags and everything. I'll be safe, you know, I got, you know, racist face so everyone will know I'm okay. Everyone just assumes. Yeah, yeah. Trust me, people assume with the way they talk to me in public. Well, that. Yeah. Is there a vibe to Inauguration Day? I feel like nobody probably. Depressed. Depression. Yeah, I think there'll be depression. I just don't know if it'll be hitting the Florida region. I've, like, done a pretty good job though, of. It's been very helpful for me. I don't have Twitter on my phone or my iPad because at first I was like, well, let me take it off my phone. But then I had on my iPad, so what's the point of that? And then. But now I just have it on my laptop, which is the thing I use to be productive. So that means I use it the least. Right. So there. So that's been pretty good for me mentally, of like, I don't wake up and the first thing I look at is the news. Right. You don't have your laptop on your nightstand right before you're like, ah, my last 10 minutes while I'm awake. Let me just freebase the worst fucking opinions from the worst fucking people in the world. Absolutely. But then also, Twitter is broken now anyway, so it's fucking crazy. And I think these, like, recent wildfires is like one of the most. It used to be where you would go to see, yes, that was an earthquake. Now I'm like, are there fires? And I have to get through like 12 weird things to get to the first news of a fire. And it is from a source. You know, it's like, that's why it's all about the Watch Duty app. Come on, Watch. Watch Duty. My hero. Although I did have to tell them I don't need to know about every fire. It's getting a little overwhelming. They were telling me every fire. I'm like, okay, I don't really, really. I'm really only concerned about the two big ones and the big one near me. But I don't really. I don't need to know about every fire. It's too much information is dangerous. I have. I have notifications off on every single thing except for text messages. That's why you never reply. Well, yeah, you're a block. You way too many DMs. We're friends. You have my phone number. Poll, question mark. When there's a guy who has responded to almost every single Instagram story of mine that says. And he just writes, no. Or fuck you, idiot. Or shut the fuck up, idiot. Like, so I'm not blocked. No, no, I am reading them. But this guy has responded thousands of times. He's on my. I should have him on. I know. I should not let him know where I fucking exist. It. It seems so crazy. It's. But I don't think I have a friend that would react to anything that. You know what I mean? Like, and it gets me in my head. I'm like, what is this guy's fucking life? I wonder if, like, you must be like, I wonder if you're like one of like 20, 50 people he does this to. Like, I must be scroll through. And just like, this is his thing. I'm just not controversial enough to be like, I like, you know what I mean? I could understand why someone would hate me just because people hate people, but I do not understand someone to hate me that much that it has to be this guy's mo. Yeah. You have no power or authority. Right. I can change. Not nothing. I also. Nothing I do is like non consent. It's not like I'm on your TV screen every day against your will. I'm like, you don't have to follow me to see all my Instagram. You're not Mario Lopez. Right, Exactly. I'm not Mario Lopez. I'm not the weatherman that you think is trying to give you brain control. You're not Maria Menounos from Newvie, always screaming at me. Unfortunately, I'm not. Never will be. You know, I always wanted to be anyone could be a menudos. Put your. Put your menudos to it. Put your menudos to it. How does it feel to have done like 500 episodes of anything? Really? Dude, that's. I'm so glad you said of anything. I've never done anything for this many weeks in a row. Almost 10 years. With the exception of being married, I haven't done anything for that long. And being married is passive at that. Yes. To be fair, Emma made the same joke. She's like, well, smoking weed. I'm like, okay, yeah, I don't know if I would call that a joke. Oh, but I will. As the listeners of this 500 finale are probably tired of hearing I am on day 15 of not smoking. Hey. All right. I haven't had weed since October. Whoa. How are you enjoying your movie going experience without weed? Which was. I did walk out of Better Man. Okay. Which I think with inedible, you might not have. Right. Maybe. I saw the Rock the DJ number. I looked at my watch. I thought it had been an hour in. It was only 30 minutes. Oh, Christ. Like, Jesus Christ. And then the whole time, the movie, I was thinking, because I've been rewatching Star Deep Space Nine, and I left in the middle of a really good episode to come go see the movie. And the whole time I was just thinking, man, I wish I was back home finishing that episode. And then I did. Did you have that power? Especially if you're not high? Because then you can get back. And I'm also. I think it's been good, but I haven't really tried to dabble into, like, any. Like, I've been dealing with my health stuff, but then also now just job hunting. Boring. But. So I haven't been trying to be, like, writing yet. So I haven't really tried to be creative yet. So that's the real test. But other than that, it's been good. Like, I'm not. Like, I'm not doing, like, the mindless eating or mindless snacking like I would. Yeah. Which now has, like, like, even scarier overtones than, like, normal. Like, I hope I don't put on a few extra pounds. You're like, hope I don't eat something that tries to kill me. Oh, my God. I had peanut butter granola for the first time a few months ago. Like, let me just try. And I thought I was gonna die. I thought I had, like, eaten razor blades. Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. It took, like, two weeks to get through or two days to get through me, but I felt it the whole time. Christ Almighty, that's terrifying. But to be the rebrand for High and mighty Christ Almighty. Christ Almighty. Why, if there's any. If there's any power that's higher and mightier than Christ Almighty, I have never met him. We're waiting. I saw Weed Sobriety. I saw Pantera Den of Thieves, too, without weed. And I thought it was pretty good. I think I would have wept if I was high. Because it has, like, kind of a weirdly emotional ending. Oh, it's does. Yeah, it was. It was pretty fun. I don't think it was as fun or as good as the first movie, but this one has more. I. I Mean, if there's a reason to see it is three very burly guys. Do the cat burglar break in the movie? Like three guys weighing at least 230 pounds each are Cat burglars. Yeah. And that made me happy where I could, like, maybe join that universe. That was kind of like when I saw. I saw Baby Girl. Did you see Baby Girl? No, not yet. I want to see it. It's like a total, you know, this high powered CEO has like her sexual awakening and with. Through like dom. Sub kind of relationship. But I was like, why couldn't this be like, about a woman who just like, runs a McDonald's? Yeah. Like, there's like power dynamics. Why can't she. Why do all these. I feel like all our psychosexual things are set in the world, like, where people are already like millionaires. Yes. Or billionaires. Like, because that's the most power. But like, power dynamics exist in every segment of society. Like an improv teacher. Well, yeah, that's very. That's a very. That's a much darker movie. Yeah. Even darker than Baby Girl. Yeah. Are you, Are you excited? Well, let, let's, let's talk movies before we talk about the future. Have you seen anything? Obviously not Better man, which I kind of was like, low key. Like, I'm gonna go see that. I'm very curious. Bother me about it. It felt like they had cranked up the artificial grain that really. I'm like, very weird with things that, like, turn me off, so. Right. Oh, I know. I've been talking to you about movies for. I've been talking to you about comedy or movies for 15 plus years or whatever. Yes, I'm familiar. No, I cannot predict you at all. I think earlier with. On the. Like a week ago, we recorded with Mano and Betsy and we were talking about Nosferatu and there. And I think you hated it. Was that. No, I didn't hate it. I was fine with it. Well, there was something else that they were like. Well, I think Rennie hated it. And I'm like, Alien Romulus. I wasn't a fan of, but it was one of these things where all three of us were like. But you never know what he's going to hate. He'll find something so particular. And I was, I was doing a bad Mark Rennie impression of like. And it's. Then you go like. I thought it was too great. I'm like. I'm like, vindicated. You are totally crazy. Six segments later, in between mono and Betsy and this people are like, hey, he wasn't wrong. Well, I am something I've learned. I'm something of a production design queen. You know what I mean? I need it to look. That's what I like. To complete unknown. And I don't even care about Bob Dylan. But I was like, at least this looks like a movie. Yes. Like, it has production values and, like, the acting's great. Edward Norton's great music. It sounded, I saw it in a prime theater, so it sounded great. Yeah. And it's like, it felt like a movie. Right. That's how things feel. Like, wicked looked like a peacock show. Oh, I think it was wicked that you didn't like. Yeah, I know. I think I thought one person was like, this is a slog. I thought it was really boring. I was really surprised how little I hated it. I thought for sure it was not for me. I thought it was pretty good. I enjoyed it. I'm not like, dying to see Part two, but if Tiffany really wants to, why did it take it so long to get on the goddamn train? Here's the invitation from the city. Then we got to talk about the invitation. Then we go to the train station and we talk about going there. Then we're on the train. Like, just get to the city already. God, what are we waiting for? I'm a bit of a train plot queen as well. Thank you. But then I. What did I like? I did like. I love Nickel Boys. Oh, I gotta see that. I'm dying to see that. Unlike anything I've ever seen. Oh, interesting. I'm very. A lot of people have it as. A lot of critics who I like have it as their number number one. And that makes me excited. I, I really in, I keep trying to not phrase it. I really enjoyed the Brutalist, but I thought the Brutalist was a great movie. All right. Yeah, I, I, I, the sound design and the, and the, the score was great. The score was awesome. I love the idea of an intermission if a movie's over two and a half hours. Intermission was great. But I did say I saw it at the Vista with my friend Connor. And during the intermission, I was like, oh, boy. This kind of. I was like, connor, do you want to go to Akbar after this? Like, that got me through the second half knowing that you were going to do something fun. The carrot at the end of the stick, like, oh, we're going to go have fun after this. Tiff and I smoked a joint at halftime and came back in and was like, well, it's super fun. That's when it goes off, gets real heavy fast, and I'm, like, so stupid at the end. I thought the second half was terrible. Oh, interesting. I thought it was. I just didn't buy it. Yeah. Oh, I enjoyed it. There was a lot of stuff I didn't like in the movie, and most of that was in the second half, I think, because the first half is a little more like, what is going on. And that makes it. And that was kind of a stronger thing. But I thought it was one of the coolest uses of establishing shots and music I've ever seen. And here's the thing. I'm so glad it exists. I appreciate. I like that they shot it in, like, what, 10, 30 days or something? $10 million. And it looks fantastic. There's scope. It looks like a movie. Those big, wide shots of the buildings. And I just never got emotionally hooked. And I thought the final. Like, the mockup of the actual building they built was, like, not that impressive. No. I mean, but that's part of. The interiors were cool. But that's part of the thing about brutalism is, like, it is just a giant con could look like a giant concrete block from outside. I guess so. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't love it. No. And Felicity Jones. Come on. She was a little. She was like. It was supposed to be Mary uncle to yard. O. Okay. Which you would be scared of her. Yes. I believe she. She would terrify me. She does. That's Raja G. Thank you. That's what she's always saying. That's Ra. She's in contagion. There is a contagion. Do not sneeze on me. It's fine to do a French accent. Yeah, yeah. We're allowed to. They're white. So we can do it. That's all that matters. What are they gonna do, burn down my bank? I don't think so. Nice try. Raja Ghoul or Talia Al Ghul. Thank you. I'll call you by her full Christian name. I am Christian. I. I enjoyed Nosferatu. I. I thought it was pretty good. I haven't seen. I really liked A Real Pain. I thought that was a very fun, simple, fun, simple movie. And have you seen the film? And I've thrown this out to a few different people, but have you seen the film Hundreds of Beavers yet? No, but I want to. It's on tubi. It's on prime, too, for free, so. Oh, so commercial, Freeman. Yeah. I think. Yeah. I love that tubi interface. Me, too. Tubi's very easy to use. I Love to be Tubi. I use as my cable. I put on, I put on one movie I kind of like that. I'm like, don't have to pay full attention to, but like some sort of 90s dumb thriller, you know, I'll throw on like the Presidio and then it'll just, and then it'll just autoplay, like, if it's on the background. It'll autoplay like six movies that I'm like. And one of them I'll be like, whoa, what is this? And then get fucking. A little sauce. I wish, though. My ideal cable experience, though, is like, coming into like, the river wild, already 45 minutes in. Yes. Which is nearly impossible to do with, like, Stream. Yeah. You can't. That's why I like when there's cheap channels. Yes. You know, when there's like, channels. Like a Pluto Channel. Two channels aren't as well curated as Pluto's, I think. But I love, like, coming into like, oh, we're already through the boring first act. The premise has already been established. We're off to the races. It's a movie I've seen already, so I don't mind picking it up in the middle. Shut Shutter is good for their channels too, but I'm not always in the mood for like, oh, let me watch slasher TV or whatever. Right. Oh, did you see Oddity? No. Oddity. Spooky. That's a good one. Oh, okay. That's on Shutter. A Shutter exclusive, which always isn't, Was. Isn't always a good thing. No. I also heard that that movie Red Rooms, which is now on Shutter. Yeah. I don't know. Who knows? 2025. We're doing a lot of looking back on this episode, but let's look forward a little. Okay. Is there anything that you personally are excited about? Whether it's, you know, something you have scheduled to do or something you want to do this year? It's not like, resolution wise, but, but like, well, I've already done it, but I want to continue doing this. But I did it a few weeks ago. This is my New Year's resolution of I'm trying to be go into more gay spaces. And my resolution was to. I'm going to approach strangers interesting bars and talk to them, which is super frowned upon in the gay community. They hate it. Well, it can be hard. But I, I, I've done it. I went to the Eagle a couple weeks ago for Bear Happy Hour. Shout out to Bear Happy Hour. It's rotating every Thursday from 5 to 9. Like five different bars in the area. But I went to the one at the Eagle a few weeks ago, and I approached two different people. First guy, very nice man, worked at Gelson's for 30 years. Seemed to have maybe a drinking problem, but he said, I've tried to cut back, and he had the largest beer I've ever seen. But then the second guy was, like, super nice, and, like, his friend showed up, my friend showed up, and we had a little. A little group hang after a few hours. And that was, like. It was successful. Yeah. And. And that's exciting that. Because that is, like a. A hard choice to make as a grownup is to be like, I'm gonna. And you're not, like, necessarily putting yourself out there. Like, let's. Let. Let's get out of here, pal. But no, like, I just. I'm. I'm. I just. My line to go up to me was like, hey, I'm looking for someone to talk to. Oh, hell, yeah. That's just. Just be clear and direct. Like, not necessarily. Cause some people I've noticed, like, even make icon contact with me. You get the vibe of, like, ew, I don't want to fuck you. Like, that's not what I was doing. We're just at a bar, hanging out. It's Happy hour. It's 5:30pm I don't know if I'm down to fuck just yet. Let's just. Yeah. Give it till 5:45. Yeah. Then I'm raring to go. Yeah. Oh, that's really cool. I do. I do like that. That's funny. One of my 20, 25 resolutions, which also kind of dovetails with this ending, is talking to friends and peers. It like going out to lunch. And not on microphone, having these conversations. Like, having actual conversations with friends. Yeah. Yeah. You said this is ending. Yeah. Well, like, with high and mighty ending. Yeah. I didn't know it was ending. Oh, yeah. This is the last episode. Oh, this is the last episode. Oh, I thought we were having a birthday, not a funeral. No, it's both. Wow. What better way? Happy birthday. Grandma pulled the plug. What better way to go? So, you know, she lived to. Exactly 80 years. That's what. That's all she wanted. She wanted a round number. Wow. I had no idea. I mean, that would be kind of cool on your tombstone for it to be like, January 31, 1982 to January 31, 2062. Like, oh, he died at an even 80. Cool. I don't know. I'm getting cremated anyway, so it doesn't matter. Yeah. What do I care? But I still want a monument of some sort. Oh, God, there better be a statue. Well, that must feel, like, so liberating because when I ended my podcast, I felt like, oh, I felt liberated. Yes. Like, excited to have, like, the bandwidth to do other things. Right. That is kind of where I'm at. And like, the main thing I'll miss is the conversations with people who I find smart and funny for extended periods of time. So I'm going to chase that irl, you know, so that is. And, and also that is kind of like, it sounds crazy to say, but that is kind of a weird thing, like, to be like, like trying to schedule lunch with someone that isn't about, like, work in some way. You know what I mean? Yeah. Well, it takes effort. Yeah. And that. And like, I'm going to take the effort that goes into scheduling people to be on my podcast. I'm going to take that effort to going like, hey, I know you live in this neighborhood. I'll come. I'll come by and go to get coffee with you in your hood, you know, like, so expect, Expect some, you know, expect some coffee request. Well, you. I see enough. Like, you're like, you know what I mean? Like, I want to hang out more. I want to go to the movies together. Sure. But it's also like, take it to the Capital One Cafe at the Americana. Excuse me. Yeah, I don't know that. Don't take me to Bear happy hour. I don't think I could handle it. You'd be mob. Mob? You'd be a hit. Oh, my. I got stuck in the honey pot. You could just deflect them to me. That might actually be the perfect idea. He's just here to talk to people. And I'm straight, unfortunately. Yeah. And I'm not here to talk to people. I'm here to get wasted. I'm here to get free beers from you sucker bears. It's not cheating if it's a man. Dude, I'm straight. So guys can suck my dick without it being weird. Okay. I'm not gonna fall in love. I'm gonna come, but I'm not gonna fall in love. Love? Yeah, you're human. That's really. That's a really. That's a grown up choice for a. For a 2025 idea. Like, I like to want to talk to people more. Like, because that's hard and it's easy and without, like, other ways to expand your horizons and friend groups, like, you got to kind of seek it out, you know what I mean, without being like, I joined the fucking sailing club or whatever, you know, like, I. Yeah, I joined. The next step is to, like, go to, like, approach a group of two people. Aha. Yes. Because that's intimidating because, you know, we've all been there when you. You are in the group and then someone just approaches you and I'm usually like, oh, that's cool. But then sometimes there's a friend of you who's with you. They're like, oh, who's this? Well, I do feel like that sometimes where I'm like, I'm here to hang out with the person I came with. But if you're at Bear happy hour. That's what I was just about to say. That might. That's a little different than like, we're sitting at a table at a restaurant. Yes, I'm not good at. Yes, I see you breastfeeding your baby. I'm looking for someone to talk to. My 2025 resolution is. Hey, get off. You have two of these. Share. Yeah, Pog, I need the colostrum. Mark, thank you so much. You've been a major part of the pod. Been on so many times. I've always enjoyed talking to you. I always can't wait to. To hear why you hate something that I can't even wrap my head around. So for me, it's always a good time. And I appreciate you taking the time to come on and be part of the birthday funeral that this episode has. Anytime. I'm honored to be here. I would love to be there when someone fires the flaming arrow onto the raft onto the hard drive that contains 500 episodes. Yes, I hope that is. We go to Echo Park. I'm in full Viking gear. I would like nothing more. That's how that is when I said, I will be cremated. Anyway, that is how Tiffany's gonna shoot a flaming arrow into a fucking canoe that I'm on. There's a great. There's not enough toxic smoke in the air. Yeah, yeah. We're not gonna do it anywhere near the dry. We're gonna do it in the water to be sure. Thank you. Respectful. Renny, I'll talk to you soon, buddy. Be good. Good bye. Hey, Mike. Also joining me for the High and Mighty finale, my ex engineer. Not that we had a gross breakup or anything like that. She just has other work. It's Mar. Number one shithead here. Long time, first time on the podcast. Very excited to be here. I was so happy and so sad when I got your email about the show ending. Truly devastated. I know, I know it's so. It's such a big. I have so many big feelings around it in and, like, positive, and I'm sad to let it go. But I'm also happy to like. Like Mark Rennie was saying, like, it is nice to end things and like, you know, with something that doesn't have a definitive end in sight. It's not like, whoa, how does this wrap up? It's just an interview show. So getting the opportunity to be like, on my own terms ended at 500 rather than like, when the industry collapses or when athletic greens finally won't pay for any more episodes or whatever. So just going out on 500, though, I think it was July 10, 2015 was my first episode, so I'm almost at 10 years. Damn. Yeah, I was just. Because one of my favorite episodes you do is the Being fat sort of series with Mike Mitchell. And I remember editing some of them, but I was like, oh, I guess there's like, some I still hadn't listened to. So I went back and listened to the first one and I think it was roughly like episode 2535. And listening back to that, I was like, oh, my God, Gabriel's is so different in this episode. Like, you're so, like, you sound so like Fresh Face. You put so much more effort into the podcast back then where, like, you actually transition to the ad break and like, all that, and you're like, reading reviews. It is like almost like it was such. It was like a really funny episode. I very rarely listen to an episode more than once, but I think that one I listened to like, almost like four times back to back, because I listened to it once and I was like, this is a great episode. I'm gonna suggest it to someone else. And then I was like, But I was stoned listening to it the first time, so I have to listen to it sober now to make sure it's still funny sober. And then. And yeah. Oh, that's so wild. Yeah, the show has changed. Like, I used to have, like, segments where I read negative reviews of the. If you gave me a one star or if you gave me a five star review, you could roast me and I would read it. But then that started to, like, get to me a little. Like, that was. Some of them were quite dark. Yeah, well, that was. That's the thing. I like, I forget at what point I realized where I was like, I can. This can be whatever I want it to be. Like, once it wasn't like, doing like, huge numbers and I had to like, Be beholden to whatever. I was like, well, I'll just let the engineers drop the ad, break in whenever and I don't have to think about it and then like doing all this like, shit. And the only reason I can make it to 10 years, to make it to 500 episodes is that I made it as low as a lift as possible for me, you know, made it an effort for you, for Emma, for Chris, for Amir, my engineers over the years. But it did make me, it made me more comfortable. And I want to give you a little spiel, Mars. Like you joining the show was like huge for me because you are very good at your job, but also you're a person I like in addition to being good at your job. So it was always cool when we had to record in person. It was fun to see you, fun to have you there. And you're proficient, you're very good at your job, but you're also very fun to be around, which is like a lot of people are one or the other. And you know, it's the rare occurrence when someone's both. So having you be part of the show for as long as you were. And that really was when the show like stepped up a notch in like me taking it more seriously, even though I was doing less or, you know, even more of a fuck around show. But once you were involved, I had even more confidence in what the end product would be and allowing me to not think at all about the end product and just be in my dumb conversation screaming bullshit. Like that's what I wanted and needed to succeed. And you, you like, you gave me that and that was such a real treat. So thank you. Oh, that's very sweet of you. Um, right before this, I was trying to find out like what was like the first episode I started working on and I couldn't quite remember. I was like kind of going by topic idea or the, the different topics. And then I was like listening to one and I was like, oh, the sound quality on this is so bad that it could not have been me at all. So I was like, okay, it had to have been after this episode. I could tell what was going on too, because like, this is so like inside baseball. But like the. I, I presume you had your editing advice by like Jake and Amir based off how they were doing their show. And they were kind. They would like edit the episode and then run it through this program like, called Othonic or something or like Levelizer or. I forgot exactly what he was called, but I could tell that he was being run through that. Because the theme song sounded different, too, because the theme song sounded more processed in those earlier episodes because it was kind of being processed by this effect that levelized everything, but also including the theme song too. So I could kind of deduce when I came in because, like, it. The theme song experience under baseball. But, yeah, no, that's great. That's. And also that's why I love you. It's like, you are that knowledgeable, but also, like, it's so fucking cool. Mars, truly, you're, like, the best podcast boss to have. Because, I mean, podcasting is so easy. Like, it's like, the best job in the world. Like, I truly feel like I have the best job in the world. Just, like, listening to comedians and being. Being able to laugh every single week. Like, just like the shows I listen to. But I remember the very few times we recorded in person. I think I, like, came over to your place. I can't remember why we were recording in person, but afterwards, as I was leaving the door, we had a few episodes baked, and I was asking you, I was like, okay, so this guy wants to release this episode, then to promote this, what would you want the order for the release schedule to be? And you're like, oh, yeah, I guess we could release him first. Like, I don't give a shit. It's a comedy podcast. Who gives a shit about this? And I was like, oh, yeah. Like, Gabriel's is right. Like, this is, like, so low stakes. And, like, it doesn't matter. None of this stuff matters. But it's the most fun job in the world. Yeah, I guess that is. That does make me a bit of a good boss. If I go, whatever you want to do. Like, who gives a shit? Yeah, I think at some point, too, you're like, not only is it expected. No, like, it's not only is it encouraged that you're high when you're working on the show, but it's honestly, like, expected that you should be high. And I was like, hell, yeah, I don't give a fuck. I think at that point, you were giving me a whole bunch of weed because he had, like, all these weed sponsors, and they were like, please, just take it. Please smoke it while you work. Yeah, join the club. This is, you know, a cloud of weed smoke is in my H6 at this point. It's like. It's like, integral to the design of the premise of the show and all that. Although I'm on two weeks off right now, which is crazy, and I'm Bragging about that to everyone. So listeners who've heard me talk to 15 different people saying, I'm on 13 days off. I'm on 14 days off. I'm now on 15 days off. That's great. I've been taking a break too, and I certainly had to take a break before recording this podcast because I just get too, in my head, I get like too anxious if I smoke weed especially. And like being on mic is like, because I have terrible performance anxiety. And so being on mic is, I guess, kind of triggering for that. And weed makes it so much worse. But obviously I had to be on Mike for this show's last episode. I. I'm so happy you said yes. I. You are at like a behind the scenes ninja so frequently, but I just could not, I could not wrap this up without giving you some flowers and letting people, letting people hear that. So, so. Did I ever tell you I almost felt sort of like the Stockholm syndrome I felt with editing your show where, like, I can't remember how many episodes I did, maybe like a couple hundred. But like, I would listen to you every single week just like talk about your shits and like the status of your shits and what was going on. So much so that when I stopped editing the. Editing the podcast, I kind of missed it. I was like, man, I kind of miss hearing about gamers shits all the time. I'm worried about, about his gi. But you still talk about it. I could still hear it on Doughboys or whatever other. I mean, I'll stop texting you about it too. I'm so sorry. No, please, I want to know. I need updates. How's it going? Hey, Mars, Gabriel's here on the can. Things are going well. Hope you're having a happy New Year's talk soon. So, Mars, we're doing a lot of looking back on this episode, but I just wanted. I've also wanted to do some looking forward with, with my guests. Is there anything besides mastering beat saber21 or whatever? Is there anything. By the way, that is my. If I picture you in my head, it is with the Beat Saber goggles going apeshit. Like, thank you. Because for such a period of time, we were playing that at headgum. You were playing, you were posting videos of it. And I connect you so hard to that game specifically. And I know you're a gamer, but that game specifically, just like hot women swinging swords is just always going to kind of get burned into my head. So there's no way I'm going to forget that. Yeah, Well, I guess, like, these past few years, I've been busy because I've been trying to get my visa, which I just did. As of, like, a few weeks ago, I got my 01 visa. So I'm an alien of extraordinary ability. Yes. Welcome aboard the Titanic, Mar. Yeah, truly. I. I landed back in la and then, like, the next day we decide to evacuate. And I was like, I hadn't even unpacked yet and I'm already leaving the city. So it's a very warm welcome. But now that my visa paperwork's been done, because, like, that was a lot of work, now I can indulge in my hobbies again. So I do want to get back into Beat Saber and back into making those videos again because, like, I could do a whole episode just, like, talking about my love for VR. Because ever since I got into VR, it just, like, changed. It really did change my life because previous to that, and I still play Overwatch a lot, but, like, half the time I play Overwatch on comp, I lose and I just feel shitty. But every single time I play Beat Saber, I always feel better because I'm doing something active and it's a workout disguised as a video game. Right? And it's like, you're not. It's not as competitive. You're not getting, like, beat by it either. Like, because that was. I found that when I was really addicted to the. What was the Blizzard League of Legends version of the game. I forget what it was called, but I was. I was so addicted to Heroes of the Storm. Oh, Heroes of the Storm. Yeah. I was so addicted to Heroes of the Storm, but I would lose so much that it would put me in, like, such a bad mood. And I'm like. I'm letting video games, my favorite fucking thing in the world, affect me negatively. And I got. So I had to be like, well, you know what? This game isn't for me. If I can't just lose gracefully, I have to, like, get off of this. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I was like, why am I playing this game when half the time I hate it? Like, I feel bad by the end of it. Right, right. But, yeah, VR I just, like, love so much. It's like, if you ever played, like, Guitar Hero or any other, like, music rhythm game, you know, you start on easy mode for a bit and then maybe a week later you go on to medium, and then you build up to hard. And so there's like this sort of progression where you, like, feel better because you're, like, getting better at the Skill. Right. And it's quantifiable or like, I. What used to seem like a crazy amount of things coming at me are now completely manageable. Yeah. So are there any other VR games you're excited about that are maybe down the line or that. I'll even put you one further. If you could have a VR game, like, if a VR game could come out this year that was of your imagination, what would you want it to be? It's so tough because I love Beat Saber so much that it, like, my VR headset's really just a beat saber machine. I did dabble a little bit. There's the new Batman Arkham game. They made an Arkham game for VR and, like, people rate it as, like, like, one of the best, like, VR games out. I would. Would recommend it. I don't know if you've tried much of VR, but it is, like, quite immersive. And you, like, fight like Batman. You just, like, feel like badass, like, swinging at folks and, oh, that's a cape. You can, like, fly around and stuff. It's really cool. I'm not a big VR. I'm not a big VR guy, but I do intend this year to test it out a little bit because I do feel like I game so much, I should just. Just know a little bit more about it and. And be in and like, that technology is only going to improve, like, like rapidly every year. So, yeah, it's like, yeah, it's certainly gotten better in the past few years. I would recommend for anyone if, like, they're just trying to get some more exercise in their daily routine, to try VR, try Beat Saber. There's also other, like, there's like, a really great boxing game too, that, like, within 15 minutes I'm like, like, pouring sweats. But, like, I've reached a stage in my life when I was, like, really into VR and Beat Saber, where I was playing beat Saber so much that I was. And I'm already, like, a pretty skinny person already. But I was losing weight. I was losing so much weight playing Beat Saber that I was, like, getting faint and dizzy. So much so that I had to eat more food so I could gain more weight to game more. That's so awesome. You're like an athlete, but for a beat Saber, you're like, all right, time to fuel up. Like drinking a protein shake and then getting in there and whipping around. Exactly. And so, yeah, it's just. It's just. It's disguised as. It's so much fun too. And so you don't even notice that it's right. And it's like to find something that is. Stimulates the mind and makes you happy and works out the body is like, that's so impossible to find. Like, so finding something that hits all three of that is so. Is so, so awesome. So I think this will be the year. I'll message you when I. When I decide to get into VR. But I'm gonna. I'm gonna around with it for sure. Yeah. I love bringing over my headset to, like, do demos for people because I feel like that's the only way you can convince someone. Because, like, any ads you see, like, VR in just a regular 2D plane, like, if you just watch a trailer looks like shit. Like, yeah, you really have to get into it to feel the immersion. And it was just like an oh, shit moment. Like, once you feel the emergency immersion, like a type of immersion. I. You ever have those, like, oh, shit moments in gaming? Like, I had that when, like, playing like, Ocarina of Time and like, you leave Kakariko Village and you're like, in the overworld and she's like, wow, this world is so big and incredible and like, I haven't had an oh, shit moment in gaming, like, since then. But VR definitely gave me that and still continues to give me that, which is like, any sort of silly, like, immersion trick that they'll do. It's just. It's just really, really cool. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, that is cool. I use weed to help me feel immersed, but I do think weed in VR is like a very exciting combo. Oh, it is an amazing combo. Amazing. That's so awesome. Mars, I gotta say, thank you so much for doing this episode. I know getting on the mic is not, you know, strikes a little fear in your heart. Anything for you, Gabrius. But it makes me so happy that you did, and it makes me so happy that you were a part of the show for so long and really helped it level up. And I've been so lucky in the last several hundred episodes with, between you and Emma running the show, like, two of the best that I've ever worked with. So I. I truly appreciate all your help making the show what it was. And for listeners, these episodes will exist for forever. So, you know, go back, listen through, see when you can, if you can hear the EQ being off, see if you can hear when we're recording in Jake and Amir's giant living room, or when it's in a studio, or when it's on Zoom, or when it's in my office all sound differently because I'm not a pro, but I never really had live. I rarely did a studio episode with an engineer in my life, but when I did, it was with you. And it was always a treat. So thank you so much, Mars. I appreciate all. Thank you. As a last note, you also gave me an American Thanksgiving tradition because, because, like, I'm Canadian and so, you know, like, we, we have different Thanksgivings and to be able to go to like the power hour hour every single year and then like edit that for the world to listen to the next day, I was like, this is like the most fun Thanksgiving I've ever had. Just watching a whole bunch of my favorite comedians get drunk in front of me. Like, oh, it's so crazy. Over the last 10 years, so much in my life has changed. Like, sometimes my mother in law is here for Thanksgiving, sometimes we would go fly back east, sometimes, blah, blah. But the one thing that was constant was I now the most constant Thanksgiving tradition I have is getting absolutely wasted the night before and as a performance. So that has just become so. I mean, since I was 18, I was getting wasted that Thanksgiving eve for fun. Now I'm doing it for fun and for work or charity, depending on the year it comes out. So that is weirdly become more of a tradition than turkey or seeing my family or any. Or giving thanks even. Yeah, and just like hearing your like, drunk mom in the crowd, like screaming and all that was always a delight. Oh, Mars, you're the best. Thanks, babe. Bye. Shitheads. Before I let you guys get out of here, before you hear the outro, there was just one last guest that I was unable to get on the pod due to them living overseas these days. Days. But it's my friend and legendary musician Sammy Rubin who did the High and Mighty theme song, which has stuck for this entire time. And I'll continue to listen to it well after the show is over, but I just want to shout you out and say, thank you, Sammy Rubin. Thanks for everything, bud. I've thanked a lot of people over the course of this run, whether it was the people who gave me my first crack at podcast, the people from Headgum, guests who've lent their talents to my show over the years. But I know it's corny to say there would be no show if there wasn't listeners. So this final thank you, this final outro is for you guys use. I don't care what your gender is. I'm appreciative that you're listening. I mean, I care what your gender is, but let it be whatever you want to be. I'm just so stoked that all of you listened all these years and whether it was you're just jump on for the power hours or just jump on for the beIN fat episodes or you are someone who listened to all 500, someone who cherry picks the guests, someone who was on then quit or someone who joined late, never listened to the beginning. I don't care. I don't have an ego about this. I'm just so appreciative that you listened and it meant a lot to me. It means a lot to me to hear all the kind words you guys have thrown at me over the years when I meet someone somewhere randomly and they tell me they're a listener of the POD or post a picture of them wearing High and Mighty merch. Like all that means so much to me and more than you can understand. It's been 10 years of my life, a crazy 10 years. I moved to LA. All the stuff that's happened in my life and in the world and you've been there with me through this entire run. So I just want to say thank you very much. Now, while this is the end of High and Mighty, this isn't the end of John Gabris. It's not even the end of John Gabris. As a podcaster, of course, if you have been listening to the pod, you understand all these but let me just let you know where you can find me going forward. I'm Gabris on social media. I think I'm going to join Blue Sky. I don't know what my name will be there. Hopefully Gabrius is available. I ambrus on Twitch G A M E B R U S and I think I'm gonna get over there and start gaming in the near future with my some of my free time. Of course I have the Action Boys podcast which started here on High and Mighty as episode two. I talked about the Predator with Ryan Stanger and Ben Rodgers and now I'm on episode several hundred with them talking about action movies week in and week out on Patreon at ActionBoys Biz. A Z in boys and a Z and and biz free episodes at Free actionboys Biz. We're going to be putting a lot of effort into the show. I mean we already put so much effort into the show, but I'm going to double down and be able to do even more. Of course I also did 30 episodes of the Gino Lombardo show, one of my most happy, strongest feats in the entertainment industry. 30 episodes, 3 seasons, 310 episode arcs, a full series arc, some amazing guests, all of your favorite comedy guests, but then also people from other like Anthony Scaramucci's on an episode, Sarah Squirm, Don Finnelli, Ben Rogers, Ryan Stanger, Dan Black, famous Long Islanders, Billy Joel, quote unquote, or Alec Baldwin quote unquote, you know what I mean? So come through. Check that out. You can buy a physical media tape that has amazing jerky Boys Inspired art@geno.gabris.com where you get a little cassette tape that's actually a USB drive. So you can get that@geno.gabris.com as for me, I think that's it. Keep an eye out in 2025. I have some projects in the hopper that I can't talk about yet that hopefully you will enjoy or you'll jump on. But even if you don't, it doesn't matter. I'm appreciative of what you did for this last run for me and so thank you very much. Thanks for coming to the live shows. For those of you who did, thanks for buying the live stream of the Power hour or the 420 mega sesh for those of you who did. I appreciate all of that and I'd be just a freak screaming dumb shit into a microphone if it wasn't for you out there. So thank you again, listeners, and hope you follow me along as I continue my journey into comedy and podcasting or whatever the fuck that means. But it's time to say this for the last time. For now. Bye, shitheads. That was a hit gun podcast in a part of the world where there are no rules. Holy, holy. Guys, I'm so pumped. I definitely have not watched this since I rented it on VHS in 92 strangers united by the threat of death. We got all the major players. Seagal. Vladimir Putin is a good man. Arnold, come give it to me. I need you. The cream pie me now. Stal. People are loving this movie. See, I see. It's got a lot of heart. You're mentally irregular. Now, somewhere, somehow, someone's going to pay. I would love for my wife to, like, see me rip a guy's throat out. But they didn't count on one thing. This movie's insane. That's how you know it's a good movie. You have to do almost all the work yourself to figure. Figure it out. Well, there's a fantasy component. There's some sword fighting, there's some lightning. There's a new game in town. You wake up after a few years, and then you don't even know who you are anymore. We're gonna be making Terminators. We're gonna make a really great deal with the Xenomorphs. What? I don't hate him, but I've been in a roommate. Yes, I understand. This is now the 20th ending of the movie. I am D. I'm your dad. Action Boys. Boys will be boys. Subscribe here for bonus content and more free stuff from behind the paywall to get new episodes, become a patron at Action Boys biz. Do it. Do it. Come on, do it now.