How Did I Miss This?

In this episode, Ross and Kim are joined by Stephanie Weiss, a clinical sexologist, astrologer, and writer, to discuss her fascinating career and her new book, 'Sex and Your Stars.' The conversation covers Stephanie's transition from skepticism to astrology enthusiast, her admiration for New York City influenced by 'Desperately Seeking Susan,' and Madonna's cultural impact during the 1980s. They explore astrology's resurgence, political astrology, relationship dynamics via astrological charts, and Madonna's iconic fashion. The episode also debates Madonna's different eras, such as 'Burning Up,' 'Vogue,' 'Ray of Light,' and 'Bedtime Stories,'. Sex And Your Stars arrives July 30th and is available right now for pre-order everywhere you get books and at  www.stefanieirisweiss.com

“Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult.” -Michael Jackson In 1983, while the whole world was caught up in “Thriller-fever” young Ross was told to turn his back to the television at his grandfather's house. Finally, almost forty years later, Ross is getting his eyes pried open with hard plastic cat eye contact lenses and he's watching Michael Jackson's Thriller. And his best pal, Kim is leading the way.  Kim and Ross also speak at length about the hit ABC series, "Scandal" and the lovely actress, Katie Lowes, without actually mentioning her name. Just in time for Halloween. ”Any similarity to actual events or characters, living, dead, (or undead) is purely coincidental.”

We're back with a new episode. Our guest is the amazing Jenny O'Hara. Jenny has been a part of your life whether you know it or not. She's been an ever-present face in film, theatre, and on your television. Jenny has been in anything you've ever watched. No joke. You may know her as, Doug's mom on "King Of Queens" or Lillian from "Atypical" on Netflix. Maybe even Eleanor from "Killing Eleanor." But we think by the end of this episode you'll know her as Jenny O'Hara from just being awesome. Jenny is coming to the East Coast in a new play. Make your way over to www.njrep.org to get your tickets to "A Forest" by Lia Romeo from March 17 - April 10, 2022   Killing Eleanor is available for Rent or Purchase on all your favorite streaming platforms right now.    Enjoy Killing Eleanor with Jenny O'Hara.

Our guest is the multi-talented Jenny Kelly. Jenny is the Director of Business Development at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden and she's the Artistic Director of Hemlock Theatre Company. Wait, did we mention she plays Mrs. Claus every year at the St. George Theatre? She does. And lots more. Jenny brought us the 1988 film, Heathers starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. Ross watched the film for the first time but with one small caveat. Enjoy Heathers with our new favorite, Jenny Kelly.

Flashdance... What a feeling!  This episode was long overdue in more ways than one. We were planning for Kimberly to be a guest from before this show had a name and now she finally agreed to do it. Kimberly has a host of television, film, and Broadway credits on her IMDB but the most important will always be the one about her co-hosting this show. Kim chose the 1983 monster hit, Flashdance. And she was not wrong. Grab your leg-warmers and let's go!

Our guest is the very funny Amy Miller. You know her from Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, The Bennington Show, Doug Loves Movies, and her own fantastic podcast, Who's Your God? Amy grew up super religious just like Ross so it was a perfect fit. She picked the 1987 John Hughes classic, Planes, Trains & Automobiles. Ross and Kim watched it for the very first time. Find Amy on Instagram at @amymillercomedy, Twitter at @amymiller, and her website at amymillercomedy.com. You can purchase tickets right now for the December 20th Who's Your God? Holiday Zoom Party and Comedy Show with Amy, Steve, and a bunch of their favorite guests. Enjoy Planes, Trains & Automobiles with the delightful Amy Miller.  

This one was a long time in the making. We've been trying to get Rob Koutras on the show for a solid year but you can only put out a Halloween episode around Halloween. So here we are. Hocus Pocus is just one of those movies. Started out as a flop, second life on DVD, and now a massive holiday tradition for Gen X and Millenials. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as the witchy Sanderson sisters. "I smell children." And yet, somehow I missed it. Rob is a super talented New York actor, singer, director, and writer. He's got a new show, "The End" coming as soon as we can get the world back to normal. So wear a mask. Stick around after the episode to hear a little taste of Rob's song Casa De Giuletta from "The End."

Ida Hakkila is our very special guest. We go into depth right upfront about Ida's impact on my budding relationship with Cat in the mid-'90s as fresh-faced teenagers. "Practically" is the keyword. At the time, Ida was the midday DJ at the Alt-Rock giant in New York City, Q104 FM. I think we all had some mixed feelings about Life Of Brian. One of the key takeaways from this episode is to listen for how many times I say, "This is problematic." You can find Ida at www.heavylightshow.com. She's live on Radio Kingston weekdays from 3 PM to 5 PM. Enjoy!

Our guest is the amazing Becca Ayers. Becca is a multi-talented Broadway performer. She’s been in My Fair Lady, The Adam’s Family, South Pacific, and the off-broadway run of Dear Evan Hanson. Next up for Becca is originating a role in the new revival of the classic show, 1776.    Becca chose everyone’s favorite kid movie, The Neverending Story. I have some very strong feelings about this movie. We talk about the rock-eating guy, the snail that takes drugs, that weird space dog, boobs, phallic unicorns, and much, much more. Sebastian! Please! Say my name!

"Sliding Doors never hurt anyone." -Ariela Arnon Today we sit down with the talented Ariela Arnon. She's an actress, singer, writer, and multilingual voiceover artist from New York City. She's had her hands in a bit of everything in the industry. HBO, The Food Network, MTV, national tours, and more commercials than we can count. She performs and sings all over Manhattan. Broadway Comedy Club, 54 Below, Joe's Pub. She's got a website, a YouTube channel with singing, parody songs, and skits. You can follow her on social media with one of our favorite handles, @arielagolightly. She's our new best friend and she wants to be yours too.

We wanted to do something a little bit different this time and I thought it might be nice to bring Kimberly in to help me do the intro for this episode, but unfortunately, Kimberly is away and not available. So then I thought maybe we could pull our guest, John Acquavita in and have him be a part of it. But, apparently, we had some technical difficulties and I wasn’t able to get John, onto the recording. John Acquavita, a really good friend from high school and very handsome. A lot of people don't know this is his dad is a Robert Wagner Jr. And his mom is a former Playboy Bunny. Something that John doesn't talk about a lot, he put himself through bartending school by stripping. John chose the cinematic classic Road House, starring Patrick Swayze. We are all over social media. And if you want to join the conversation, you can find us at How Did I Miss This? on Facebook. @HDIMTpod on Instagram and @HDIMT on Twitter. Like the name of the show. Please enjoy  Road House with John Acquavita.

Our guest is the very lovely Eden Miller. Eden is a designer and wardrobe professional for television and film. She’s spent many years working on Broadway. She is the first plus size fashion designer to show her work at New York Fashion Week. And, she has the thighs of a leopard. We really had a great time talking and the time just flew by. Eden chose  The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. Released in 1984, I believe this is our third film from 84 and the second one back to back with Purple Rain in our last show. I wasn’t really sure what to expect mainly because I thought we were watching Big Trouble in Little China. And I haven’t seen that one either.

Our guest is the very talented Joseph A Halsey. Joseph is an actor, writer, director, and filmmaker. If that’s not enough, in his spare time, Joseph fronts his band, Bigger Than Plastic.  Joseph has a documentary on the way call Common Ground. It’s about how the Trenton Police department has made real strides in changing the way they’ve been policing for years. And now instead, the police are engaging with the community in new ways. Joe chose the 1984 classic, Purple Rain. I wasn’t allowed to watch this movie pretty much because Prince was in it. And also boobs. Please enjoy Purple Rain with Joseph A Halsey.

(Part 2) Welcome to the B-side. Our guest is the delightful Carol Griffin We met Carol about a year ago and I instantly thought, “Carol Griffin is going to be one of my Top Five Favorite People.” So sorry, Brian Haley. Number six is still very good.  Carol has a bunch of projects going and they are all great. She’s got a band, The Carol Griffin Trio. She’s got a radio show, The Soul Spectrum. I even got to be in a repertory theatre show with her. Let me tell you, she can sing the pants off a song.  Carol chose the 1986 film, She’s Gotta Have It. This is Spike Lee’s first film, his first “joint” if you will. I’m a big fan of independent film and yet, somehow, I missed it.

(Part 1) Our guest is the delightful Carol Griffin We met Carol about a year ago and I instantly thought, “Carol Griffin is going to be one of my Top Five Favorite People.” So sorry, Brian Haley. Number six is still very good.  Carol has a bunch of projects going and they are all great. She’s got a band, The Carol Griffin Trio. She’s got a radio show, The Soul Spectrum. I even got to be in a repertory theatre show with her. Let me tell you, she can sing the pants off a song.  Carol chose the 1986 film, She’s Gotta Have It. This is Spike Lee’s first film, his first “joint” if you will. I’m a big fan of independent film and yet, somehow, I missed it. Disclaimer. This is a long episode. It’s literally longer than the movie but we cover a lot of ground. We don’t want to overwhelm you so this episode is coming out in two parts. But we aren’t going to make you wait for the second part. This is our double album. This is our Guns N Roses Use Your Illusion 1 and 2. Both parts are out now. You can space them out or you can binge like it’s Netflix. But if you binge, don’t come back and say it was long. You binged. That’s on you.

Our guest is the wonderful Lawrence Saint-Victor. You know him from Guiding Light and his role as Carter Walton on The Bold and the Beautiful. Lawrence has a web series called WedLocked with his Bold and Beautiful costar, Karla Mosley. Lawrence chose the 1989 animated feature Batman: Mask of the Phantasm featuring Mark Hamil as the voice of The Joker. I’m a big superhero fan and yet, somehow, I missed it. I can’t imagine anyone better than Lawrence to help us unmask Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.

Our guest is Scott T. Hinson. Scott is an actor-writer-director and he has a really cute cat named Roger. Cats with people names are my jam so extra points awarded there. Scott chose the 1980 hit film 9 to 5 with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and my favorite person in the world, Dolly Parton. 9 to 5 is STILL the 20th highest-grossing comedy film. And somehow, I missed it. Scott grew up with a similar religious background but he was allowed to watch this movie. This makes him the perfect person to walk me through this first time viewing.

I really liked this one. We watched the 1981 John Carpenter classic, “Escape From New York.” I like to call this the first of Kurt Russell’s Eye Patch Trilogy. Captain Ron and Escape From LA are the other two. Our guest is Raven Jakubowski from The Apocalist Book Club Podcast. Raven’s podcast tackles post-apocalyptic literature in the order of publication and it’s awesome. Check it out. The Apocalist Book Club. I can’t imagine anyone better than Raven to walk us through Escape From New York. Let’s jump right in.

I used to not be allowed to watch a lot of movies when I was a kid, so I’m watching them now. We talk about it in every episode, blah, blah, blah, you’ll get it. This was a very scary episode for me. We watched the 1976 horror classic “Carrie.” When I tell you this is the first horror movie I’ve ever seen, I’m not joking. This is the first horror movie I’ve ever seen and I’m 46 years old. Our guest is Yleana Nunez. Yleana had a similar religious experience as I did. So it was cool to talk with someone that knew all the religious lingo. Yleana is the wardrobe supervisor for Blue Bloods on CBS and the upcoming film Once Upon a Time in Staten Island. This episode we have support from Hopsy. Hopsy is an at-home subscription service for regional craft beer. You start with a compact home draft appliance. No maintenance needed, just plug and pour. Fits on any counter-top and comes with a 2-year limited warranty. Then you let Hopsy know what kinds of beers you like and they send them right to your door on the scheduled interval of your choosing. Perfect for times like these. Right now Hopsy is offering our listeners a Krups SUB home tap, usually priced at $199 for a little as 49 bucks! Our Hopsy home tap is something we use every day and every time we record the show. Check out the specials for our listeners. Head over to www.hopsy.beer/hdimt

Our guest is Beth Stroh. Beth is a local businesswoman and the owner and proprietor of Arts and Drafts, Staten Island's First & Only custom DIY Wood Sign Workshop!  Arts-N-Drafts offers a wide variety of hands-on, private experiences from workshops, private parties, bridal showers, bachelorette gatherings, children’s birthday bashes, corporate events, and fundraisers. But unfortunately, at the moment we can’t do any of that.  It’s important to point out, this episode was recorded before we all got stuck inside from the Coronavirus. I’m sure at some point everything will go back to normal and we’ll all get to go back to Arts and Drafts parties but in the meantime, Beth has created at home kits so you can get the full experience but at the same time be a responsible human being.  You can find Beth's home kits at https://squareup.com/store/artsndrafts

Beaches is one of those movies I missed. I remember it was a big deal in my friend group when it came out but it wasn’t anything that would be playing in the Decker house. This episode we are joined by wonderful New York comedian Danny Cohen. Danny is one of the funniest guys in the business and you can find him at his home club, The Comedy Cellar. You can also check him out at Danny Cohen Comedy on Instagram. Danny uses Instagram Live and Stories probably better than anyone. We talk about Beaches, infomercials, and Danny getting passed at the Comedy Cellar. Thanks Danny!

All your favorite movies the 80s? I wasn’t allowed to see them. Like for real. But now it’s time to make up for it. This Is Spinal Tap is one of those movies I wasn’t allowed to watch. Luckily we have Andy Gilkeson to walk us through. Andy speaks fluent Spinal Tap. Andy is a good friend but a terrible whisperer. Andy quit drinking at 14 years old but thank goodness he picked it back up again. We've have had some great arguments over the years including, “What’s the best Tom Petty album?” and “Who’s the better villain, Darth Vader or Kylo Ren?” Andy is also the commissioner of the Staten Island Strat-O-Matic League. What is Strat-O-Matic? It’s a board game that mixes Baseball with index cards, dice and math. It’s more fun than it sounds. We had a great time with Andy. This episode is best enjoyed with the volume turned up to 11.

We had so much fun with this episode. Our guest was the amazing Michael Kostroff. You’ve seen Michael in just about everything.  Law & Order, Luke Cage, Showtime’s Billions, HBO’s The Deuce, The Wire, The Good Wife. Broadway with Nathan Lane in The Nance.  He has a new HBO miniseries premiering March 16th called The Plot Against America.  Michael has two great books you can find on Amazon. Audition Psych 101 that we talk about on this episode and also Letters from Backstage: The Adventures of a Touring Stage Actor. I’ve read both and I can highly recommend.  Also joining us, we have Kimberly Butler from television, film and theater producing and sitting across from me. And finally, if you squint your eyes and listen really close, you may hear from my wife, Cat. This episode is marked "Explicit" as, towards the end of the episode, Michael recounts a story from his book that includes some salty language with comedic value. 

Once upon a time, there was a little boy whose parents made him come directly home right after school.  There weren't a lot of movies he was allowed to see. He missed ALL the classics from the 80s and 90s.  Airplane! Gremlins, The Goonies, The Breakfast Club, Back To The Future... When that boy grew up he turned out to be me, Ross Decker and now it's time to see all the movies I wasn't allowed to as a kid and find out what it means when people say, "Be excellent to each other."