They don't think it be like it is…but it do

We are jumping out of the booze and into the theater, for it is once again time to celebrate all things movies with the aptly named, Movie May. This time we are tackling Secret Movies. Confused? Same here, but this episode should help explain it.

OOOHH YEAHHHH! It was a night of memories, tales of glory days long past when these maniacs ruled the roads and painted the town red. As the drinks flowed, so did the wild stories - outrageous adventures, narrow escapes, romantic conquests that would make your grandmother blush! For one night, they were young again, lost in a hazy brotherhood forged in the beers of their epic youth. OOOHH YEAHHHH, those were the days, my friends, the CREAM OF THE CROP living life full throttle! 

We are back with our next drink review for Aperitif April. This time, we'll be tackling a pair of original recipes with a wedding theme! Join us as we taste-test The Prenuptial and The Divorce Settlement.

Our first foray into cocktails for Aperitif April has us taking on three variations of a modern staple that surged out of West Texas the past decade: Ranch Water! Several individuals have laid claim to creating this simple yet delicious tequila highball, there is one undisputed fact no one can deny: This shit is gooood. Pour a glass and drink along as we have our own ranch-hand happy hour. 

Our first episode of Aperitif April has us diving into the suds and a little science! In honor of the coming eclipse, we are taste-testing two beers with the cosmos in their hoppy hearts. First, the specially-made for the big event Vanilla Blackout Stout from Great Lakes Brewing. Then we get a little spacy with Cosmic Haze from Market Garden Brewery. What do these two different but fabulous beers pair best with? Some choice pop culture cuts with a cosmic twist, of course. Crack one open, put your eclipse glasses on and let's space out together.

It's April, which means we are jumping into a new theme. I am happy to kick off our first month dedicated to the adult beverage, Grandpa's cough syrup, hooch, the hard stuff, aqua vitae...whatever you want to call it, we're talking about it this month in Aperitif April!

The end of March is here, which means we are wrapping up this year's In The March of Minisodes, which means we are done with The Occasionalists Daily. THANK GOD. While this was a fun experiment, it's one that is not likely to be repeated any time soon...unless certain changes are made. But really, we probably won't do this again. Most likely. I mean, probably not...

It's Infrastructure Week Day here at The Occasionalists! You know what that means: I am going to scare the absolute shit out of you with facts about the inherent unsafe conditions of our roads, bridges, drinking water, hazardous waste, schools and more. Oh, and I'm going to tell you about all of the disasters that human oversight and laziness caused. If you're listening to this while driving...prayers up. Happy Thursday!

Pop quiz hot shot: What's a basic human right we have fought tooth and nail for yet obnoxiously violate or willfully give up for a few likes and comments? What's impossible to fully guarantee yet fundamental to our peace of mind? What is under constant attack, yet the individual's is rarely affected? Privacy! I'll bet you never look at your phone the same way again.

On the heels of one of the worst terror attacks ever in Russia that was almost certainly allowed to happen we take a look back at 20th-century Russian history and how Vladimir Putin's role in the KGB and early Russian Federation politics has shaped modern Russia for the worse.

We are kicking off our final week of daily episodes with our first current topic. We are diving into gambling, legal or otherwise, and how baseball's biggest star and the league office find themselves in quite the pickle.  

We wrap up this week with songs exclusively with Friday in the title and almost exclusively about people's lives falling apart or coming together on Friday. Turns out there's a surprisingly large subgenre of music I'm dubbing "very bad or very good shit happens to me on Fridays." It's a working title.

We're over the hump and on to Thirsty Thursday. Nay! We are on to Throwback Thursday! That's right, bringing back an early social media #classic as we celebrate some old music with today's playlist. How old? The newest songs on here would have just turned 30. Let's throw it back!

We are back on a Wednesday to turn the volume back up after bringing it down yesterday. We are hitting the gym with some force, aggression and some equally angry music. It's time for some Crush Tunes! Turn this shit up to 11 and start crushing some iron!

How about some mood and mind-altering music to change your attitude about the second worst day of the week? Thought you might like that.

What better way to start a new work week than with a playlist chock full of tv themes? It's rhetorical: there is no better way. Don't think you can jam out to tv music? Think again!

What do picking up historic land markers, throwing giant logs, pulling airplanes, and dragging anchors have in common with everyday tasks in your life? Maybe a little more than you realized.

What do world-class bodybuilders, powerlifters, strongmen, and strength coaches all have in common according to jealous little trolls on the internet? They're all ego lifters! And nothing they do ever counts! I have a solution for this problem: Take the collective sticks out of your asses and join us in some good old fashion ego-lifting fun!

Q: What are we doing today mum? A: We're gonna tear the tits off some high-rep sets! For a lot of casual gym goers, a high rep set might entail 15, 16, or maybe even 20 reps. We're about to enter a different realm of reps, where we don't even start counting until the lungs burn and the muscles get tight. Welcome to hell! 

For today's episode, we are talking weight sleds. A great alternative to leg day and very much like a Transformer: more than meets the eye! Tighten those shoes and get pushing. Or pullin'!

We're rolling right into the second week of The Occasionalists Daily with a look at how we can still get a good workout and have a little fun at the same time. First up: Accommodating Resistance. Get your bands and your chains out. Let's go to work!

A two-fer to close out the first week of The Occasionalists Daily. We take on the gimmicky nature of professional soccer in America and try to figure out why the NHL wants to make itself look as bad as possible.

Today's episode covers the problems the NBA faces, one of which starts well before a player logs even a single minute in The Association. And if you're a big nerd, the other problem has to do with math!

Today's episode has us looking slightly beyond the payroll imbalances of Major League Baseball and examining to new issues facing the league.

For the second episode of the podcast every day challenge for In The March of Minisodes, we tackle the problems threatening college football.

We're kicking off In The March of Minisodes daily podcast challenge with a look at some of the less obvious problems facing the NFL.

*Viking horn sounds* In The March of Minisodes, has commenced! *Crowd cheers wildly* We are taking the minisode concept to new heights this year. For this March, The Occasionalists will become a daily podcast. That's right kids! Every weekday (that's weekday) this month you will be getting a hot new episode. Sports, music, headline news...it's all coming at you hard and fast. Who's ready for 21 episodes?! *Crowd explodes into more cheers* Wow! The six of you are very excited for this!

We are putting the finishing touches on February and we are locking up The Vault. For now! We go over the month and give some highlights, talk about how The Vault is going to come into play in the future and of course, finish with our final Top 5 of the month. You even get a bonus peek at next month's minisode challenge.

Our third entry into The Vault finds us bringing in our first guest of the year. Rob Nugent is back to get in-depth with the 1993 stoner classic, Dazed and Confused.  This is a masterclass in independent filmmaking, Gen X defiance, and the aimlessness of youth. It's bolstered by a who's who cast before they were stars, an unbelievable (and expensive!) soundtrack, and Richard Linklater's unmistakable voice and fingerprints all over every scene. You got two hours to chill and listen with us? No? Be a lot cooler if you did.

The next piece of pop culture we are locking away from the impending apocalypse (asteroid, mega typhoon, new pandemic, whatever) inside of our trusty, underground vault is the greatest sitcom ever: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. I said what I said! This show has charted its path to greatness by simultaneously subverting and playing directly to modern tv tropes. It has pushed boundaries, sometimes a little too far, in a way no sitcom had done previously. And all it has to show for breaking new ground on television is an empty trophy case and a worldwide legion of fans. Why don't yous pull up a seat and listen?

Our first episode of The Vault finds us taking a deep dive into the once-reviled, now-lauded sci-horror classic The Thing. John Carpenter's nihilist masterpiece weaves together some of the grossest, most spectacular SFX of all time, with a tense story, top-notch cast, claustrophobic atmosphere, and growing paranoia while still leaving room for the audience to explore their interpretations and theories on the film. Without a doubt, this is a solid first entry for The Vault.

Greetings Occasionalheads! We are back, kicking off February with the first of our imitation series. This month, we are jocking the style of a classic movie podcast, Filmspotting, and putting our twist on what we think of as being the best of the best. We're unlocking...drum roll please...The Vault! All month long we are picking some pieces of pop culture that we want to lock away in a massive, disaster-proof vault to protect from the inevitable crash and burn of civilization and preserve for the aliens that will arrive on our ashen husk of a planet future generations of humanity to enjoy. Start thinking about what you want to put into The Vault!  

Our last (more than likely) Loose End is being tied up as we discuss Sports Logos! We've gotten into plenty of uniform talk when it comes to our sports-centric episodes, but we've never gotten directly into the team logos. What makes a good logo? How have design conventions changed over the years? Why do some logos become iconic and others never catch on? I'm so glad you asked, let's answer all of those questions and more!

We hit our next Loose End and take on something that has been on the proverbial docket for....ever. At least it seems that way. We are talking about some video game music! Soundtrack vs scores, ambient/background music and sounds, early video game music. We cover it all! Plus, we get a little video game music trivia that involves some big-time musicians and award winners. Pick up those sticks and press play!

Welcome back Occasionalists fans! The first brand-new episode of the year has arrived! In a vain attempt at a minisode, I spend a solid 45 minutes discussing some of the best things in pop culture I've come across recently, as well as some of the things that make my blood boil. What made the lists? Marvel melting brains? You bet! Lyrical meteorologists? Absolutely! Reality-bending movies? Of course! And a whole lot more. Without further ado, let's jump into 2024.

We wrap up the Best of 2023 with another look at two thrillers from Fright Fest V that embodied the legislative branch of The Body Politic and the power policy has to turn people against each other with a deep dive into The Purge and Battle Royale. 

And now the second of two Best of episodes dropping today, in which we discuss the different types of modern sci-fi subgenres and their origins, and give some examples of some movies and tv shows you might have seen that fit into one or multiple different subgenres. 

The first of two Best of episodes dropping today, in which we discuss the different types of modern sci-fi subgenres and their origins, and give some examples of some movies and tv shows you might have seen that fit into one or multiple different subgenres. 

Our next Best of 2023 episode finds us going back to the totally awesome, totally tubular 1990s to talk about the golden age (maybe?) of sitcoms with none other than hockey correspondent Rob Nugent! From our favorites, to absurd moments, to jokes we didn't get until we were older, this episode was an awesome blast of tv nostalgia.

Let's take a look back at the best episodes of the year as selected by uh....me! We'll do this in chronological order so first up was a very fun episode from Movie May. The whole month was dedicated to war movies of various kinds and this episode (Battle Breakdown) got into the nitty gritty of combat by dissecting 9 different battle sequences from film and television. Some were from real battles, some were fictional, some did some things right and others did some things wrong.   

Heyo! We are back and alive. Uh, obviously. We are back with a new episode to close out the year that was, 2023 in case you forgot, by covering all of the previous episodes and themes and seeing what worked, didn't work, and where to go from there. We also preview the top 4 episodes of the year and give a glimpse into the upcoming, year-long theme the podcast will be following. Happy 2024! Eat shit, 2023!

And we wrap up the two-fer, and Best of the Best Week, with a look at villains in sports. Are there as many as you think? When does villainy cross into appreciation?  One thing is for sure though: villains make for the best real fictional characters.

How about we close out Best of the Best Week with a good old-fashioned two-fer?  We start by doing a deep dive into bat flips, hip thrusts, coordinated dances, power slides, finger wags, spikes, shimmies, shakes, and war dances to determine what is the best celebration in all of sports.

We have reached the midpoint of our Best of the Best Week and we are hashing out what is the best sports television show of all time. Here's a dirty little secret about fictional sports tv shows: they mostly suck. Except for the one selected here. FX's The League is truly head and shoulders (and downstairs mouth) above the rest of the competition and thus, earns a lifetime Shiva award.  

Our next episode for Best of the Best Week finds us examining the intersection of sports and music. Nothing hypes up a crowd, or a team for that matter, like a well-placed song drop. Player and team entrances, fan chants, and even some sing-alongs are top of mind with this episode. We tackle a variety of songs and tell you when it is best to give these tracks a try. Plus, we open up Pandora's Box and potentially commit some kind of blasphemy by suggesting that maybe, juuuust maybe, Queen does not have the top stadium anthem of all time. I've said too much, strap in to find out more.

We roll on with our Sports Bonanza and we're offering up a little curveball for your holiday week. A new minisode every day this week presenting the Best of the Best. First up: The Best Sports Movie. It's obviously the 1989 comedy classic, Major League. If you think it's something else, you're wrong. I think you'll see things, just give me like 5 minutes to convince you. You still don't believe me? I guess there's only one thing left to do then... Listen to the whole fucking thing.  

We're jumping right back into another Sports Bonanza episode, this time with a few answers to our pressing Cleveland sports questions.* Can the Guardians dream real big this offseason? How should we consider this wild, up-and-down Browns season? Will the Cavs have the first father-son duo in NBA history? Get answers to all that and more! *Unfortunately, we didn't have time to provide any commentary or updates on the ever-growing steroid and cocaine scandal in the Greater Cleveland Interscholastic Bowling League. Check back in next week!  

The November Sports Bonanza rolls on with (and you knew it was coming) a Cleveland-centric episode!  We're asking questions about the Browns, Cavs, and Guardians, obviously. But we're also dipping into the Cleveland Monsters, John Carroll Blue Streaks, Notre Dame College Falcons, Cleveland State Vikings, and Case Western Spartans. And naturally, we finished out with a deep talk about the hyper-competitive Greater Cleveland Interscholastic Bowling League and the ongoing steroids scandal. Wait, I'm being told that part of the recording has been lost. I guess we'll have to replace it with some talk about THE Ohio State University Buckeyes. You win some you lose some. Tomorrow, we'll be answering a few questions posed in this episode. Stay tuned!  

We are officially kicking of our monthlong focus on sports, Sports Bonanza!, with an always fun and engaging round of sports trivia. We're digging deep into all of the major sports, college and pro, with an interesting bonus question to boot. And if you're into excessively long rants about big corporations stealing money, are you in for a real treat! In the words of the late, great Oscar Gamble: They don't think it be like it is. But it do.

We wrap up Fright Fest V (almost!) with our final double feature on the enforcement branch of The Body Politic as we take on Deathwatch (2002) and Day of the Dead (1985). On the menu for this review: Isolation, paranoia, distrust, zombies, barbed wire, inhuman experiments, giant rats, machine guns, inept leaders, the apocalypse, and vengeful German spirits.  That sounds like a good meal to me, eat up!

We kick off the final week of our examination into the Body Politic with an introduction to the branch that represents the most immediate horror and threat to us: Enforcement.  There isn't a situation the boys in blue or (green) can't make worse and way more violent than it needs to be. Whether it's zombies, primordial gods, ghosts, or regular people in extraordinary circumstances, they'll find a way to screw it up.