Podcasts about mario brothers

Leading Into 2026: Executive Pastor Insights Momentum is real. So is the pressure. This free report draws from the largest dedicated survey of Executive Pastors ever, revealing what leaders are actually facing as they prepare for 2026. Why staff health is the #1 pressure point Where churches feel hopeful — and stretched thin What worked in 2025 and is worth repeating Clear decision filters for the year ahead Download the Full Report Free PDF • Built for Executive Pastors • Instant access Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today we’re sitting down with an executive pastor from a prevailing church to unpack what leaders like you shared in the National Executive Pastor Survey so you can lead forward with clarity. In today’s episode, we’re joined by Kayra Montañez, Executive Pastor at Liquid Church in New Jersey. Liquid is a fast-growing multisite church with six campuses stretching from Princeton to communities just outside New York City. In this conversation, Kayra helps unpack one of the biggest concerns surfaced in the National Executive Pastor Survey: the growing gap between attendance and engagement. While many churches are seeing people return, far fewer leaders feel confident that those people are truly connected, discipled, and serving. Is your church seeing full rooms but thin volunteer pipelines? Are you unsure how engaged people really are beyond weekend services? Kayra offers practical insight into why that gap exists—and what churches can do to close it. Attendance is up, engagement is unclear. // Kayra begins with encouragement. Across the country, churches are seeing renewed spiritual openness. People are coming with expectancy, ready to encounter God. At the same time, many leaders sense a disconnect between attendance and belonging. Kayra identifies several common gaps: people attending without joining “people systems” like groups or teams; online attenders remaining anonymous without a clear bridge to community; seasonal attenders who show up for Christmas and Easter but never return; and potential volunteers who are open to helping but hesitant to commit long-term. These patterns aren't unique to Liquid—they're widespread across the church landscape. From prescribed paths to personalized journeys. // One of Liquid's biggest shifts has been moving away from a rigid, one-size-fits-all connection pathway. Kayra compares the old model to the video game Mario Brothers, where everyone must follow the same prescribed path or “die.” Instead, Liquid now operates more like Zelda: a choose-your-own-adventure approach that honors people's seasons, needs, and interests. Rather than telling people where they must plug in, the church focuses on learning what people actually want and helping them find a meaningful next step. Connect and Conversation. // This shift comes to life through a monthly experience called Connect and Conversation, hosted at every campus after the final service. New and not-yet-connected attendees are invited to a meal where they sit at tables with others like them and facilitators. The event begins with relational icebreakers to help people connect naturally, then moves into guided conversation around what attendees are looking for—community, care, serving, support groups, or spiritual growth. Facilitators take detailed notes, which drive personalized follow-up in the weeks ahead. Kayra describes it as “high-touch, concierge-style ministry,” and the results have been significant movement from attendance into engagement. Measuring what matters. // Liquid tracks what happens after people attend Connect and Conversation—not to claim direct causation, but to see correlation. They monitor whether participants join groups, teams, or discipleship environments in the following months. That data has helped the church refine pathways and remove unnecessary friction. Kayra encourages leaders to examine two key metrics: how many first-time guests take any next step within 30 days, and what percentage move into a people system within 60–90 days. These numbers often reveal where engagement breaks down. Reimagining discipleship. // One surprising insight at Liquid came from surveying the congregation about small groups. While relational connection mattered, the top desire was biblical literacy. In response, Liquid “blew up” its traditional small-group model and launched a new midweek Bible study format called Deep Dive. Rather than prioritizing relationships first, these environments put Scripture front and center, with connection as a natural byproduct. The pilot—an in-depth study of Revelation—drew hundreds of participants and revealed a deep hunger for understanding God's Word. Rebuilding volunteer momentum. // Like many churches, Liquid faced a volunteer crisis as growth outpaced serving capacity—especially in kids' environments. In response, the church launched a short-term campaign called For the One, built around a “try before you buy” serving model. New volunteers could serve a few times with a shortened onboarding process (without compromising safety) and then decide whether to commit long-term, scoring exclusive team swag. More than 400 people stepped in to serve, helping stabilize teams and reignite volunteer culture. Short-term fixes and long-term culture. // Kayra emphasizes that engagement is both a systems problem and a culture challenge. Churches need short-term solutions to address immediate gaps, but long-term health comes from storytelling, celebration, appreciation, and consistently casting vision for why serving and community matter. Engagement doesn't happen accidentally—it's cultivated intentionally over time. To learn more about Liquid Church, visit liquidchurch.com, or connect with Kayra directly via email. Watch the full episode below: Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. We’ve got a special episode on today where we’re diving into some of the results from the National Executive Pastor Survey. And today we’re super excited to have Kayra Montañez with us from Liquid Church in New Jersey. Rich Birch — And today we’re talking all about engagement. One of the things that jumped out, well, one of the top tier results, kind of concerns that came out, 10% of executive pastors in the open questions, expressed fear around discipleship death depth and volunteer sustainability. At the same time, nearly 12% said they lacked really visibility into participation and involvement data. Another 6% pointed specifically to volunteer and team metrics really being an unmet need, not knowing where they are. Rich Birch — So what does that all that mean? Roughly one in five executive pastors are entering 2026 this year, wondering really how engaged their churches are. And Kayra is going to solve all that for us. So Kayra, welcome to the show. Tell us about Liquid. Tell us a little bit about the church. Kayra Montañez — Well I appreciate the vote of confidence but I’m not sure about that. But, Rich, it’s always so great to be with you and to be a guest on your podcast. Thank you so much for having me. So yes, we are in New Jersey. So our church is called Liquid. I get the incredible privilege of serving there as one of two executive pastors. And we are a multisite church. We have six campuses. If you and know anything about New Jersey, one of them is the furthest one is in Princeton, New Jersey – a lot of people know Princeton. Kayra Montañez — And then probably the closest one that we have up north is closest to New York City, about 30 minutes from the city. So that kind of gives you the breadth and width of how we’re trying to saturate the state of New Jersey with the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is our mission. Rich Birch — So good. And Kayra, I really appreciate you jumping in on on today’s conversation, particularly in this area, because I think, man, have so much to offer. You know, so many of our churches, we feel like the volunteer pipelines are thin. How are we getting? It’s like people are underutilized. Maybe are our follow-up process are like overly complex. And you’ve done a great job on on this area. So let’s just jump right in. Rich Birch — Where do you see some of the biggest gaps today in churches, whether it’s Liquid or other churches you interact, between, you know, getting people to attend church attendance and actual engagement. There’s a gap there. what What’s driving that? What do what do you think drives that gap in our churches? Kayra Montañez — Yeah. So I see a couple of things. But before I get to that, you know, I just really wanted to start with something really encouraging because it’s not in my nature to be discouraging. So one of the things that I have noticed, in fact, I was actually spending some time with other pastors from other states in the U.S. And we were talking about like, hey, what is the Lord doing in the in the Big C Church? What are you experiencing in your context? Rich Birch — So good. Kayra Montañez — And one of the things I think that was a theme for all of us is it feels like we don’t have to work as hard to get people to come and be ready for what the Lord has for them. And that feels very exciting. Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — And that’s like a theme that I’m seeing repeated across the entire nation with all of my pastor friends from different locations. Having said that, there are still things that we have to do to get people from going to just attending to engaging, like you were saying. I think there’s a couple of things that I saw. Kayra Montañez — One of them is a big one, I would say, is like this idea of, attending versus belonging, right. So like first people actually want to come, but they don’t actually join people systems. So they come in person, they come online, but they don’t actually join any kind of people system. So when I say people system I’m thinking about groups, or dream teams, a support group, a class. That’s actually something that we started seeing a lot post-pandemic, and I would say it’s still here. So that’s one gap that I see. Kayra Montañez — The second gap that I see is digital versus relational. So obviously, we at Liquid have spent a lot of, we’ve invested a lot in our digital ministry, and we really believe online and in-person can both thrive at the same time, and we’re seeing that. Kayra Montañez — However, online services, while they can remove barriers, which is good, it also helps people stay anonymous unless there’s a clear bridge for those people to actually join in-person community. And so churches that haven’t figured out well how to do that will continue to see a gap between people who are attending, whether it’s in person or online, but not actually engaging. Kayra Montañez — There’s also the people who just come for big events, right? Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — We’re approaching one of them, even as we film this podcast, next week is Christmas Eve. So we joke at Liquid, we have the CEOs, they come for Christmas, Easter, and other big events, but they don’t actually have a weekly rhythm of attending and engaging. Kayra Montañez — And then there’s people who I would say are curious about serving and for the most part are open to helping, but are not really ready to make a serving commitment and actually take on a very consistent role. So I would say across the breadth and width of churches, that’s probably something that would hit most people, no matter where you are. Rich Birch — Yeah, for sure. Kayra Montañez — Definitely we experience all of them at Liquid. Rich Birch — Yeah, I there was a lot there, in which I appreciate. and i appreciate the way you’ve kind of diagnosed. I think there’s multiple ways to kind of um diagnose or kind of pick apart – Hey, here are different aspects here, or different ways that we’re seeing this kind of attendance versus engagement question. So maybe, you know, pick apart those attending versus belonging. What has Liquid done? What are you doing to try to help move people from just attending, actually getting into those people systems? What does that? What are you learning on that front? Kayra Montañez — Yeah. You know, we’ve had a major shift at Liquid, I would say, in the past two years. The best way that I can explain this is with a gaming analogy, because I have teenagers and they love gaming. Rich Birch — I love it. Kayra Montañez — So if you um go back to when we used to play Mario Brothers, you remember Mario Brothers? Rich Birch — Sure, yeah. Kayra Montañez — Mario Brothers has prescribed path where if you did not follow the path, at some point Mario would die. Like if you stayed behind and the camera kept moving, the character would die. You remember that? Rich Birch — Yes, yes. Kayra Montañez — And that’s the way that a lot of churches, even today, approach helping people connect. There is a prescribed path for you, and we’re going to tell you what you need to do and what you have to do. Then Zelda came into the scene and Zelda is like, hey, choose your own adventure. You can start your adventure anywhere you want. Rich Birch — Right. Kayra Montañez — And so I feel like Liquid, we’ve shifted in that. We used to be Mario Brothers, like, hey, here’s a prescribed path for you. Here’s all the things that you have to do to connect. Whereas now we’ve shifted over the past two years into like, hey, we have a lot of things that we can offer you. And there are many different things depending on your season of life, on your felt needs, on what you’re looking for, on what you’re interested in, on what makes your heart beat. Tell us what you want to do and we’re going to help you. Kayra Montañez — And so in order for us to understand what is it that people want, we created an event that we do every month called Connect and Conversation. And the whole idea and the way that we market it is if you’re new to Liquid, or if you are not new, but you haven’t connected yet, you haven’t found your people, you haven’t found something that you want to be a part of, come to this event. Kayra Montañez — We feed you. We get to know you. And then we follow up personally with you. It’s very high level concierge, kind of a follow up system, where after we connect with you, we ask you, hey, what are you actually interested in? What are you looking for? Because your needs as an empty nester who’s been married for over 25 years, you’re parenting adult children who are already married are very different than mine who have two team have two teenagers. Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — One of them is about to go to college, right? Rich Birch — Yep, yep. Kayra Montañez — And so that has actually produced incredible fruit from getting people who are attending. Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — Now I’ve actually offered them something they’re interested in, which is making connections with people. And then from there, we follow up to offer, what do you need? Rich Birch — That’s so cool. Kayra Montañez — And everybody has different needs. Some people just wanna join teams because they’re just like, I just wanna serve. Some people, they really just need a lot of care. And so maybe they need a support group and we’re gonna offer that to you. Kayra Montañez — Some people may need marriage mentoring. We’re gonna offer that to you. So it really depends. And what we’ve seen is people taking significant next steps once they go out of that event. And that has really changed the past. In the past, we would only be marketing teams and groups, role and relationship, join, ah you know, get into a role and connect with a relationship. And while that’s still good, I’m not saying that’s not good or not needed. Rich Birch — Right. Kayra Montañez — It’s not the only thing that people are looking for. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s interesting. Can we, I’d love to dive just a little deeper on on that because I think there’s ah a really key learning there for lots of us. This idea, and you didn’t say it this way, but where my brain went to, you know, I think we have, we have for sure in the past done the thing where it’s like we have these giant funnels that we’re pushing everyone through. Rich Birch — And and the only question we’re really asking is where do you fit in our funnel? Kayra Montañez — Correct. Rich Birch — Like where, You know, and we and we push and literally, and this is no, you know, kind of slam on other systems, but it’s like, this is the, you know, step one, step two, step three, everyone do step one first, then you do step two, then you do step three. Rich Birch — So the the connecting conversation, that feels like highly, like it’s volunteer intensive. You got to get a lot of volunteers in there because it sounds like you’re having one-on-one conversations or something close to one-on-one. Unpack what that looks like. Maybe as a guest, if I arrive at that, what do I actually experience when I show up there? Kayra Montañez — So you you can register up until the time that we have the event. Rich Birch — Yep, that’s great. Kayra Montañez — So we do math you know magical math with the food and and the preparation so that we can just accept people who are going to come on the day of. Because we promote it, obviously, every week. And then the day of, we actually promote it. We get most people to show up the day of the event. Rich Birch — Right, okay. Kayra Montañez — So people will come. There’s going to be a lunch. And then they’re going to sit at a table with about five other people who have a facilitator at that table. Rich Birch — Okay. Kayra Montañez — And that facilitator is actually going to lead them through a series of relational icebreakers because the event is designed for you to first connect. You want to meet other people who are just like you. Maybe they’re new or they’re not new, but they haven’t connected yet with somebody. Rich Birch — That’s good. Kayra Montañez — And so there’s going to be a lot of relational icebreakers you know during the first part of the event. And then after that, we get into like, hey, what are you looking for? What are you hoping to get out of? What do you need? What are you interested in? We make notes. Rich Birch — How can we help? All that kind of stuff. Kayra Montañez — That facilitator takes really good notes based on what people are saying. And then the follow-up begins. Rich Birch — That’s so cool. I love that. That’s what a great learning. You know, I think so many times we’ve seen that step and for sure that echoes what I’ve seen in in a number of churches. There’s really a trend away from the class being the first step. Rich Birch — It’s like the stand that we used to do that thing where it was like, okay, someone stands up at the front and they’re going to talk for 50 minutes about why we’re such a great church. And, ah you know, that really has gone away. I would I would echo that, that we’ve seen that as ah as a best practice for sure. So let’s talk… Kayra Montañez — When we do measure… Rich Birch — Sorry, go ahead. No. Kayra Montañez — …oh sorry, as I was to say, we measure the activity of everyone who goes to Connect in Conversation and what they do. Rich Birch — Oh, that, tell me about that. Kayra Montañez — And so there’s, or ah how we say it at Liquid is it’s correlation, not causation. Like I can’t prove that if you go to this event, your next steps were a direct result of this event… Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Kayra Montañez — …but we can correlate that because you came to the event you actually took these next steps, if that makes sense. Rich Birch — Yeah. Kayra Montañez — So we’ve seen tremendous, tremendous engagement grow because of that. Rich Birch — And that’s on Sundays. You do it on on campus after the last service, that sort of thing. Kayra Montañez — Every month. Yes, every month at every campus after the last service, we promote it up to the day of the event… Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Kayra Montañez — …and we do it rain or shine. Whether it’s five people or 10 or 50, obviously at our largest location, sometimes we have about 100 people show up every month to these events. Rich Birch — That’s great. I love that. That’s a great. You’re coming in hot, Kayra. Great learnings, even you know, with friends, we’ve got through the first question. Rich Birch — So yeah, and we’re, you know, it’s fantastic. So one of the one of the things I’d love to hear a little bit about, um you know, that when we look in the data, people’s anxiety, there’s there seems to be some anxiety around or concern around discipling people. We offer these discipleship pathways or engagement pathways. And it’s like, we do this stuff, but then people don’t actually take advantage of it. It’s like, we do, we offer small groups, but people don’t do them. Or people we offer classes and people don’t actually engage on them. Rich Birch —What are you doing to try to move to, to ensure people are actually engaging with the various pathways that you’re developing at Liquid to actually get them to use them? Kayra Montañez — So this is a very interesting question in this particular time because at Liquid we’re just about getting ready to or just ready to ah blow up small groups basically. Rich Birch — Oh, nice. Okay. I’d love to hear more. Kayra Montañez — Yeah, so I would say that small groups was the one metric that did not recover for our church post-pandemic. So even though our volunteer pipelines at times felt thin, we were able to have incredible momentum around that. We can talk more about that later. How did we do that? We recovered in attendance and giving, baptism, but we were not able to crack the code on small groups. We were at an all-time low, about 20% our church… Rich Birch — Oh, wow. Yeah. Kayra Montañez — …was engaged in small groups, pretty low. And so we started surveying people. Rich Birch — Yep. We’re like, what is it that people actually want from the small groups? Like, what is it that we’re not offering that they’re looking for? And the one, it was shocking to us that the number one thing, I mean, it shouldn’t be shocking because we are a church. Kayra Montañez — The number one thing that people wanted was to understand the Bible. So for the first time ever, we have uncoupled relational connection from biblical literacy. In the past, our small groups, the thing that was in the driver’s seat, I would say, was the relational connection. We wanted people to connect, to join a group so that they could make friends, do life together. We used to um promote it that way, if you remember. Do life together. Where are the people that you’re doing life together? Rich Birch — Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Kayra Montañez — For the first time ever, we’re actually putting biblical literacy in the front seat and relational connection on the passenger seat. So you will actually make connections, but that’s not the goal of this process right now. The process is for you to actually understand and read and study the word of God. In fact, our new tagline is to know the word of God so that you can love the God of the word. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. And is that so if you change the the container that that fits in or are you changing the like, like… Kayra Montañez — We did. We changed the container. Rich Birch — So what’s that look like? Kayra Montañez — So right now we’re offering people different levels of biblical literacy. Kayra Montañez — The biggest vehicle that we’re that we just piloted this fall through the book of Revelations, if you can believe it. So we’re like, why not start with the hardest book of the Bible? Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — And what we did was we created a Bible study midweek on a Wednesday night where people would go in person and study the word of God in tables with other people. Now, obviously there’s facilitators who have been trained and vetted. And once you join a table, that was kind of like the table that you were going to go on this journey with, but it’s not a small group. It’s a, it’s a short term. It was 10 weeks. We went through the entire book of Revelations, 22 chapters. We would do homework in order to get ready for this midweek study, we would come, we would have a conversation around what did you put in question 10? Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — What did I write? This was hard, I don’t understand. And then there was teaching. Kayra Montañez — And we also piloted doing that same thing with our high school students so that parents could actually come with their kids on the same day, drop their high school kiddos in their own cohort, and then they would go to their own biblical midweek you know Bible study. Kayra Montañez — And that was, too, a great success. So we are trying to figure out like what are the appropriate levels of biblical literacy that we can offer a congregation… Rich Birch — That’s so good. Kayra Montañez — …that is increasingly illiterate in biblic in in the Bible. Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — And deep dive, make no mistake, is the highest level. So that’s not for everyone. And we understand that. And so the parts that we’re trying to figure out is what’s like the appropriate next level to that for somebody who’s not willing to come in person 10 weeks to do homework and study, you know, the actual Bible. Kayra Montañez — But, it was fascinating to just uncouple those two things for the first time. And I would say it’s in the right frame of, in the right approach. You’re still making friends. Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — You’re just not, that’s just not being the driver. Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, I do wonder. So we for sure have seen that. I’ve seen this conversation. I don’t claim to be a small groups expert. I never have. Kayra Montañez — Me neither. Rich Birch — Like for 20, 30 years, it’s always been a mystery to me. I’m like, it’s like hard. It’s a hard system to run and to to build. And, but for sure, post COVID it it is, I would say that’s a universal concern that it’s like, whatever we used to do, I see this all over the place, whatever we used to do to try to get people into groups, we don’t do that anymore. We’re doing something completely different. I happen to be at Liquid this fall. I think you were speaking at a conference when I was there. Bummer… Kayra Montañez — I was, I missed you. Yeah. Rich Birch — And I saw the deep dive. I think that’s what it was called. Kayra Montañez — Yes. Rich Birch — Deep dive that night. And I remember, i remember thinking, I was like, Whoa, this is like, ah this is incredible. Like, you know, I don’t know how many people were there that night. There was a ton of people all lined up and ready to go. I’m like, that’s, That’s cool. I love that. Rich Birch — Well, let’s pivot. You kind of flagged it there, the volunteer piece. Kayra Montañez — Yes. Rich Birch — I’d love to know what you’re learning on this front, you know, to rebuild volunteer culture. We had this kind of, I don’t know when we’ll stop saying post-COVID. I don’t know whether we’ll be like that generation that was like after the like war or like after the depression where like for 40 years we’re going to be talking about it. Rich Birch — But it does still feel like we’re post-COVID. I don’t know when that is. But what have you done to kind of restart? How what’s going well on that front externally? Liquid feels like a incredibly volunteer you know robust culture – help us understand what’s that looking like what are you learning these days? Kayra Montañez — Sure. Yeah. I mean everything you said is still very much a factor. I mean, we are constantly having to work at this. This is never going to be a problem that I feel we’re ever going to solve. It’s really a tension that we’re managing. And sometimes tension feels better and sometimes it doesn’t feel good. Rich Birch — Right. Kayra Montañez — In fact, this year, I would say in March, we probably had like our biggest crisis in the broadcast campus where our church growth so far outpaced the amount of people that were serving that we were finding ourselves having to close rooms for Liquid family… Rich Birch — Ooh. Kayra Montañez — …not because we we hit ratios, but because we didn’t have enough volunteers. And that doesn’t feel great… Rich Birch — No. Kayra Montañez — …especially if you’re a new here family, right? Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — And so we were like, all right, we need to do something really aggressive. And the best way that I can explain it is we did like a try before you buy. Rich Birch — Okay. Kayra Montañez — Very low approach… Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — …low hanging fruit. We said, hey, we we casted a vision, right? It’s never about we need volunteers, but we actually told a really significant story of where’s all the fruit that the Lord is bringing to this church, all the spiritual fruit that we’re seeing, like people are getting saved, people are getting baptized, they’re coming to get to know Jesus, they’re studying the Bible. Kayra Montañez — It was incredible. Kayra Montañez — But we need people to use their spiritual gifts. And so we came up with a campaign called For the One. And everything was geared for that one person. Like, who’s who are you going to go serve? Who’s the one that you’re going to go serve? Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Kayra Montañez — And the try before you buy was, we’re going to give you a hoodie. We designed a hoodie. It was called, it was, you know, at the tagline For the One. And the key is you only get it after you serve a couple of times. Rich Birch — Okay, that’s cool. Kayra Montañez — So this is the try before you buy. You know, you’re going to try it out. Rich Birch — Yes. You’re not going to go through the whole background, pipeline, covenant process because we need people now and we need them quick. Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah. Kayra Montañez — So you’re trying before you’re buying. But if you like it and we’re going to make sure that first serve experience is incredible for you, then we want you to buy it. Rich Birch — That’s so good. Kayra Montañez — And we’re going to reward you by giving you swag that’s limited, exclusive. Not everybody’s going to get it. Rich, you would be surprised. Like I’m still to this day, i have been at Liquid, it’ll be 13 years in April. And I am still shocked by how much people, the gamification of playing to people’s particular interests… Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Kayra Montañez — …whether it’s FOMO, they don’t want to miss out, whether it’s the idea of collecting exclusive apparel. Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah. Kayra Montañez — There’s something here for everyone that just draws people out. Rich Birch — It’s true. It’s true. Kayra Montañez — We had over 400 people sign up for the one. Rich Birch — Wow. That’s amazing. That’s great. Kayra Montañez — It was incredible. And we were able to tell amazing stories of people who were coming and showing up and serving, whether it was our special needs kiddos or high school whatever you want to call it. We had it. And and I would say the appeal of a try before you buy, how can you shortchange without? So this is key. You don’t want to reduce the quality. But you do want to shorten your pipeline so that you can get people quicker to try it. And then once they actually feel like, hey, I really enjoy this, now we’re going to get you through the whole, you know, rest of the process, right? But you can still serve while we do that. Kayra Montañez — So that was a huge thing. And then obviously, you know, like the free apparel swag, that always is a nice incentive to give to people. So that was huge. Rich Birch — It’s true. Kayra Montañez — It was very successful. And that’s what I would recommend is like, hey, can you run, try before you buy little events with like swag, and like you you get you have people serve for a limited amount of time. Like you don’t give them the swag immediately. You make them work for it. Rich Birch — Right. Yes. Kayra Montañez — They got to serve three, four times before you give it to them. Rich Birch — Yeah, we did a similar thing last summer. Our kids ministry team did a similar thing last summer where we did the summer serve, which we hadn’t done in in actually a number of years. And they they pulled that out and did summer serve. And it was the same thing. If you signed up, you got a t-shirt, a specific t-shirt for that. Rich Birch — And then you, there was, they basically were asking you to serve once in June, once in July, once in August, like once a month, just for the summertime. And if you served, um I forget exactly what the ratio was, but it was, you got entered in a draw for however many times. And basically, so if you served all three, you got like 10 times the number of draw things to win. And it was all this stuff that you, you could win. And it was like really great gifts. Kayra Montañez — Yes. Rich Birch — And you would think that that should not motivate people. Kayra Montañez — But it does. Rich Birch — But it does. Kayra Montañez — It does. Rich Birch — And and you know and it was and, you know, they did it in really fun, you know, hey this is going to be a fun thing to be a part of. Talk to me about the, because there’s a friction thing there to learn around trying to reduce the friction the kind of onboarding friction, I think over time that stuff can become, you know, it’s, it’s the, we actually are like our, we can become just too hard for our people. Kayra Montañez — Yeah. Rich Birch — What did you learn through that process in, in trying to find that balance of like, we want to make it easier to onboard people, but we still want to, is there any kind of lessons from that when you look back on that? Kayra Montañez — To me, the the lesson really is, again, there is a tension between you can’t shortchange, especially when it comes to kids. I can’t emphasize this enough. Rich Birch — No, yeah, absolutely. Yep. Kayra Montañez — Like I oversee all of these ministries and it would be not on my watch will will this happen, right? Rich Birch — No, yeah, yeah. Kayra Montañez — So we have to make be very sure that we’re not shortchanging the safety procedures. Rich Birch — Yeah. Yep. Kayra Montañez — At the same time recognizing these things can take some time, right? Like we ask people to get a background check, they have to be interviewed, they have to sign a covenant, they have to have a reference. I mean, these things this is a lengthy process. Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — And I stand by it. We have to do that. Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — At the same time, can we actually live in a world where we are marrying our need to have someone in the room while also still doing all of these things simultaneously, not actually waiting for all of this to happen so that then they can come. Kayra Montañez — And that’s kind of how we figured it out. Our Liquid family pastor came up with a process where she’s like, okay, we can shorten it this time. They’re only going to do these three things, not four, not six. But while they’re in the room trying it, we’re going to continue to do the other remaining four. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. Kayra Montañez — It’s messy. It’s not always the best thing to do in an ideal world. You are not doing that. But when you’re faced with crisis, then you need to come up with, you know, resourceful ideas. Kayra Montañez — And so what I would say about the volunteer pipeline is this. There are short-term problems that you have to solve while you’re still working on this very long-term. Like this is a culture that you have to create. Rich Birch — Yeah. Kayra Montañez — And in order for you to create a culture, you have to tell stories. You have to celebrate what you want to be repeated. have to make people feel thanked, encouraged, appreciated, seen. You those are all long-term things that you have to be doing all the time. This is like nonstop. Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Can’t take the, you can’t take the gas off that pedal for sure. Pedal off that gas. Kayra Montañez — Correct. You cannot take your foot off the the pedal. But at the same time, there are things that are short term that you really do have to also do. And sometimes that will require teaching from the stage where you’re actually envisioning people about why this matters so much. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Kayra Montañez — And this is what we did in March with the For the One. So I would say it’s it’s both/and; it’s not either/or. And so if that’s helpful, that’s how I would approach it. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s super good. That’s good. If there was a church that was, if you were sitting across the table from an executive pastor, maybe you’re at a conference or someone drops in your office and they’re, they’re feeling really stuck on this engagement issue. They feel low. Like it’s people were, maybe it’s groups, it’s teams, it’s all of it. Like it’s, we’re not moving people through any kind of pipeline. Rich Birch — What would be some of those first steps or first recommendations, first things you’d have them look at, maybe like a diagnostic or a first couple of things that you’d have them think about in this area? Kayra Montañez — Well, I would say if there’s a way for them to know of the people who are attending and maybe they figure this out with new here, how many of those people take one next step within the first month? Rich Birch — That’s good. Kayra Montañez — That would be one diagnostic that I would first see if I can do with the data that I have and the data that they collect and they actually figured that out. Rich Birch — Yep. Yeah, that’s good. Kayra Montañez — If they’re able to do that, then the next diagnostic would be what percent actually move into a people system… Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — …whether it’s a group, a deep dive experience, a dream team within 60 to 90 days, right? Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — Because if you do that, you’re going to find the blockage. You’re actually going to discover Maybe our attendance is fine. We don’t have an invest and invite problem, but maybe what we have a problem with is our conversion rate. And so then you can start to identify what is it about our conversion that we need to fix? Kayra Montañez — Is it that we have ah unclear on-ramps? Or is it that our processes are too high friction? It’s too hard people to get involved. If you actually find like, no, actually people are taking next steps. Great. But they’re not sticking to it. Then you have a different problem. Then you can actually diagnose… Rich Birch — Yes, yes. Kayra Montañez — …oh, maybe the first serve experience actually wasn’t sticky enough. It wasn’t welcoming. Maybe there were issues with scheduling. Maybe we didn’t give clear information. So you can kind of figure out what the problem is based on how you’re measuring it and what you’re discovering. That’s how I would start if I didn’t know what the problem was. Does that make sense? Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. That makes total sense. And, you know, it it definitely aligns with one of my bugaboos that I constantly driving with executive pastors. When you look at the actual numbers—I and I have not run into a church yet that this is not the case—most churches actually have a front door problem. They don’t have a back door problem. They their actual problem that we think we feel like, oh, like people aren’t sticking and staying in groups, they’re not staying and volunteering. But statistically, that’s actually not true. When most of the time, if you look at, okay, all the people that end up in a group, what is the kind of churn rate on that? Whatever that number is, I’ve never seen a church where it’s higher than the people we’re missing on the front end with exactly with what you said is how many people are removing from new here to taking the first step in the first month? Rich Birch — Because that you lose a ton of people in that door right there. That is a, you know, by a multiple of 10 or 20, like it’s a lot more that we’re missing out. And, you know, generally in most churches… Kayra Montañez — And can I just [inaudible] to that? Rich Birch — Yeah. Kayra Montañez — Because I just want encourage people, like, figure out a way to target your new here audience. Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Kayra Montañez — So at Liquid, for example, if you come for the first time, not only do we encourage, highly encourage you to tell us that you’re here for the first time because we give you an awesome gift. Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — Lots of churches do this, but then we survey people who came for the first time. Rich Birch — Yeah. Kayra Montañez — And based on what they answer, they receive a custom follow-up process for the first 30 days. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. Yeah. Kayra Montañez — We don’t, so in that regard, like it is worth to look at that. Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — Because you’re going to find out a lot of information and a lot of data about what people are choosing to do, where are they going, why they’re not sticking to it or why they’re not even going in the first place. Rich Birch — Yeah. Kayra Montañez — Like I’m shocked that I’ve been to churches sometimes to speak and they don’t actually really do like a new here call out. Like they don’t. Rich Birch — Yeah, I was going to say that. You said, oh, churches do this. Kayra Montañez — Maybe not. Rich Birch — And I’d be like, Kayra, I’ve been to way too many churches where they don’t do any of that. And they’re like, well, we’re not really sure. And I’m like, this is a solvable problem. We can fix this. Kayra Montañez — Yes. Yes. Rich Birch — There’s like real things you can do here. Actually, I worked with a church last year, a fairly large church in 2024, where they were experiencing some of these issues and so and I was like I basically said the same thing I just said, I’m like you’re losing people on the front end. And they’re like they’re like well we do a gift. And I’m like no you don’t. And I said there’s a and there’s a few things to fix around that. In 2025 the year we just ended, they received we made a few changes it’s not about me there’s about them they made a bunch of changes, they ended up receiving 5,000 more first-time guest contacts than they did 2024. Kayra Montañez — Wow. Just like we’ve always told it to do. Rich Birch — Now they did not grow by people but it’s just by focusing on that, right? Kayra Montañez — Amazing. Rich Birch — It’s just by like saying, hey, how are we what are we going to do to ensure that that step goes well with folks? So anyways, there’s huge opportunity there and in lots of churches. Kayra, you’ve been incredibly generous to give us your time at this time of year. As you’re thinking, kind of last question, as we’re thinking about 2026, what are some of those questions that are floating around in your head as you think about Liquid, as you think about the future? What are some things that you’re wrestling with that you’re wondering about that you’re contemplating as we go into this year? Kayra Montañez — Oh my gosh, Rich, so many. After this conversation, you know, I really am interested to see what’s going to happen with our discipleship model since we just blew it up. Rich Birch — Yes, yep. Kayra Montañez — I’m helping all of that and changing the way that we even onboard leaders. Like I’m really invested in seeing this through. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. Kayra Montañez — I also totally unrelated to this, but we just launched, I think in the survey, one of the questions that was asked was what’s the best idea that you had in 2025? Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah, right. Kayra Montañez — And I was like, well, I feel like one of our best ideas was to use AI to launch a Spanish service. And I am really invested in that in seeing like, how do we continue to grow that service? How do we continue to grow that ministry? We’re launching new ministries in 2025, or 2026. So that always feels exciting and daunting. Kayra Montañez — So there’s just the work never ends. And there’s always it is an exciting and fascinating time to be in the church. I’ll say that. Rich Birch — I would agree. I totally would agree. Yeah, it’s the best. I would think, literally, I think this is the best season that I’ve been involved in ministry for sure. Rich Birch — For folks that don’t know what you’re doing with Spanish ministry, give us the 60 second, explain that again. Because I think I keep pointing churches to you saying, have you heard what Liquid’s doing? You go talk to them. So tell us about that. Kayra Montañez — So basically we have a Spanish service. We do have live hosting in Español. We have live worship in Español. But then we take our English message and we pass it through an AI service called Heygen, which actually uses the communicator’s voice and matches the words to their lips and they’re just preaching, they preach it in Spanish. Even if they’re not bilingual, they will preach it in Spanish. And it’s like you, Rich, are speaking in Spanish. Your words match to your voice. Rich Birch — Yes. Yeah, it’s it’s amazing. Kayra Montañez — People get to hear the the gospel and the message in their language. So it’s been fascinating to learn who we’re reaching, who’s coming, who likes that kind of a thing. You know, as a Spanish speaker myself, I’m like, would I go to a service where the message wasn’t actually authentic Spanish and it’s an AI generated? Kayra Montañez — I believe in the quality of our communication so much that I actually have to say, yes, I would. Because like last year, this year, we took our entire church through the book of Revelation. Tim spent 25 weeks teaching us the hardest book of the Bible. Kayra Montañez — The fruit that that endeavor produced is incredible. And so when I think about what we’re doing, I’m like, I believe in that so much that I do think this is a this is a thing that’s actually good to do. Even if people would who would think like, why would they go to that and not like an authentic Spanish speaker? Rich Birch — Yeah, interesting. And that, and you’re, you’ve been a year, that’s been basically almost a year you’ve been doing that now. Kayra Montañez — A year. A year. Rich Birch — And, and you’re be continuing to do it. So obviously something’s working. There’s some sort of version of like, Hey, we’re, we feel. Kayra Montañez — We’re continuing to do it. we’re seeing We’re seeing the fruit. We’re seeing baptisms, people giving their life to Christ, getting baptized, showing up and joining teams, um reaching families. We’re reaching multigenerational families where the parents go to the Spanish service, the kids go to the English service because it’s simultaneous, right? Well, the English is going on, the Spanish is going on. So families get to decide. It’s just really interesting to watch. Obviously, it’s been challenging in the U.S. to grow a Spanish service because of everything that’s been happening. Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah… Kayra Montañez — But it’s just been really fascinating to see like the dynamics of who we’re reaching, who’s is sharing like who’s excited about it, and then using technology to further the gospel. It’s always exciting. Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s fantastic. I know I was goofing around with Heygen a little bit. And the part that actually, this was you know almost a year ago when you guys started doing that that, one of the tests I ran that actually convinced me was, so I was like taking videos of me and I would send them to like a friend who speaks Spanish. And I sent to a friend who speaks, you know, a couple of languages that it was doing, but then I did the reverse. There’s a great church, Nouvelle Vie. It’s a French speaking church, large church, be very similar to Liquid, but they’re French speaking. And so I took one of the, the lead pastors from that. I took a clip of his message and translated into English. And I was blown away. I was like, Oh my word. Like, Kayra Montañez — It is getting better and better every day. Rich Birch — I was I was shocked. I was like, oh, that that is, yeah, could I tell? Yeah, but this guy’s an incredible communicator. And you know similar to you and Tim and the team at at Liquid, I’m like, I could see that work anyway. Rich Birch — So that’s exciting. Kayra, it’s so great to see you. Kayra Montañez — Thank you, Rich. Rich Birch — Thanks so much for having time with us today. If people want to connect with you or with Liquid, where do we want to send them online? Kayra Montañez — Sure. So my name Kayra, K-A-Y-R-A at liquidchurch.com. Happy to connect with anybody have questions. Rich Birch — Thanks so much. Thanks for being here today.

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Wie passen die Mario Brothers, Eldenring oder GTA6 und der christliche Glaube zusammen? Oder gehören sie gar zusammen? Das beantworten in dieser Folge Ruben Ullrich und Robin Feldhaus. Die beiden sind Gemeindepädagogen und bilden zusammen mit Pfarrer Maximilian Weber-Weigelt das „Stream-Team“ Faith & Pixels (ein Kooperationsprojekt von EC und der evangelischen Kirche Kurhessen-Waldeck). Außerdem erzählen die beiden von Seelsorge via Twitch-Stream, schwierigen Entscheidungen und ihren Erfahrungen auf der letzten Gamescom. Social Media für Glaube und Kirche - das ist der yeet-Podcast: yeet-Redakteur* innen befragen Expert* innen und Influencer* innen und begeben sich auf die Suche nach den großen und kleinen Perspektiven auf die digitalen Kirchen-Räume und Welten in den Sozialen Medien.

JT's Mix Tape Ep 48In this episode of JT's Mixtape, JT,  @demonerasers  and  @TuneThyHeart  discuss various themes including the perception of time as we age, the cultural obsession with rapture predictions, and the importance of focusing on love and community in faith. They critique the sensationalism surrounding specific dates for the rapture and emphasize the need for qualified leadership in churches. The conversation aims to provide a light-hearted yet insightful exploration of these topics, encouraging listeners to live in the moment and serve others rather than dwell on fear and predictions. In this engaging conversation, the speakers explore a variety of themes ranging from the whimsical to the profound. They discuss the absurdity of a church event inspired by Mario Brothers, delve into the architectural wonders of Roslyn Chapel, and ponder the connections between sound, frequency, and ancient structures. The conversation also touches on the melting of ancient cities, theories about giants, and the eerie symbolism in modern media, particularly in Lady Gaga's work. Throughout, they reflect on the spiritual implications of these topics, emphasizing the importance of awareness in a world filled with hidden meanings and potential dangers.Please support our sponsor Modern Roots Life: https://modernrootslife.com/?bg_ref=rVWsBoOfcFPatreon: https://patreon.com/JT_Follows_JC?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkJESUS SAID THERE WOULD BE HATERS: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/mens-shirts/WOMEN'S SHIRTS: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/womens-shirts/Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview 01:14 Charlie Kirk Free Zone 15:37 Perception of Time and Aging 27:59 Rapture Predictions and Date Setting 50:15 The Mario Brothers Fantasy and Misappropriation of Funds 52:03 Exploring Roslyn Chapel's Architectural Secrets 53:45 The Connection Between Sound and Creation 56:10 The Role of Frequency in Ancient Structures 57:54 Tolkien's Mythos and the Song of Creation 01:01:36 The Melting of Ancient Cities 01:06:04 Theories on Giants and Ancient Structures 01:10:44 Exploring the Valley of Fire 01:23:16 Lady Gaga's Creepy Music Video and Demonic SymbolismBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jt-s-mix-tape--6579902/support.Please support our sponsor Modern Roots Life: https://modernrootslife.com/?bg_ref=rVWsBoOfcFJESUS SAID THERE WOULD BE HATERS Shirts: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/mens-shirts/WOMEN'S SHIRTS: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/womens-shirts/

S6, EP 192 -We are baaack from our Summertime podcast siesta.  This week is a tiny bit different, we are the guests!  Robert Jackson, host of Station Square, invited us all on to his podcast to chat, share and have a conversation about voiceover.  He asks us very thoughtfully crafted questions about how we dived into voiceover, our perspectives on different elements of being in this creative industry, and what's next for our podcast.    Pull up a chair, pop in your ear bud and join us at the Chaos table as we are in the hot seats this time with Station Square! Station Square Spotify -https://open.spotify.com/episode/6KA2MBYtnpkMvFRQXjVSfHStation Square YT Channel -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dskFdH1wh38Hi thx for listening in on the Creative Chaos conversation! Text us your thoughts on pieces of this conversation that inspired you or was relatable in your creative journey! Support the showThis is a shareable podcast, with a group of creatives, documenting their creative voice over & on-camera journeys to inspire all of us as we navigate our own paths! This pod may bring some amazing moments of inspiration, ah-ha break throughs or a feeling you're not the only one...but it is for entertainment and not educational purposes! Enjoy and thank you for listening to our Creative Chaos! *Have a creative story or journey to share, we'd love to hear it - email us at chaoskeepers411@gmail.com or jozlynrocki@gmail.com Follow all the Chaos - Website - https://www.keepingupwithchaos.net/ FB - https://www.facebook.com/keepingupwithchaospodcastIG - https://www.instagram.com/keeping_up_with_chaos/

Topics:   BHS Jingle, Liver King, Saltines BONUS CONTENT: The Liver King Follow-up, Making Disciples   Quotes: “When do we teach how to bless our enemies?” “Our problems seem, universally, to come from lack of discipleship.” “I'm trying to cling to every I.Q. point.” “I think it's just a matter of vision.” . . . Holy Ghost Mama Pre-Order! Want more of the Oddcast? Check out our website! Watch our YouTube videos here. Connect with us on Facebook! For Christian banking you can trust, click here!

In this episode of Crosspolitic, Gabe Knox and Toby expose the three major sins plaguing American churches that are directly responsible for our cultural collapse: the failure of men to lead, rampant sexual compromise, and the infiltration of Marxist race ideology. They reveal how churches are spending thousands of dollars on roller coaster productions and Mario Brothers sermon series while neglecting biblical worship, creating a generation of weak, entertainment-addicted Christians who can't engage the culture. From pastors who won't bark like the "dumb dogs" Isaiah warned about, to churches that have turned worship into a circus, this episode connects the dots between corrupted church worship and America's moral decay Fight Laugh Feast 2025 Conference (October 16-18, Nashville) - Register HERE: https://flfnetwork.com

In this episode of Crosspolitic, Gabe Knox and Toby expose the three major sins plaguing American churches that are directly responsible for our cultural collapse: the failure of men to lead, rampant sexual compromise, and the infiltration of Marxist race ideology. They reveal how churches are spending thousands of dollars on roller coaster productions and Mario Brothers sermon series while neglecting biblical worship, creating a generation of weak, entertainment-addicted Christians who can't engage the culture. From pastors who won't bark like the "dumb dogs" Isaiah warned about, to churches that have turned worship into a circus, this episode connects the dots between corrupted church worship and America's moral decay Fight Laugh Feast 2025 Conference (October 16-18, Nashville) - Register HERE: https://flfnetwork.com

In this episode of Crosspolitic, Gabe Knox and Toby expose the three major sins plaguing American churches that are directly responsible for our cultural collapse: the failure of men to lead, rampant sexual compromise, and the infiltration of Marxist race ideology. They reveal how churches are spending thousands of dollars on roller coaster productions and Mario Brothers sermon series while neglecting biblical worship, creating a generation of weak, entertainment-addicted Christians who can't engage the culture. From pastors who won't bark like the "dumb dogs" Isaiah warned about, to churches that have turned worship into a circus, this episode connects the dots between corrupted church worship and America's moral decay Fight Laugh Feast 2025 Conference (October 16-18, Nashville) - Register HERE: https://flfnetwork.com

Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) brings us this sci-fi camp classic that fits beautifully at home in the midnight movie/b-movie genre of yesteryear... but was unfortunately for the film... released in the 90's. Join Will and Matt as they embark on a journey across the stars like no other... because this one has Dennis Hopper and robot assassin aliens. DISCLAIMER: Language and Spoilers!!SPACE TRUCKERSdir. Stuart Gordonstarring: Dennis Hopper; Debi Mazar; Stephen Dorff

Matt aka Stormageddon emerges from a pipe to surprise Case and Sam with the power up of a movie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie! Can they make it through with only three continues?   Music by Vin Macri and Matt Brogan Podcast Edited by Sophia Ricciardi   Overview   In the podcast recording discussion titled "Another Pass at The Super Mario Bros Movie," hosts Case Aiken and Sam Alicea, joined by guest Matt (Stormageddon), delve into their cinematic experiences of the 2023 film, praising its 92-minute runtime and appeal to both children and nostalgic adult fans. They highlight standout performances, notably Jack Black as Bowser and Anya Taylor-Joy as a proactive Princess Peach, while critiquing Chris Pratt's portrayal of Mario as merely average. The hosts discuss the film's visual splendor and numerous Easter eggs, though they express disappointment over its reliance on pop music rather than classic Mario compositions. Despite some criticisms of the plot's formulaic nature and suggestions for improvement, the overall consensus is positive, deeming the film entertaining while respecting the franchise's legacy; potential sequels and upcoming projects are also touched upon as they conclude the episode.   Notes Introduction to The Super Mario Bros Movie Discussion (00:02 - 08:33) Matt (Stormageddon) returns as a guest to discuss The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023) Case Aiken introduces podcast with co-host Sam Alicea The hosts discuss their viewing experiences of the film The 92-minute runtime is highlighted as a positive factor that keeps the movie from overstaying its welcome Initial thoughts: The film works well for both children and nostalgic adult Nintendo fans Cast Performance and Character Representation (08:33 - 18:50) Jack Black as Bowser receives unanimous praise as a standout performance Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach also praised for making the character active rather than a damsel Charlie Day as Luigi received positive reviews Chris Pratt as Mario described as 'just fine' - not as bad as internet feared but not exceptional The group appreciates Charles Martinet's cameo as Mario's father and Giuseppe The opening commercial sequence featuring the 'Super Mario Super Show' song noted as a clever homage Keegan-Michael Key's performance as Toad highlighted as charming The film successfully modernizes Princess Peach as a proactive character rather than a damsel in distress Music, Visuals and Fan Service (18:50 - 30:01) Major criticism: The film relies too heavily on pop music needle drops instead of using iconic Mario game music Case and Matt express disappointment that classic Koji Kondo compositions weren't featured more prominently The DK rap inclusion was appreciated, though Grant Kirkhope wasn't properly credited initially The visual design receives high praise, described as 'one of the most gorgeous animated films' they've seen The group appreciates the many Easter eggs and references to various Mario games Notable references: Mario Kart customization, power-ups, Rainbow Road, and Luigi's Mansion sequence Film balances content for children with nostalgic references for adult fans of the games ️ Plot Structure and Pacing (30:01 - 40:01) The basic plot follows Mario Brothers from Brooklyn to the Mushroom Kingdom Main criticism: The plot feels 'paint by numbers' and moves from set piece to set piece for fan service The hosts appreciate the quick pace preventing the film from becoming boring Donkey Kong's substantial role questioned as potentially excessive for this film The 'plumbing scene' at the beginning described as feeling too 'illumination-style' and skippable The Mario Kart sequence, while visually impressive, doesn't serve the plot significantly The movie makes excellent use of character power-ups during action sequences Luma (star creature) from Mario Galaxy highlighted as a standout supporting character Suggested Improvements (40:01 - 50:06) Matt suggests removing or reducing the Kong Kingdom sequence to streamline the story The hosts discuss using more game music instead of pop songs for needle drops Fred Armisen's casting as Cranky Kong questioned; suggestions of other older actors who might have been better The group agrees the final act works well in terms of hero's journey storytelling Suggestions that Donkey Kong could have been integrated differently - as a mid-boss or obstacle rather than major character Discussion of how the film could have better incorporated game mechanics into the storytelling The movie's brief runtime (92 minutes) praised as preventing it from overstaying its welcome Final Thoughts and Future Discussion (50:07 - 01:00:38) Overall positive consensus: While not groundbreaking, the film is entertaining and respects the source material The film succeeds as a fun, colorful movie for kids while providing nostalgic entertainment for adults Comparison to other video game adaptations like Detective Pikachu and Sonic Discussion of potential sequels and the upcoming Donkey Kong movie The hosts appreciate the film's visual quality while acknowledging its formulaic approach to storytelling Matt mentions returning for future episodes to discuss the Venom movies Discussion wraps with information about where to find the hosts and their other podcasts

Stephen Sexton is an Irish poet and a lecturer at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queen's University Belfast. While on campus in March 2025 he sat down with the Center for Irish Studies Director Joseph Lennon to discuss howpoetry can help us navigate the world. He reads poems from his two books ___________________Stephen Sexton the author of two books of poems – If All the World and Love Were Young, published in 2019 and Cheryl's Destinies, published in 2021.  He is a recipient of multipleawards, which include winning the National Poetry Competition in 2016, the Eric Gregory Award in 2018, the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and the Shine / Strong Award for Best First Collection in 2019, the E. M. Forster Awardfrom the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2020.   Sexton has been teaching creative writing at the ⁠Seamus Heaney Centre⁠ for Poetry at Queen's University Belfast for six years.  Sexton was ten years old when the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 brought a formal end to the Troubles in the North of Ireland, which later in life made him realize that he was growing up in a time that he did not understand, and he became aware of a profound generational divide between him and his parents.  Sexton explains that in a sense, there is a “kind of ghostly history that is all around you, but you can't access it in the same way that other people can, so as a consequence, it doesn't necessarily show up in my writing.”  In his book, If All the World and Love Were Young, which happens to be set in 1998, there is one moment that addresses the Omagh bombing – a single deadliest attack in thirty years of violence that he remembers hearing about on the radio and then seeingon television.  But beyond that, the book is a blend of childhood memories that uses the analogy of a nineties Nintendo videogame, Mario Brothers, that digs into Sexton's more personal recollections about the house that he grew up in and memories of his mother.   Sexton's more recent book of poems, Cheryl's Destinies, was written during the COVID lockdown, where he explored a desire to bring together the improbable and the sensitive, hence the section of poems that imagines a collaboration between Billy Corgan lead singer of the Smashing Pumpkins and Irish poet W.B Yeats. The book's general theme of being obsessed with and anxious about the future came through the conversations between two strangers separated by a century, where they discuss the difficulty of making art. Sexton's book questions the role of a poet and its connection to the role of a medium, as they both perform a similar function -- look at the world and interpret it.

Steve & Izzy continue 2025 the Year of the Apocalypse & Marky March, where they celebrate movies after the fall of man starring Marks, as they discuss 2022's "Biosphere" starring Mark Duplass, Sterling K Brown & that's it!!! How much can two grown men talk about Mario Brothers? What books do we take into the apocalypse? Is this the oddly prescient future of two a-holes currently in the news? What exact circumstances would have to happen to an American Lady President?!? Let's find out!!! So kick back, grab a few brews, drop that bowling ball, and enjoy!!! This episode is proudly sponsored by Untidy Venus, your one-stop shop for incredible art & gift ideas at UntidyVenus.Etsy.com and be sure to follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Patreon at @UntidyVenus for all of her awesomeness!!! Try it today!!! Twitter - www.twitter.com/eilfmovies Facebook - www.facebook.com/eilfmovies Etsy - www.untidyvenus.etsy.com TeePublic - www.teepublic.com/user/untidyvenus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tore leads the discourse on all the latest subjects including the fake drama and who's sick of it. The possibility exists that the famous murder was staged. Infiltrating groups, making friends and influencing others. Organ harvesting and the other most evil industries. The major narrative operations being run on both sides. False flags, travel plans and reasons to be concerned.

Tore again leads the conversation in part two. There are lies that hurt people. Lets review Jung and the higher state of rational thinking. There are politics of immortality. Passing bits of information in a younger version of us. It's a good time for revelations. The most corrupt and evil had more choices. The truth does not operate in shadows. Only through our discussions and interactions will we see the light.

TRASH IN THE CAN: ALIEN FROM L.A. This week, we see a film that blends Journey to the Center of the Earth, Terry Gilliam's Brazil, Mario Brothers, and a Jane Fonda Workout. Sound fun? No? What's wrong with you? Nathan Flynn joins us for Kathy Ireland's acting debut as a baby-voiced moron in 1988's Alien… Read More »Trash in the Can: Alien from L.A.

Topics this week include:-What are you most excited for?-Games of the Month December-Cyber Monday Dills & Various AliExpress Unboxings (R36S Max, etc)-The MSI Claw 8 AI+ & NEW 7" SKU show up on Amazon-OneXPlayer Begins Teasing the OneGx 2 Gaming Handheld-Steam Controller 2 Thumbnail Leaked-Lenovo Legion Go S Accidentally Confirmed-8Bitdo Launches Retro 87 Xbox Edition Keyboard and Mouse-Here's How Powkiddy Devices Are Assembled-TrimUI BRICK Hands-on-Omelet Super Deck Unboxing-Hanging out with Todd! Panel: @ToddTronics  @retrotechdad  @ban6756  @StubbsStuff   Listen wherever you get your podcasts (releases weekly Tuesdays @ 4pm PST!) Full stories, Sources & Links: https://retrohandhelds.gg/retro-handhelds-weekly-edition-24 

Gaetz withdraws and Bond's in.  Is Trump playing 4D chess or Mario Brothers Checkers? With Karen Kataline and Mark Pfoff.

[2022 Reciepent (NACAMA) National Academy of Christian Acappella Music Artists Award - "Outstanding Achievement in Record or Radio" ] "Song of the Week" featuring (C3) Christ Chosen Children from Athens, Alabama.     Single: "Alright"     Album "The Time is Now" September (Monthly Triple Spin) featuring The Mario Brothers from Charlotte, North Carolina.     2015 Album "The Mario Brothers" "Funny Bones" .... "Old One Hundreds" .... "Shout Outs" DATE:  September 13, 2024

In this episode on trust Sascha and I share lessons our mothers taught us about how to fall.We discuss falling well down flights of stairs, fallen cakes, and Mario Brothers' leap-and-falls. We explore the way lessons are taught in community, and, again, delight in our good luck in falling into each others' lives and hearts.

On episode 148 of the Sofa Kingdom Podcast we talk mmo games, modern gaming, Nintendo Switches adult game problem and more.   Find more Sofa Kingdom Podcast at SofaKingdomOfc on instagram https://www.instagram.com/sofakingdomofc/ Audio podcast is on all major podcast platforms just search "Sofa Kingdom Podcast"   General topics this episode mmo games, World of Warcraft, Travian, Visions of Mana, Modern gaming, live service gaming, Mobile gaming, Nintendo switch, steam deck, Mario Brothers movie, Borderlands movie, Nintendo Switch store, adult games,Umbrella Academy, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Warehouse 13, sci-fi effect on society, Hacksmiths, Beat 'em ups, Acolyte,

This week we talk about the upcoming Nintendo Direct, the Virtual Boy, the 1993 Mario Brothers movie and Killer Instinct on the SNES

Local Tallahassee muralist, Kollett Probst, has invested her time into beautifying the city of Tallahassee. She has changed the real estate game forever by creating art that reflects the vibe of the city. Some of her work includes Rosie the Riveter, Nelson Mandela, and Mario Brothers.Probst mentions how there is a fine line between fan art and trademarked work. Her work on the Mario Brothers mural, which can be found on the Burrito Boarder building on Pensacola St., creates a symbiotic relationship between her art and Nintendo, the creators of Mario. Celebrities, however, do have rights to their celebrity status. Art creates a grey area in these trademark issues and can cause controversy in the real estate world. Visually, an efficient way to show off her work is the power of social media. You can find Kollett's work here (hyperlink). Kollettoriginals.com She has created 46 different pieces in the last 16 months.It's easy to capture different styles and ideas, including real estate models, through social media. Bringing art and creativity into a new medium like real estate is a sure-fire way to stand out and create a following on these social media platforms.When creating art, mastering the grey scale is the first step to success. If you can make a black and white piece look beautiful, adding color then comes much easier.Decorating with purpose is a key ingredient in the recipe of real estate beautification. Mindlessly creating something isn't profitable, creating something out of purposefulness will do that job for you.Probst talks key points on how creating art in a small town is profitable, one of which includes who we are as a community, and how we can create art that fits into our city's demographic. She talks how Tallahassee needs art that can be appealing to all communities; seniors, children, and the in-betweens alike.Taking this note and applying it to the real estate world, we must understand that homes also have personalities. The personality of the home must match the personality of the tenant, otherwise it doesn't match, and artistically, it doesn't make sense. Matching the personality of the home to that of the owner adds value to the home because it feels like the home is created for them. Kollett often creates her work to match the personality of the building, to help the business grow and bring in a higher volume of customers.  Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pattysplayhouse https://plus.acast.com/s/pattysplayhouse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DID PRINCE WILLIAM LET IT SLIP THAT KATE IS DEAD? Where the !@#$ is Kate Middleton? Did everyone just forget about her? The last time she was seen in public was Christmas Day. That's over 4 months ago. You may say who cares but I think about it… a lot… and so my other white ladies. A princess is missing and everyone is acting normally. This has to be one of the best and the biggest true crime podcasts waiting to be told… that is if we ever get and answer. And men, you may laugh at women's obsession with unraveling the Kate Middleton mystery, but don't act like you are any more sophisticated. You boys were playing Mario Brothers in the 90's pretending to be a plumber out saving a fake princess named Peach from a fake monster named Bowser so shut the !@# up.Anyway, back to my regularly scheduled rant.Ladies Love Politics will be attending @bitcoin.conference. Join me online as I cover the event… or grab a ticket and see for yourself the wonderful world of Bitcoin.Tickets: https://us.b.tc/Ladies Love Politics is proud media partner of Bitcoin 2024.***You can check out Ladies Love Politics website to read a transcript/references of this episode at www.ladieslovepolitics.com.Be sure to follow the Ladies Love Politics channel on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Truth Social, Brighteon Social, Threads, and Twitter.Background Music Credit:Music: Hang for Days - Silent Partner https://youtu.be/A41A0XeU2dsREFERENCES: https://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/10/20/diana.letter/

In this laughter-packed episode of the Unbroken Podcast, we're joined by the one and only Mike Ottle—a true kindred spirit with a penchant for obscure references. Throughout our chat, Mike had us rolling with his quick wit and deep dives into nerdy topics. We explored his journey from fitness enthusiast to entrepreneur, shedding light on the origins of his business, 1Up Electric. And yes, that name is a nod to the iconic Mario Brothers! Mike isn't just a savvy electrician; he's also a hardcore nerd who loves Dungeons & Dragons and jams on the guitar in a metal band. When he's not out tackling electrical challenges, he's likely headbanging to metal or rolling dice in a game of D&D. Don't forget to support our episode sponsor, The Grill Guys. Whether you're browsing online or in the mood for a visit, swing by their shop in Republic, Missouri. They're sure to spice up your grilling game!

Subscriber-only episodeJoin Brian Smith in a thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be truly satisfied with what we have. This episode delves into the complexities of happiness, satisfaction, and the unexpected joys of striving for achievements.What You'll Learn:1. The Real Meaning of Satisfaction: Understand satisfaction beyond the material—how our efforts and perceptions shape our happiness.2. The Pleasure of Achievement: Discover why working hard for something makes us more satisfied, using examples from video games to personal goals.3. Comparative Happiness: Discuss the pitfalls of comparing ourselves to others and how this impacts our sense of satisfaction.4. The Power of Gratitude: Learn how practicing gratitude can shift our perspective and increase our happiness without changing our circumstances.Featured Stories:- Video Game Achievements: Brian shares his experiences with video games like Mario Brothers and how overcoming challenges in gaming can parallel real-life satisfaction.- Personal Achievements: Hear about Brian's journey to owning his dream car, a BMW, and what it taught him about happiness and satisfaction.- Gratitude Practice: Insights into how gratitude affects our perception of what we have versus what we want.Call to Action:- Feedback & Discussion: What brings you satisfaction? Have you noticed how your desires shape your happiness? - Gratitude Challenge: This week, try noting three things you're grateful for each day and observe how it impacts your outlook.Join the community at https://grief2growht.com/community to continue the discusssionDiscover a unique online space dedicated to individuals navigating the complexities of grief. Our community offers a peaceful, supportive environment free from the distractions and negativity often found on places like Facebook. Connect with others who understand your journey and find solace in shared experiences.https://grief2growth.com/community

Find the transcript, full show notes, and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/brian-tyler Our conversation today takes us further into the creative process across different mediums. If you're a fan of Yellowstone, Crazy Rich Asians, Iron Man 3, or the recent Mario Brothers movie, then chances are good that one of the soundtrack clips in the trailer below is familiar to you. And today on Design Better we speak with the person behind them all: Emmy-award nominated composer Brian Tyler. We talk to Brian about his childhood influences, growing up in an artistic family, and how he finds the starting threads of a score. Bio Brian Tyler is a multiple BAFTA and Emmy Award nominee, platinum-selling recording artist, and has been a composer and conductor on over 100 feature films. Tyler's scoring credits include Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron, James Wan's Furious 7 and F. Gary Gray's Fate of the Furious as well as others in the Fast and the Furious franchise, Shane Black's Iron Man 3, Alan Taylor's Thor: The Dark World, Jon Chu's Crazy Rich Asians, for which he was voted to the 2019 Oscar shortlist for Best Original Score. Brian also tours as a successful electronic artist and producer, playing major festivals such as EDC and Hardfest, and he recently launched "Are We Dreaming", a completely immersive audio-visual experience created by Tyler himself, which debuted in October 2021 on the 400-foot Main Stage at Lost Lands Music Festival; an epic two-hour midnight performance for a crowd of 30,000 people.  *** Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show: Methodical Coffee: Roasted, blended, brewed, served and perfected by verified coffee nerds

Ever wonder how a movie can make you laugh, grip your seat, and still leave you wanting more? Join us as we navigate the cinematic odyssey of 2023, where we dissect the year's silver screen spectacles, including the gravity-defying stunts of "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1." Our discussion veers through the Italian locations that left us awestruck, blending a rich tapestry of critique and nostalgia that only true film enthusiasts can appreciate. From the personal anecdotes tied to the locations to the challenge of distinguishing this year's gems from last, we promise an episode filled with insightful banter and a relentless quest for the movies that truly shine.Imagine Tom Cruise scaling another skyscraper in his fifties. We chew over the "Mission Impossible" saga's future and its daredevil lead's career longevity, debating whether the franchise should stick to its spy thriller roots or continue upping the ante. We also can't help but muse on the parallels with other action giants, like the "Fast and Furious" series. But we don't stop there; animated wonders and the web-slinging excellence of "Across the Spider-Verse" are on the agenda too. We pick apart the narrative depth, moral dilemmas, and whether cameo appearances enhance or distract from the storytelling.Let's not forget the punchlines and face-palms that movies can sometimes bring. We take a no-holds-barred approach to the cringe-inducing dialogues from the "Madame Webb" trailer, sparing no criticism for what looks to be 2024's potential popcorn fodder. From admiration for unexpected comebacks like Brendan Fraser's gripping performance in "The Whale," to the whimsical hopes for a bolder "Mario Brothers" sequel, we cover the highs, the lows, and the laugh-out-loud moments that make going to the movies—or just talking about them—a blast. So, settle in for a ride through the best, the worst, and everything in-between from the world of film in 2023. Support the show

2023 was perhaps the best movie year since the pandemic. There were multiple blockbusters in the theater, with "Barbie" and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" both topping $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Beside seats in theaters filling up, there were plenty of great movie options both domestic and foreign that will be competing for awards in the coming months. Co-hosts Bruce Miller and Terry Lipshetz talk about their favorite movies of the year, with Miller offering his own Top 10 list. Bruce Miller's Top 10 films from 2023 "Oppenheimer" "Killers of the Flower Moon" "Barbie" "Anatomy of a Fall" "The Holdovers" "Poor Things" "Maestro" "American Fiction" "Air" "Past Lives" Contact us! We want to hear from you! Email questions to podcasts@lee.net and we'll answer your question on a future episode! About the show Streamed & Screened is a podcast about movies and TV hosted by Bruce Miller, a longtime entertainment reporter who is now the editor of the Sioux City Journal in Iowa and Terry Lipshetz, a senior producer for Lee Enterprises based in Madison, Wisconsin. Episode transcript Note: The following transcript was created by Headliner and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically: Terry Lipshetz: Welcome, everyone, to another episode of Streamed & Screened, an entertainment podcast about movies and TV from Lee Enterprises. I'm Terry Lipshetz, managing editor of the national newsroom at Lee, and co-host of the program with Bruce Miller, editor of the Sioux City Journal and a longtime entertainment reporter and someone who has seen way more movies than I have this year. Way more. Why am I here? Bruce Miller: You're here because I need you. If you're not there, I. I'm just talking into the woods. I'll tell you, I tried to figure out how many movies I see in a year. Now this is just movies. This is not TV show movies or streaming or anything like that. And I figured one year, it was around 300. And so if you multiply that times 40 years, that's a lot of movies. And those are only ones that I would do for work purposes, not ones that I would go back. And wizard of Oz doesn't count in that, because you'd see that more than once. The Godfather. I've seen the Godfather so much, I could do the line, it's a strange year because we didn't know what was going to happen with the strikes. We didn't know if we would get things, if they would hold things, what would happen. And right now, at the end of the year, there is a plethora of, movies that are opening. It's your chance to really get after it. If you haven't looked at movies, now's your time. So, Terry, how about your year? How was your year? Terry Lipshetz: It's typical as a parent who's got a busy job and lots of kid, you know, we got to the movies. We saw some of the big ones. We saw Mario Brothers, which was a fun movie. Really enjoyed seeing that one. We went to see Barbie. Definitely an Oscar contender. This is not a doll movie, so love that one. We recently saw the Hunger Games prequel. We went to see Indiana Jones. I saw the flash, the family and I. We did see elemental. So we've gotten out, we've seen some movies. We've left the house. 2020 is in the rear view mirror, and we are back to theaters. We already have plans for our, Christmas break to go see Wonka. Bruce Miller: What guides the choices, do you say? Well, if we're taking the kids, it has to be kid friendly. Or do you say, kids, you're going to an r rated movie? I don't care. Terry Lipshetz: I don't want to say we're super strict, but we do like to look at. We'll check out, like rotten tomatoes. We'll check out common sense media. And we'll use our own best judgment to try to figure out what to go see. We don't allow them to see r rated movies yet. With the PG 13 movies, we look at them pretty closely. We try to see, okay, why is it pg 13? Is it just a few bad words? Is there nudity? I mean, usually PG 13 doesn't get nudity. You might get a butt in there every once in a while. And that's okay if you see a little. Everyone has a butt. We're all fine with. So that kind of thing is okay. If it gets a little too violent, we try to stay away from it. If it gets a little too sexual, we try to stay away from it. But we try to find movies that are appropriate for the family and we want them to see appropriate material for their age. Bruce Miller: So the profanity, we hear that at home, we're okay, we're good with that. Terry Lipshetz: They'll call me out on it. My girls basketball team, I coach 7th grade girls basketball and we were playing a game this weekend and I said the s word audibly during the. Because I thought one of our girls fouled out. So they were, coach, you just said the s word and you got to run a lap now. Bruce Miller: Oh, good. Terry Lipshetz: I owe them a lap in practice, probably. Bruce Miller: You better get on it. That's good. I'm glad they're holding you too. But I always use the line that if you're a writer, you've got to be able to know all the words and how to use them effectively. So that's why I swear I also don't have kids around me. So I'm good. Terry Lipshetz: You're good. Which was better? ‘Oppenheimer' or ‘Barbie' Bruce Miller: Okay, so we're going to look at the list. Did you do ten? Terry Lipshetz: I didn't come up because I felt like I didn't see enough of the really good movies. I would say that of all the films that I saw, I would probably rank Oppenheimer just a hair before Barbie. I thought Barbie was a great movie. I thought that it is deserving of any accolade it gets. I would like to somehow see Oppenheimer and Barbie somehow split out awards so their two creative geniuses, because that's what they are, our geniuses, can somehow share without taking away from each other. I don't want to see one of them just like clean sweep and then the other one gets left. So I think there's a way for a best director, best picture, best screenplay. We'll hand out statues to both. But I would just give Oppenheimer like my nudge for best picture. And that's even without yet seeing killers of the flower moon. Bruce Miller: And those are the two I had a, battle to figure. Is it Oppenheimer or is it killers of the flower moon? I'll tell you, I went back and forth on this because they're both too long, bottom line, too long. But who had justified me sitting longer of the two films? And I thought that the end of Killers of the Flower moon was a little padded. Whereas in Oppenheimer they had a trial. There was a moment there where you go, well, this is a whole new movie. This is something else I'm getting from this. And I thought that was very clever. They deserved their time. And so that gave me the little edge for Oppenheimer. So my number one film of the year is Oppenheimer. Number two is Killers of the Flower moon. You have Barbie as number two. Well, Barbie came in at three on my list. Terry Lipshetz: Okay. Bruce Miller: Because the thing with Barbie is, I think that she wasn't just toying, pardon the pun, toying with the concept of a doll and what it has meant over the years. It really was a tale about, now, don't be badmouthing young girls who are playing with barbies, because that's always been the narrative behind Barbie is that, oh, it's like some stupid doll. Know, is, perhaps a little more zoptic than you would give a girl. And that she was kind of dim and there were a lot of things there to unpack and she unpacked all of them. Greta Gerwig, looked at all those kind of angles about Barbie and still came away with the idea that here is a doll that is giving us hope that girls can do everything and that there are stumbling blocks in the road, but you have to figure out how to deal with them. it isn't just riding in your Malibu car with Ken by your side. And Ken was another whole thing. Know, Ken has been an accessory for the most part all these years. He's also in the picture. But Ken had his own little feelings as well. And you go, I kind of feel sorry for Ken. I really felt sorry for Alan. But this is a movie that gives you more than you're expecting. I think it is a great way to look at those kind of characters, especially when you're an adult. When you're a kid, it doesn't know. Barbie is just that character with too many clothes and she loses her shoes all the time. But as an adult, you realize that this was an impressionable character on young minds. And so I think the movie did a great job of bringing that to light. ‘Anatomy of a Fall' is a courtroom drama to watch In my number fourth spot, I have anatomy of a fall. And this is something that you probably haven't seen around much because it's a foreign language film, both in French and German and English. It's about an accident, or what you think is an accident. A young boy, he's about eleven, is blind, and he's walking his dog outside. And when he comes home, they realize that the dad is on the ground and dead. And what is behind this? Did he fall out of the window? Did his wife push him out the window? What is the story behind all this? It's a fascinating courtroom drama that lets you figure out, where do you sit? I happened to talk with Sandra Huller, who's the star of this. She plays the woman who's on trial for this, the mother wife. And she said, I don't go into this taking sides and saying that she's guilty or she's innocent of anything. I just want to play the emotions because it does, it shifts throughout the whole film. And it is a, fascinating look at a case where when you come to the end of it, you will debate with others what was the true story there? And it all comes down to the end where the young boy gets to testify, on the stand, and he talks about what he believes. It won the Cannes Film festival, palm door, award. And you can see why it's lasted. I mean, we're just getting it now. But if you get a chance to see this, please do look at it. Anatomy of a fall. Terry Lipshetz: Okay. Bruce Miller: Number five spot. I don't know if you saw this one or not, but the holdovers, I love the holdovers. Terry Lipshetz: It's on my list to see. And it's one that might, because it's rated r, so it's not one we. Bruce Miller: Were going to go take. Terry Lipshetz: Okay. But yeah, my wife and I have talked about it, wanting to go see it, and maybe we'll be able to do that over the break when my kids go spend some time with my mom for a little bit. Bruce Miller: We're storing you kids. Don't be like the von Eric brothers in the iron claw. Please do not force them into things. But, yeah, I think it was a fascinating look at how we create families. And families can come from the least likely places. It's a prep school in the 1970s where some people have to stay back because either their parents don't bring them home for the holidays. In colleges, there are a lot of international students who don't get to go home for the holidays because it's just too expensive. But this turns out there's one student who's stuck at this school with the teacher he really hates, who's kind of the designated watcher for any of these students, and then the cook, and they all have their own little issues. They all have their own little story, and they come together, and they become the greatest of friends. It's remarkable. Paul Giamatti, divine Joy Randolph, and Dominic Cessa, a newcomer who plays a student, and he's just marvelous in this. Directed by Alexander Payne. It's a film you should see. So that was at number five. At number six, I have poor things, and this is probably one you haven't seen yet, either, with Emma Stone as she's like a Frankenstein's monster. Willem Dafoe has done a surgery on her, and I don't want to tell you too much about that, but he has created this woman who is just learning life all over again. So she's very halting and stupid, and every year or every day, she learns, like, 100 words. I'm now paraphrasing because I don't have my notes on this. And so she becomes very educated about everything, about life, about people, about relationships, and she wants to approach it all on her own terms. And so when she gets to be older, there's talk of marriage, there's talk of other things, and it's just wild, wild, wild. It's black and white. Sometimes it's color, sometimes. Willem Dafoe is just unbelievable. I think he's great in this. Emma Stone is wonderful. And here's one you can't take the girls to because there is nudity. Just know that it's more adult than you'd ever thought it would be. But it's very creative, and I think that's what lands it on the list, because it is just so fascinatingly interesting. The story of Leonard Bernstein is available on Netflix Okay, so that's number six. Number seven, maestro. Again, this is one that's just now, getting the streaming services that's on Netflix. And it's the story of Leonard Bernstein, if you happen to remember him, if you're old enough like I am, to have seen him do those children's educational things about the symphony and the orchestra and all that, you know, the name. And he was one of the biggest conductors in the world, a composer. He wrote a number of huge musicals, but there was kind of a different man behind the scenes. And this looks at his relationship with his wife, Felicia. There's a lot there to unpack because she was that very supportive woman. But he also was a philandering husband, and he had relationships with men that, of course, they wouldn't say anything about back in the. So it was kind of a hidden life that he was leading. Bradley Cooper directed this, wrote this. I mean, he stars in it. He's everything about this. It's his showpiece, I think, really. It gives him a chance to show what he's able to do. He sounds like him, he looks like him. But it's not a chronological look at his life. It's like snippets. It's little things that give you a picture of what he's really all about. Harry Mulligan plays his wife, Felicia, and she is incredible, too. So this is one. It's on Netflix. You can watch it, see it. It's something that's really fascinating because it's more than just a, screen biography. Terry Lipshetz: I saw it pop up in my recommended recently, and I did add it to my list. So it is absolutely on my list of films to watch. ‘Super Mario Bros.' one of the fun movies to watch from 2023 Bruce Miller: Okay, now, before I get to numbers eight, nine, and ten, what else is. Terry Lipshetz: On your list from the standpoint of did I like it, did I see it and enjoy it? I was really impressed with Super Mario Brothers. It's not going to make anybody's top ten list. And it's one of those which my daughter wanted to go see it. I guess I'll go take you to a movies. And I sat there and I enjoyed it. And it was actually fun to watch. And it was worth it, being, a billion dollar worldwide film. And it was one of those films that I think got butts back into the theater, which it's been a long time since that's happened. So that movie I really enjoyed. I also thought that the prequel for the Hunger Games was a lot better than I expected. I had very low expectations on that film. Very low. I didn't mind the first of the trilogy. The second two after that were kind of, Do I really. Bruce Miller: But with this, do you know the characters? Are they like, young people, and then they grow up to become people in what we consider the classic Hunger games? Terry Lipshetz: Yeah, President Snow, he's the Donald Sutherland character from the movies. It's his younger self, and you kind of see how he turned into. Exactly. So from that standpoint, I think it was a real interesting thing to watch. I never read the books. I was never that interested. It was just one of those where, yeah, I'll go see it. It sounds like fun watching kids murder each other. Sure. Why not. Bruce Miller: Isn't that how it should be? Terry Lipshetz: Exactly. Bruce Miller: Shouldn't we just put the kids out there and make them just survive? Terry Lipshetz: That's it, right. Bruce Miller: Otherwise called winter, break. And you've got to try and figure out what to do with them because they'll drive you crazy. Terry Lipshetz: Exactly. ‘American Fiction' another great performance from Jeffrey Wright Bruce Miller: Okay. On my list, number eight, American Fiction. This is another new one that you'll see in theaters now. Cord Jefferson wrote this based on other material, but it's about a black author who is just incensed by the idea. Know, there are these people doing these ghetto like kind of books, plays, whatever, and they didn't live the life, but they see that it sells because there's a white audience out there that wants to read these kinds of things. And so he wonders, well, what if I wrote one of those? So he writes it under a pseudonym. As a result, he gets a lot of attention, has people looking for him to do interviews. And he's trying to stand the download because he doesn't want people to know that, wait a minute, I don't want this on my record, that I wrote this book because I think this book is trash. But yet he's still making money from it. So what's the balance? Know, Jeffrey Wright stars in the film and he's wonderful. I think it's one that we're going to see in the Oscar race. I really do, because it's so very interesting how they approach this subject, particularly now when people talk about being woke and all those kind of catchphrases they throw out there, but it attacks it head on and is willing to make, some choices. And I thought it was fascinating. Terry Lipshetz: Yeah. And Jeffrey Wright, I love Jeffrey Wright. He was in some of the more recent James Bond movies as, Felix Leiter, the CIA agent. And he also was in, the HBO series Westworld. And I thought those two roles, very difficult, challenging roles in their own way, and he nails those characters. So I am really looking forward to seeing American Fiction. Bruce Miller: He's been around forever, Broadway. He's done a lot of Broadway shows. I think he just had one last year. Now he's probably getting his big moment. Terry Lipshetz: Yeah. He's somebody that you've seen him before in so many different things, mostly in supporting roles. I think that's where Westworld really let him shine, because even though that was an ensemble cast, he was a primary character in there. Bruce Miller: Yeah, he is another one of those ones that can always get work because he can play so many different roles and so many different. I love him. I think he's really good. And he makes this film very unpredictable. Very unpredictable. You will not guess the ending of this film. I will wage your money on that one. ‘Air' tells the story of how Nike landed Michael Jordan Okay, number nine. Now, this is one that you should have seen and you didn't. Terry Lipshetz: It's been available through prime video forever. And I keep on going. It's in my list. I'm going to go watch it tonight. And then I fall asleep. Bruce Miller: You probably are wearing Nike tennis shoes. And then you can't even go see the movie. That's terrible. It's air in number nine. Air. And this is the story of how they did the deal for Michael Jordan's shoeline and what kind of maneuvering was done by the people at Nike and what they had to do to try and get him to buy into them. Now, what we don't realize in retrospect is that Nike was not a player back in the know. They wanted converse or they wanted Adidas, but they didn't want Nike. Nike was considered third. And so it becomes this kind of salesman's pitch to the Jordan family that you need to go with us. This is going to be something. And this is way before Michael Jordan was Michael Jordan. He was a college standout, but he wasn't Michael Jordan. Capitalized, bold faced, underlined all that. You see what they have to do, how they sell it, and, you see people that you recognize, but Michael Jordan's barely in the film. If he's in it, I bet it's ten minutes at best. And the character is always shown from the back of the head or the side. You don't see him doing anything except in footage where they show Michael Jordan actually playing basketball. And you go, oh, they did. And that logo that they use where he's jumping in the air, you see that? Where they got the inspiration. What's fun is seeing how his mother was such a good influence in this old thing. And she talks about, it's just a shoe until you put my son's foot in it. Then you see the guy who made the shoes and what a character. He just. It's fascinating. And my favorite one of all is the agent played by Chris Messina, who, again, you can't let the kids watch this because every other word starts with an f. But it is just fascinating to watch this. And, Matt Damon gets the speech of the year when he tells his story to the family of why they should go with. It's just, it's remarkable. You cheer because it's such a good, Look at all that. Terry Lipshetz: Well, now I got to go watch it this weekend. Bruce Miller: So, what do I have to do? I am pulling you movie by movie through the year, and then you won't go see these things. I want you to go to that. Terry Lipshetz: Have you seen my family calendar, Bruce? Have I shared that with you? Bruce Miller: Look, when you said you're coaching, that alone tells you. Right? Oh, this guy ain't the movies. Terry Lipshetz: I'm not going to the movies. Nope. Right. Exactly. Right. Well, what's closing out your list? Bruce Miller: It's called past lives. It's an Asian film that really. Oh, I don't want to spill it. They were friends when they were children, and then they reconnect later in life, and they wonder what their lives might have been like had they been together all along. And it's heartbreaking in parts, heartwarming in other parts, but it's, Greta Lee Tao, you are the actors. It's directed by Celine Song, and it's marvelous. It probably will be one of the ones that will be considered for best international film, but we have a lot of those in the category this year. And normally I don't put foreign films on my ten best list because we don't get a chance to see them all the time. Thanks to streaming, we're getting more of those films out there. And I think you'll find, too, that they have great stories to tell. It's just sometimes I have to do a lot of reading to be able to get to the story. Terry Lipshetz: Sure. Wow. Bruce Miller: So that's a top ten list. Oppenheimer, number one. Terry Lipshetz: Can't go wrong with Oppenheimer. Bruce Miller: Killers of the flower moon. Number two. Barbie. Number three. Anatomy of a fall. Number four. The holdovers. Number five. Four things. Number six, maestro. Number seven. American fiction, number eight. Air number nine. And past lives. Number ten. Terry Lipshetz: Okay, well, that is a list for those of you out there that are like me. Haven't gotten to enough movies this year. A lot to watch during the next couple of weeks as we close things out and then march further towards Oscar season. So we're going to wrap this episode next week. We're going to do our top ten TV shows. Bruce Miller: And that's even more difficult because there's so much tv. Terry Lipshetz: I promise you, Bruce, I will have more to offer in the next episode than what I brought to the table today. Bruce Miller: So we're going to throw you in. you're going to be playing in this one. I will be on the bench. Terry Lipshetz: So I have a lot of time. I can squeeze in a 30 minutes, 45 minutes show at the end of the night. No problem. So I have a lot to offer. So we'll be back again next week with another episode of streamed and screened.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“You shouldn't use aligners for Deep Bite cases”. FALSE! I was joined by the Taheri brothers (kinda like the Mario Brothers, except they're not Italian Plumbers but rather British-Iranian Orthodontists) to unravel the intricacies of utilizing aligners and specific protocols for deep bite correction. https://youtu.be/WW5M8blu6Qk Watch PDP170 on Youtube We discussed their protocols and the significance of bite ramps and understanding the correct selection of attachments. Protrusive Dental Pearl: Check out the OXO 4K Camera - record clinical videos using a loupe-mounted camera. Need to Read it? Check out the Full Episode Transcript below! Highlights of the episode:0:00 Introduction0:56 Protrusive Dental Pearl2:36 Dr. Damon Taheri and Dr. Ramtin Taheri Introduction8:55 Deep Bites and the Predictability with Aligners12:11 Getting Better Outcomes Using Aligners16:51 OverCorrection - How does it look on a clincheck? And why is it important?23:31 Using TADS to assist bite correction26:57 Bite Ramps and its importance on deep bites and aligners33:08 Aligner Protocol37:23 Round-tripping and its relevance to deep bites40:17 The Complete Aligner Program44:48 Outro If you liked this episode, you will also like Do's and Don'ts of Aligners [STRAIGHTPRIL] – PDP071 Did you know? You can get CPD from the Web App or Phone App and watch premium clinical videos, for less than a tax deductible Nando's per month? Click below for full episode transcript: Jaz's Introduction: Deep bites are really difficult to correct with aligners, right? Well, brothers and orthodontists Dr. Damon Taheri and Dr. Ramtin Tehari today on the podcast will be discussing how we can use specific protocols using aligners to improve the predictability of your deep bite corrections. [Jaz]I always thought that deep bite, if it's super deep bite you're better off going for fixed appliances because aligners will struggle with deep bite correction. But speaking to the Taheri brothers showed me that actually, you can do a lot when it comes to deep bite with aligners. Which attachments should you use and when? How should you stage your deep bite correction? And what about bite ramps? What are they? Why are they so effective in deep bite correction? And why you should use them with care? Hello Protruserati, I'm Jaz Gulati and you're listening to your favorite dental podcast. Thank you for joining me again. If you're new, welcome to the podcast. You picked an interesting one, a very orthodontics based one. I cover all sorts of dentistry over the last four years or so. So do check out our backlog of episodes. Protrusive Dental PearlNow, every main episode, I give you a Protrusive Dental Pearl. Today's dental pearl is all about how I record my clinical videos. Now, recently on YouTube, I published a video about how to record awesome clinical videos using a loop mounted camera. So I'll put the show links for that one below. But also if you search how to record awesome clinical dental videos, it will come up. Essentially It's using something called an OXO 4K. I think it's a spanish company but they have made the best camera that I have seen. I've tried a few and I've also spoken to a few very experienced colleagues. And they have suggested that OXO was the best and i've been using it for over 18 months now And you can see from the content that I post some of the videos are really crisp and the point of view footage that you get especially on some of the videos I have on the Protrusive app. That's all powered by the OXO. So if you're looking about how you can use videography in dentistry, that's why it's shining a light on the review I did recently. Now let's join the Taheri brothers and I'll catch you in the outro. Main Episode:So Damon and Ramtin Taheri, welcome to the Protrusive Dental Podcast. Great to have you both on. How are you both? [Damon]Good, Jaz. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having us. First of all,

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Dec. 8. It dropped for free subscribers on Dec. 15. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. You can also subscribe to the free tier below:WhoBenjamin Bartz, General Manager of Snowriver, MichiganRecorded onNovember 13, 2023About SnowriverClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Midwest Family Ski ResortsLocated in: Wakefield (Jackson Creek Summit) and Bessemer (Black River Basin), MichiganYear founded: 1959 (Jackson Creek, as Indianhead) and 1977 (Black River Basin, as Blackjack)Pass affiliations:Legendary Pass (also includes varying access to Lutsen Mountains, Minnesota and Granite Peak, Wisconsin)* Gold: unlimited access* Silver: unlimited access* Bronze: unlimited midweek access with holiday blackoutsThe Indy Base Pass and Indy+ Pass also include two Snowriver days with no blackoutsClosest neighboring ski areas: Big Powderhorn (:14), Mt. Zion Ski Hill (:17), Whitecap Mountains (:39); Porkies Winter Sports Complex (:48)Base elevation:* Jackson Creek: 1,212 feet* Black River Basin: 1,185 feetSummit elevation:* Jackson Creek: 1,750 feet* Black River Basin: 1,675 feetVertical drop:* Jackson Creek: 538 feet* Black River Basin: 490 feetSkiable Acres: 400 (both ski areas combined)* Jackson Creek: 230* Black River Basin: 170Average annual snowfall: 200 inchesTrail count: 71 trails, 17 glades, 3 terrain parks* Jackson Creek: 43 trails, 11 glades, 2 terrain parks* Black River Basin: 28 trails, 6 glades, 1 terrain parkLift count: 11 (1 six-pack, 6 doubles, 1 T-bar, 2 ropetows, 1 carpet)* Jackson Creek Summit: 6 (1 six-pack, 2 doubles, 1 T-bar, 1 ropetow, 1 carpet)* Black River Basin: 5 (4 doubles, 1 ropetow)View historic Snowriver trailmaps on skimap.org.Why I interviewed himI could tell this story as a Michigan story, as a young skier still awed by the far-off Upper Peninsula, that remote and wild and snowy realm Up North and Over the Bridge. I could tell it as a weather story, of glacial bumps bullseyed in the greatest of the Great Lakes snowbelts. Or as a story of a run-down complex tumbling into hyper-change, or one that activated the lifts in 1978 and just left them spinning. It's an Indy Pass story, a ski area with better skiing than infrastructure that will give you a where's-everyone-else kind of ski day. And it's a Midwest Family Ski Resorts (MFSR) story, skiing's version of a teardown, where nothing is sacred and everything will change and all you can do is stand back and watch the wrecking ball swing and the scaffolding go up the sides.Each of these is tempting, and the podcast is inevitably a mash-up. Writing about the Midwest will always be personal to me. The UP is that Great Otherplace, where the snow is bottomless and everything is cheap and everyone is somewhere else. Snowriver is both magnificently retro and badly in need of updating. And it is a good ski area and a solid addition to the Indy Pass.But, more than anything, the story of Snowriver is the story of MFSR and the Skinner family. There is no better ski area operator. They have equals but no betters. You know how when a certain actor or director gets involved in something, or when a certain athlete moves to a new team, you think, “Man, that's gonna be good.” They project excellence. Everything they touch absorbs it. Did you know that one man, Shigeru Miyamoto, invented, among others, the Donkey Kong, Mario Brothers, Legend of Zelda, and Star Fox franchises, and has directed or produced every sequel of every game for four decades? Time calls him “the Spielberg of video games.” Well, the Skinners are the Spielberg – or perhaps the Miyamoto – of Midwest skiing. Everything they touch becomes the best version of that thing that it can achieve. What we talked aboutSnowriver's new six-pack lift; why Snowriver removed three chairlifts but only added one; the sixer's all-new line; why Midwest Family Ski Resorts (MFSR) upgraded this lift first; the rationale behind a high-speed lift on a 538-vertical-foot hill; knocking 100 vertical feet off Jackson Creek Summit's advertised vertical drop; “Voyager” versus “Voyageur”; swapping out the old Poma for a handletow; the UP snowbelt; the bad old days of get out of the trees you blasted kids!; Gogebic Community College's ski area management program; Mt. Zion, Michigan; Giants Ridge, Minnesota; the Big Snow time capsule; why MFSR purchased Snowriver; Mount Bohemia; changing the name from “Big Snow” to “Snowriver”; where an interconnect lift could run and what sort of lift it could be; why Snowriver renamed all the lifts and many trails on the Black River Basin side; potential future lift upgrades on both sides of the resort; potential terrain expansion; new and renamed trails and 17 new glades on the 2023-24 trailmap; the small parcel of Snowriver that sits on U.S. Forest Service land; why Black River Basin is only open Thursday through Sunday; and a joint pass to Snowriver, Granite Peak, and Lutsen.Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewThe entity now known as Midwest Family Ski Resorts has been running ski areas for decades. I've been running The Storm for four years. So by the time I launched in 2019 and then expanded out of the Northeast in 2021, MFSR had already transformed Granite Peak and Lutsen into modern Midwestern giants. Their work on Granite had been particularly impressive, as they'd transformed Wisconsin's beat-up and decrepit Rib Mountain into a sprawling and modern ski area.I mean look at this dump:And here's the same ski area in 2023:So what a gift when, last year, the company announced the purchase of the side-by-side time capsules then known as Indianhead and Blackjack. A rare chance to see that Skinner magic uncorked on a beat-up backwater, to watch, in real time, that transformation into something humming and hefty and modern.Most multi-mountain operators buy diamonds, ski areas already streamlined and upgraded and laced with modern machines. MFSR digs deeper, finds coal, then pounds it into its final form. It's a rough and expensive way to go, but the strategy carries the great advantage of maximum flexibility to sculpt a mountain into your daydream.The dream at Snowriver is straightforward but impossibly complex: modernize the snowmaking, chairlifts, bedbase, trail network, and grooming; connect the two ski areas with an aerial lift; and establish this snowy but remote complex as a legitimate midwestern destination ski resort. MFSR has, as expected, moved quickly, rebranding the resort; removing five(!) lifts from the Jackson Creek Summit side and building an outrageously expensive six-pack; and making dozens of subtle tweaks to the trail network, adding new runs, renaming lifts and trails, and dropping more than a dozen marked glades onto the trailmap.This period of rapid change, pronounced as it is, will likely be viewed, historically, as a simple prelude. MFSR is not the sort of operator that lays out grand plans and then glances at them through its binoculars every three years. They plan and tear s**t apart and build and build and build. They act how every skier thinks they would act were they to purchase their own ski area. The difference is that MFSR has money, ambition, and a history of transformational action. Watch, amazed, as this thing grows.Questions I wish I'd askedBartz started Ben's Blog, a cool little update series on Snowriver's goings-on. I wanted to get into his motivation and mission here, but we were running long.I also wanted to get into a unique feature of Snowriver a bit more: the huge amount of onsite lodging, which was a big motivating factor in MFSR's purchase, and a large part of the vision for building a sustainable destination ski resort in a region that has struggled to support one.What I got wrongI said that the four Black River Basin Riblet chairlifts dated to the 1970s, and then corrected myself to say that “I believe” one dated to the ‘80s. Ascender, Brigantine, and Draw Stroke date to 1977; Capstan was installed in 1983.Why you should ski SnowriverEver wonder what it's like to ski in 1978? Pull up to Black River Basin, boot up, and walk over to the lifts. There, you just time traveled. Centerpole Riblet doubles, painted ‘Nam chopper green, squeaking uphill, not a safety bar in sight. There's snowmaking, but most of the snow you're skiing on blew in off the big lake 11 miles north. Skiers in their modern fat skis and helmets would blow the illusion, but there are no other skiers to be found.Then a kid skis by, backpack speaker booming, and you're like, “OK phew for a second I thought I'd really time-traveled and would be forced to do things like drive around the block without navigation assistance and carry around a camera that was not also a supercomputer and required $15 to purchase and develop 24 photographs.”If Black River Basin is the past, then Jackson Creek Summit is the future. That sixer landed like an Abrams tank on a Civil War battlefield. I took this video of the old summit double last February:Now look at the top of the six-pack, which sits on more or less the same spot:Wild, right? Snowriver is going to keep changing, and it will keep changing fast. Go see it before you miss what it was, so you can truly appreciate what it will become.Podcast NotesOn the four removed chairlifts on the Jackson Creek Summit sideSnowriver's new six-pack directly or indirectly replaces four old lifts. The resort also switched up the trail network, with a bunch of new glades and a handful of reconfigured trails. Check out the Jackson Creek Summit side of the resort's trailmap from pre-sixer and then today (note, also, all the newly marked glades and renamed trails):On the new trails on the Black River Basin sideMFSR has also renamed most of the lifts and trails on the Black River Basin side, and removed a handle tow (which is now on the Jackson Creek Summit side). Here's a side-by-side of the ski area's 2018 and 2023 trailmaps:On Gogebic Community College and Mt. ZionSo you can actually earn a college degree in ski area management. There are a few schools that do this, one of which is Michigan's Gogebic Community College. From the program's overview page:OverviewThe Ski Area Management Program at GCC is one of the nation's most comprehensive training programs for individuals interested in pursuing a career in the snow sport industry. Technical and academic study is combined with a practical internship which is conducted at major resorts throughout Coast to Coast.  A valid driver's license is required for completion of this program.Unique FeaturesStudents spend their freshman year and the first eight weeks of their sophomore year completing prerequisite courses. During this period, the Mt. Zion Recreation Complex is utilized as a training laboratory. Mt. Zion is our college-owned and operated winter sport complex located on campus which is open to the public.  Co-opThe Cooperative Work Experience assignment (Co-op) is the capstone of the Ski Area Management Program. All sophomore Students participate in the five month internship where they gain important operational experience in an actual resort environment.The huge advantage that Mt. Zion has over similar programs is that it owns an on-site ski area, Mt. Zion. While this is just a 300-vertical-foot bump served by a double chair, it's laced with some twisty fun little runs fed by 200 inches of annual lake effect:On Giants RidgeBartz really launched his career as Mountain Operations Manager at Giants Ridge, a 500-footer in the Northern Minnesota hinterlands. Here's the most recent trailmap:On the UP snowbeltFor such a remote area, the UP is home to one of the densest concentrations of ski areas in America. Five ski areas sit within a 21-mile stretch along the Wisconsin-Michigan border: Whitecap (in Wisconsin), and Mt. Zion, Big Powderhorn, and the two Snowriver ski areas, all in Michigan. Here's how they line up:On the proximity of MFSR's portfolioMFSR's three ski areas are, as a unit, really well positioned to serve the major Midwestern cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Here's where they sit in relation to one another:And here's the distance table between them:On Rick SchmitzRick Schmitz – who owns Little Switzerland, Nordic Mountain, and The Rock Snowpark in Wisconsin – once owned Blackjack, now Black River Basin. He relays that experience, and why he ultimately sold his interest in the ski area, starting at the 39:40 mark of this podcast we recorded together last year:On Mount BohemiaBoho is, as I've written many times, one of the most amazing and unique ski areas in America. It has no grooming, no snowmaking, and no beginner terrain. It's lodged at the ass-end of nowhere, on a peninsula hanging off a peninsula in the fiery middle of Lake Superior. While regional lore credits (or blames) the renaissance of MFSR's Granite Peak with looting Snowriver's skiers, the rise of Bohemia, which opened in 2000, surely drew more advanced skiers farther north. Here's a trailmap:And here's a conversation I recorded with Boho owner, founder, and president Lonie Glieberman last year:On two ski areas becoming oneFor decades, the two Snowriver ski areas now known as Jackson Creek Summit and Black River Basin were separate, competing entities known, respectively, as Indianhead and Blackjack. Observe the varied style of trailmaps of recent vintage:At some point, the same entity took possession of both hills and introduced the “Big Snow Resort” umbrella name. Each ski area retained its legacy name, as you can see in this joint trailmap circa 2018:Then, last year, MFSR changed the umbrella name from “Big Snow” to “Snowriver,” and changed the name of each ski area (though they framed this as “base area renamings”) from Indianhead and Blackjack to Jackson Creek Summit and Black River Basin, respectively. I broke down the name change when MFSR announced it last September.On the Snowriver interconnectBartz provided outlines of four potential interconnect lines. In all cases, Jackson Creek Summit sits on the left, and Black River Basin is on the right:On US 2The Snowriver ski areas both sit off of US 2, a startling fact, perhaps, for skiers who use the same road to access ski areas as far-flung as Stevens Pass, Washington and Sunday River, Maine. US 2 is, in fact, a 2,571-mile-long road that runs in two segments: from Everett, Washington to St. Ignace, Michigan; then breaking for Canada before picking up in northern New York and running across Vermont and New Hampshire into Maine. It is the northernmost cross-country east-west highway in America. Ski areas that sit along or near the route include Stevens Pass and Mt. Spokane, Washington; Schweitzer, Idaho; Blacktail and Whitefish, Montana; Spirit Mountain, Minnesota; Big Powderhorn, Mt. Zion, Snowriver, Ski Brule, and Pine Mountain, Michigan; Bolton Valley, Vermont; and Sunday River, Titcomb, and Hermon Mountain, Maine; among others.On the Legendary PassFor the 2023-24 ski season, MFSR dispensed with offering single-mountain season passes, and combined all three of its properties onto the Legendary Pass. The gold tier, which is now sold out, debuted at $675 last spring. The Silver tier ran $475 early bird, which is not a material increase from the $419 Snowriver-only 2021-22 season pass (which did not include any Granite or Lutsen access):The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 106/100 in 2023, and number 491 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Would you attend a church that talked about Star Wars Church (or Barbie, or Mario Brothers)? It turns out that some pastors are pulling out all the stops to get people to attend. David Boice is the host of 52 Churches in 52 Weeks and discusses what it's like to attend these churches. Check out our conversation.... https://youtu.be/GlVxRTuTZ40 transcript to follow Copyright © 2023 Gospel Tangents All Rights Reserved Except for book reviews, no content may be reproduced without written permission transcript to follow Copyright © 2023 Gospel Tangents All Rights Reserved Except for book reviews, no content may be reproduced without written permission

Hold on, something doesn't seem right here... Did you have that same reaction back in 1988 the first time you got to play Super Mario Brothers 2? For a new generation familiar with the original Mario Brothers game for the NES, the follow-up felt like quite a departure. But there was a reason for this, and today, we look back on the story behind the creation of Super Mario Bros. 2. An early version of Super Mario 2 was created, then abandoned, and it was a pre-existing Japanese game that allowed for its North American release. Time restraints, computer chip shortages, and high expectations--it was the game that had everything going against it... Support the show and get bonus 1980s content: Patreon.com/80s  

Hold on, something doesn't seem right here... Did you have that same reaction back in 1988 the first time you got to play Super Mario Brothers 2? For a new generation familiar with the original Mario Brothers game for the NES, the follow-up felt like quite a departure. But there was a reason for this, and today, we look back on the story behind the creation of Super Mario Bros. 2. An early version of Super Mario 2 was created, then abandoned, and it was a pre-existing Japanese game that allowed for its North American release. Time restraints, computer chip shortages, and high expectations--it was the game that had everything going against it... Support the show and get bonus 1980s content: Patreon.com/80s Artwork: Janet Cordahi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Scott, Zack & Alyssa discuss video game conventions and the reasons why they attend them. Before that, they discuss the week's news from the video game industry and the games they've been playing. E-WIN Best Heavy Duty Gaming Chair On This Episode (26:53) News (58:25) Super Mario Wonder (Switch) (1:09:12) Spider-Man 2 (PS5) (1:25:08) Scene Investigators (PC) (1:31:49) Ugly (Xbox) (1:37:26) Avatar the Last Airbender: Quest for Balance (Xbox) (1:46:04) “From the Outside In” Topic: Video Game Cons Grab the episode now on iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Google Play Music and more. If you love this episode and want other gaming content you can't get anywhere else, please support us on Patreon! Also, don't forget to check out our Discord Server and our web site, where you can read all of our written content.  

This time, the crew talks about upcoming plans, Justin and Derek's visit to the Dark Heart Barber Collection, Is It Tacoma, bad driver stickers, and all things gaming. 00:00 – Scott announces he adopted a stray cat, Justin gives a shout-out to their guest from the last episode, and plans to do karaoke at The Camp Bar post-comic show. They talk about the new merch they'll have at the Grit City Comic Show, Scott and Jeff plan what song they'll be singing, and Derek talks about his haircut experience with Shane from Dark Heart Barber Collective. 19:37 – Justin talks about his cut with Tito, the layout of the shop, and the service he got while there. He talks about the importance of self-care, Scott shares how he gets his frustration out, and Justin talks about the rash of home invasions in the area. Jeff expresses the importance of us being nice to each other, Justin gives a shout-out to RCF, and kicks off Is It Tacoma. 38:50 – Justin reads the first article, throws in a sidebar sharing that there's a place in Roy where people can take llama's for walks, and expresses his want for a guard donkey. He reads the second article, talks about the time it took him to find a positive news article, and reads the third news headline. Scott, Jeff, and Derek reveal what article they think is from Tacoma, Justin announces the winner, and talks about crazy drivers in Tacoma. 58:03 – Justin shares his love of old-school Mario Brothers, how people can earn his respect through gaming, and they discuss the backstory of Mortal Combat. Scott talks about the Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour, Jeff talks about the updates of his VR, and the clean-up of the passthrough. He wonders about the future of VR, and Scott blows their mind with the Grim Workshop.

Welcome to Campfire Classics, a Literary Comedy Podcast!! What do you think of when you think of Italy? For many the answer is the Mario Brothers! Probably. Anyway, I'm gonna say it is so that I can segue into this weeks author Luigi (like the video game plumber) Capuana! Ken selected the story, which means you are going to be treated to Heather's dulcet voice as she reads a story that contains disappointinglu few foreign words. Along the way Heather does struggle with one particular word, Ken chooses not to commit copyright infringement despite announcing that he's going to, and...so...many...voices! "The Deposition" was published in English The Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories in 1907. Email us at 5050artsproduction@gmail.com. Remember to tell five friends to check out Campfire Classics. Like, subscribe, leave a review. Now sit back, light a fire (or even a candle), grab a drink, and enjoy.

It's a Barbie World...or should we say a Super Mario World? We look at the two biggest grossing films of the year that have Hollywood once again embracing multiversal storytelling! We give brief histories of both Barbie and Mario before diving into the multiversal (or is that multidimensional) storytelling of both films and wrap up by speculating what could be next for these iconic characters. Ep. 112 What if Barbie and Super Mario Bros blew away Hollywood with multiversal mayhem?From the 2023 films Super Mario Bros & BarbieFind us at https://linktr.ee/dearwatchersForget Barbenheimer, it's Barbio! The two biggest grossing US movies of 2023 are also multiversal movies so we dive into the green sewer pipe to explore the histories of Mattel's Barbie and Nintendo's Mario Brothers including the toys, video games, the weird Mario tv show, the even weirder Mario movie and of course, the box office sensations on 2023 (and what could be coming in the future). Pull up a seat at the Dream House and listen up! Reading List: Super Mario Bros. (2023 film) Barbie (2023 film) Email Podcast@DearWatchers.comFind us & support us at https://linktr.ee/dearwatchersTheme music is Space Heroes by MaxKoMusic (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0) ★ Support this podcast ★

A Mickey Mantle baseball card recently sold for $12.6 million dollars and the collectibles market is valued at $458 billion dollars… Really, no Really! Jason and Peter marveled why people collect comics, vinyl, sports memorabilia, video games, toys, cars, and autographs. Is it merely an investment or does it speak to something more fundamental about what captivates us? To help explore the psychology of collecting, they invited legendary collector Ken Goldin, who stars in the Netflix series King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch to join them on the podcast. IN THIS EPISODE: How to properly appraise collectables. The staggering percentage of memorabilia that is fake. Are NFT's a smart collectable and do they'll hold their value? A first-generation unopened iPhone is worth how much!?! 1.5-million-dollar Mario Brothers game. The most valuable lunch box, bobblehead and Lego bricks. Top-10 most valuable movie props sold at auction. Estimated value of the George Costanza iconic glasses from Seinfeld. The right way to determine what YOU should collect. Watch Ken on Netflix's "King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch" Follow Ken: Instagram & Twitter: @KenGoldin Online: GoldinAuctions.com   You can follow us: Online: www.reallynoreally.com Instagram: @reallynoreallypodcast YouTube: @reallynoreallypodcast TikTok: @reallynoreallypodcast Facebook: @reallynoreallypodcast Twitter: @reallynoreally_ Watch FULL EPISODES on YouTubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of video games most iconic characters Mario, went from humble beginnings to a billion dollar franchise.  Along the way, Mario and his twin brother Luigi, got the feature film treatment, including an anime version in 1986, which is a cult classic in Japan and a live action version in 1993, which is widely considered a bomb despite at least breaking even at the box office.  The 93' version was so ill received by critics and audiences that even the mention of another live action Mario movie was taboo.In fact, for the film's 20th anniversary, Bob Hoskins, who played Mario, said it was the worst thing he'd ever done.  And Dennis Hopper, who played King Coopa, said that his then 6 year old son asked him why he played that terrible guy King Koopa to which Hopper answered “Well Henry, I did that so you could have shoes”.  His son replied, “Dad, I don't need shoes that badly”.So why then, 30 years later, did Nintendo, Illumination, and Universal Pictures bankroll another Mario Bros. feature film?  Did they waste $100 million bucks on a franchise destined to bomb in the theater?  Or do we finally have a feature film worthy of our love for the Mario Brothers?Hang out with us as we discuss and review the 2023 animated adventure film “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” on The Brothers in Armchairs Podcast.    Our media link:  https://linktr.ee/BiAPodcastTheme song "Loli'ana" was written and performed by award-winning musician Kamuela Kahoano.   Listen to more of Kamuela's music on iTunes and https://kamuelamusic.com/.  Also, "Loli'ana" performed live at The Ko'olau Banquet Hall can be seen here https://youtu.be/YDJ1NNJgEiA  Thanks for listening!  And please subscribe and review!

Wahooo! A new episode of Reel Rotten about your favorite Mario Brothers movie. You know, the one that takes place in a underground dimension where Yoshi is an actual raptor, Goombas are 7 feet tall with tiny heads, and King Koopa is Dennis Hopper. All existing because when the meteor killed the dinosaurs it actually created two realities where the dinos had to live and evolve underground? Oh, that's not your favorite Mario movie? You prefer non-accented Chris Pratt? Couldn't be us at Reel Rotten. We like our Mario as an old Italian-American plumber in New York. That-sa only Mario for us! Join Nick and Stephen (and Kyle) as they go to the next dimension and dive deep into the calamity that was 1993's Super Mario Bros. If you thought the idea for Mario the game was weird, wait til you see this "origin" story. They talk about all the behind the scenes gossip (there's a lot) and all the on-screen failures (there's a lot!) as well as the alternate deleted ending. The boys also pick their top 5 Mario World Characters and pitch a new Nintendo movie based on video games characters. So shut up and listen up! Subscribe & Follow us! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2oZ5Nv6ljpg7etvS94V2RJ?si=EiPN8rUdQz2a-TnvlHiz4Q Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reel-rotten/id1238419564 Instagram: @reelrotten Email: reelrotten@gmail.com

No Nick this week, which means Chris and Matt immediately talk about The Mandalorian Season 3 finale. Chris talks Mario Brothers movie. They also talk about Superman and Lois and lots of random TV talk, including Shrinking, Enemy of the State, and more bonus Star Wars talk at the end.Become a Patron at patreon.com/jayandjackWrite us an email at RCADCast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram at RCADCastAnd leave us an iTunes review

No Nick this week, which means Chris and Matt immediately talk about The Mandalorian Season 3 finale. Chris talks Mario Brothers movie. They also talk about Superman and Lois and lots of random TV talk, including Shrinking, Enemy of the State, and more bonus Star Wars talk at the end. Become a Patron at JayandJack.com […]

Brett Baty has arrived and Welsh is prospect geeking out, Joe recaps the new Mario Brothers movie, plus we've got PrizePicks, bets, DFS and more FantasyPros Leading Off each and every weekday, presented by PrizePicks The easiest and fastest way to play Daily Fantasy Sports. Pick over or under on player props to win up to 25X your money! Use the Promo code LEADINGOFF when you sign up and they'll match your first deposit up to $100!

Great episode this week!  Javier joined us from DC, while Amy and Bravis held down the studio for a spirited exchange on the following:  Tennessee State Assembly, Moriarty V Keith Ellison and Tim Walz, Mario Brothers, Nuclear Contamination in Monticello, & Granny Gooch the Polite Bank Robber.  Thanks for listening and watching (and feeling?)!  Enjoy the show and tell a friend!     If you'd consider giving to the show's patreon page....it helps pay our bills (not line our pockets) and as a bonus, you get some cool benefits and prizes, including your membership into our “not a dick” hall of fame:  patreon.com/wrongabouteverythingpodcast please support our sponsors!   if you need a place to store your money, join the thousands of Minnesotans who have saved money with less fees and lower loan rates by joining a MN Credit Union.  To learn more:  mncun.org -if you are injured in an accident or due to someone else's negligence, we strongly recommend looking up the great Michael Bryant at Bradshaw & Bryant:  mnpersonalinjury.com  If you need help with a podcast, video, or livestream check out MBC Multicast Studio!  To learn more, message them at info@mbcmulticast.com -or visit their site at mbcmulticast.com

TDC Podcast topics - Bud Light may have really missed the target this time, Bud Light early sales show they've taken a hit with their base consumer, Detroit Lions move on from Jeff Okudah, Louisville bank shooter hardly fits the usual profile, John Leguizamo (Columbian) is boycotting the new Mario Brothers movie because they didnt bring in a latino to play any of the leads even tho Mario and Luigi are Italian, Riley Gaines rips Megan Rapinoe for attacking a bill protecting women's sports, and email

After decades of various attempts to bring this prized Nintendo video game property back to the big screen, Mario has finally returned....along with Luigi, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong and the rest of the gang!  It's the long-awaited animated adaptation of the world of the Mario Brothers and it comes from Illumination Entertainment, the studio which gave us the Minions - you're welcome. :) And it's a rollicking adventure through a colorful world of mushrooms, karts, and various floating platforms which disintegrate once you step on them.  The voice cast is lead by Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, and Seth Rogen - this movie is also co-directed by Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath.  As the first animated feature to be reviewed on this podcast, does it live up to the hype?  Let's-a-find out!Host: Geoff Gershon  Editors: Geoff and Ella GershonProducer: Marlene Gershonhttps://livingforthecinema.com/Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/Letterboxd:https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/ 

This week's guest is one of my favorite improvisors ever, and in my humble opinion, one of the funniest guys in #showbiz. You may know him as Jean-Ralphio from "Parks and Recreation", Yasper in "The After Party", or Clyde Oberholt on Showtime's "House of Lies." Perhaps you've heard his voice as Dewey Duck in "DuckTales", Leonardo in "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", and/or as Sonic in "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Sonic the Hedgehog 2"?! #MoneyBags much?! We chat all things Mario Brothers, being present, IB Guard, and the art of improvisation (including making the awesome improv special, "Middleditch and Schwartz"). If you wanna talk about feel good energy, it's hard to not include Ben Schwartz in the conversation. Enjoy Support Take Your Shoes Off by supporting our sponsors: Better Help is easy and affordable online therapy. Get 10% off your first month at https://www.BetterHelp.com/tyso.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.