E100: burnout

Whether we're on a break or not (insert Ross and Rachael joke here), we don't skip the Oscars. I still watched every movie, and I still cried by eyes out at "The Whale." Plus, am I going to skip a reason to brag about loving "Everything Everywhere All At Once" after gushing about it on so many episodes throughout the year? I surely am not. TJ Trimboli came back on to talk about not only the movies, but the award show itself, and the fact that by the grace of God, both of us actually enjoyed it.  If you haven't seen any of the movies yet, use this as your guideline of what you need to get to, and what you can skip.  Listen, like, share, do all the things. I won't shamelessly plug myself in the middle of a hiatus, but I will tell you to check out The Adventure Outpost on YouTube where you can see TJ share a ton more about films, both old and new. Be on the lookout for more from him, and me, coming soon.

HAPPY EPISODE 100!  No, this episode isn't about the video game series, although that would be the ultimate niche episode. Do you say "nitch" or "neesh"? That's an important question to leave you with. Ad free for her pleasure. @thelink_podcast Until next time...

Finally, I can share with you, a little taste of my pride and joy: "Card Sharks" an upcoming novel by yours truly, Mike Szego. Luckily, since I am the author, and will self-publish and produce, I have the green light to share a little bit with you ahead of time, so here are  the first 5 chapters, narrated by your favorite voice aside from Morgan Freeman: me. This is just the tip of the dingleblop, but more on that later. Want to find out more? Release dates? Price? Where to buy? You already know where to go: @thelink_podcast for all of your podcast/literary needs. See you at the meet and greet. It's not too early to think about next year's Christmas gifts. --- Another tip heading into the new year? You should be following the MikeTheMush Sports channel, available on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. We had a great year of gambling picks in 2022, finishing up over +100 units, clearing our goal, and making the listeners plenty of money. You'll see picks posted there at least once a week, if not more, with breakdown videos, reaction to the biggest news, and general pot stirring. I have separated my love for sports with my love for nerd culture, that way I can get you to subscribe twice. If I'm getting you free money on here, it's the least you can do. Now the NFL playoffs are coming soon, so get stretched out while I prepare my pump-up speech for you all. It's money making season. This is where all the research pays off...or the biggest mushings happen. Only one way to find out...

I wrote out a really fun description for this episode, and was ready to turn over a new leaf into the new year. I talked about how beautiful it was that you've joined me to listen. How nice it is that I'm able to take in all of this content and share it with you all. How it's weird that you might be listening to this episode while you read this, so you're listening to me twice in a way, and do you hear my voice when you read this part, or your own? I'm telling you, there was a lot of good stuff in there. Then I accidentally hit the command that closes the tab, and none of it saved. Nailed it. Luckily (a peek behind the curtain here), I'm typing this before the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, so we can leave all the unlucky vibes in the past. 2022 wasn't totally unlucky though...I actually had a great year overall, and with that came a ton of content (by the way do I use the ellipsis too much? I feel like I might. There's an achievable 2023 resolution). Like last year, I wanted to put a button on the year (where do all these buttons come from anyway? who's still making buttons? Except for shirt makers...and pants I guess...actually this keyboard is full of buttons...okay buttons are still in), by recommending my top 5 pieces of content in each of my favorite genres. If you're looking to catch up on the year that was, get in on the conversation about the most awesome popular stuff, or pull out a deep recommendation what will make everyone raise their eyebrows with intrigue (if you sell it right...you better sell it... also seriously, watch Primal), this is the episode for you.  Have some things you think I'd like? Post them @thelink_podcast where I'll be sharing plenty of content this week from all of the things I named...and maybe I'll cave and point out some honorable mentions that I didn't think about in the moment. I'm happy to have you on this ride as we go into another year. Bigger and better things on the horizon. Plus, another one of your recommendations to sound cool at the water cooler is this very podcast, so I'm giving you cred, and you're giving me listeners. I love our relationship.  See you on the other side. --- Another tip heading into the new year? You should be following the MikeTheMush Sports channel, available on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. We've had a great year of gambling picks in 2022, finishing up over +100 units, clearing our goal, and making the listeners plenty of money. You'll see picks posted there at least once a week, if not more, with breakdown videos, reaction to the biggest news, and general pot stirring. I have separated my love for sports with my love for nerd culture, that way I can get you to subscribe twice. If I'm getting you free money on here, it's the least you can do. Now the NFL playoffs are coming soon, so get stretched out while I prepare my pump-up speech for you all. It's money making season. This is where all the research pays off...or the biggest mushings happen. Only one way to find out...

Avatar 2: The Way of Water is, for my money, the movie with the biggest disparity of how awesome it was vs. how many people are trying to find a way to hate on it. James Cameron is the king, and the cheese god, but more on that in the episode. TJ came back on to tackle this behemoth of a movie, Christmas movies in general, releasing big movies around Christmas, and just general gushing over Jimmy Cameron's best projects.  If you're a fan of the pod, you know TJ is my movie consiglieri, so be sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel: The Adventure Outpost, where he's always posting new videos, reviews, lists, and everything the die hard movie buff would want. Not just Die Hard either. Okay that was a bad joke but I typed it out and the backspace button is no fun. Follow the pod @thelink_podcast on Twitter and Instagram, buy me belated Christmas gifts, and spread the word about your favorite podcast at your holiday get togethers. Or, if you want to escape the holidays, you've got 97 episodes of content to listen to! We can spend it together. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa, and 新年快乐!  Big things in store for 2023! See you then. --- If you're a sports fan, or enjoy money at all, you should be following the MikeTheMush Sports channel, available on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. We've had a great year of gambling picks, finishing up over +100 units, clearing our goal, and making the listeners plenty of money. You'll see picks posted there at least once a week, if not more, with breakdown videos, reaction to the biggest news, and general pot stirring. I have separated my love for sports with my love for nerd culture, that way I can get you to subscribe twice. If I'm getting you free money on here, it's the least you can do. Alright, half-time speech is over, get back out there. 

Ho ho ho, the shot is framed perfectly...the camera is on the yule log...mistletoe hangs overhead. A woman steps into the frame from stage right, draped in shadows, only the light from the fire outlining her entrance into the scene. From stage left, a man, clearly handsome despite the shadows, steps toward the center of the frame. They meet and lock eyes. Suddenly, the woman's hand raises with something in it. An ornament? A Christmas ball! It flies just high of the man's head. Clearly there's a fight brewing, but about what? CUT. Let's take lunch so we can get this episode recorded, because a scene like that takes patience. We're not making a Hallmark movie here. Who better to join the second of two Christmas chaos bracket episodes than Laura, who is trying to work her way back from a difficult draft episode defeat. This time, we had to work together to find the tippy top of the Christmas movies, and it was a doozy. So many to choose from, so many battles won by a narrow margin. It was hard enough to make a bracket of 16, but getting down to 1? Well that required some teamwork. We got there, but how will the listeners' opinions compare? As always with the bracket and draft episodes, follow @thelink_podcast on Instagram and Twitter for follow up content the week the episode drops. In the Instagram stories, we'll have polls for each and every match-up (one round per day), and the listeners will collectively decide their own bracket's fate, and of course, one winner. Will our answers align? Only one way to find out... Until then, put your favorite Christmas movie on in the background while you listen. Maybe it will be a Christmas miracle, and that's the one that will make it all the way through. Or...it will go home early, and I'll find extra coal in my stocking from those who didn't see the brackets go their way. At least I can try to make diamonds out of it? --- We don't talk a ton of sports on the link, but I have a background working in sports, loving sports, raging about sports, and most importantly, gambling on sports...profitably...usually. So I started "MikeTheMush Sports" which you can find on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. We're up over 100 units of profit in 2022, and are looking to close the year strong. We're always posting picks, breakdowns, reactions, and trying our best not to completely Mush any reasonable take I put out into the universe. Still, if you would have followed every pick we made on our YouTube video this year, and bet $10 on it, you'd be up over $1,000. Join us if you like me, sports, or cash. Any one of the three will do. Two out of three and you have to follow. I don't make the rules. See ya out there. I won't slap your butt as you run onto the field, because I don't think you can do that anymore, but just know that I want to, and it's purely motivational.

Ho ho ho, we're back in the Christmas groove. In fact, the groove is what brought us here. We're bringing back bracket episodes on the link and what better time to do it than at the holidays. This is was our way to decide, once and for all: who sits atop the North Pole as the best Christmas song ever? It was hard enough to narrow down to 16, but we got there, and ultimately argued it out until there was only one.  Who better to join than my dad, the authority on music, and my mom, the authority on all things decorating, nostalgia, and making Christmas Christmassy. Despite a few disagreements along the way, we found enough common ground to make it to the end. Besides, even if you don't like the ultimate winner, there were enough fun facts dropped along the way to keep you going (dad came prepared this week). As always with the bracket and draft episodes, follow @thelink_podcast on Instagram and Twitter for follow up content the week the episode drops. In the Instagram stories, we'll have polls for each and every match-up (one round per day), and the listeners will collectively decide their own bracket's fate, and of course, one winner. Will our answers align? Only one way to find out... Until then, turn on a good Christmas radio station, find Alvin (likely off hula hooping), make sure Grandma is safe from all reindeer fly zones, and make some custom merch for the link which you can give to your favorite listener as a gift when the big day comes. They're going to love it. --- We don't talk a ton of sports on the link, but I have a background working in sports, loving sports, raging about sports, and most importantly, gambling on sports...profitably...usually. So I started "MikeTheMush Sports" which you can find on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. We're up over 100 units of profit in 2022, and are looking to close the year strong. We're always posting picks, breakdowns, reactions, and trying our best not to completely Mush any reasonable take I put out into the universe. Still, if you would have followed every pick we made on our YouTube video this year, and bet $10 on it, you'd be up over $1,000. Join us if you like me, sports, or cash. Any one of the three will do. Two out of three and you have to follow. I don't make the rules. See ya out there. I won't slap your butt as you run onto the field, because I don't think you can do that anymore, but just know that I want to, and it's purely motivational.

Ho ho ho, it's officially time. Last week we were on the cusp, now we dove...dove? Not the bird, but is there another past tense of dive? Dived? Someone get me a dictionary for Christmas. Now we've jumped into the Christmas pool (something, something polar bear plunge), and there's no turning back until the new year.  We have some more fun Christmas episodes coming, but to kick things off, I wanted to break down some of the most common Christmas debates and traditions. Trigger warning if you're a hardcore supporter of either side of the real vs. fake tree debate. I have to say though, the real-tree supporters always seem to be the ones doing the attacking. For people who want real Christmas, the spirit doesn't seem very alive when it comes to supporting your artificial tree owners. Just sayin'.  Follow @thelink_podcast on Instagram and Twitter for episode recaps, clips, polls, memes, and late-night ideas about what to buy me for the holidays. I haven't charged you a penny for 94 episodes of gold. In fact I've given you the opportunity to make money (see the other shameless plug below), so the least you can do is buy me some nice new equipment, bake me some cookies, maybe make some apparel for the link...I don't know, it's your gift to buy! We talked about lists in the episode but I don't want to give away too much if you're one of the people that read the recap before listening, which by the way, who are you if you do that? Do people do that? Who am I writing this for? If you do read the whole thing, post "my grandma did actually get run over by a reindeer and I don't appreciate the constant reminder about it on the radio every year" @thelink_podcast. Not sure people listen to the radio anymore either but you get the point. Yes you, the one person who actually read this far. Until next time, get your tree up, get your lights on, and wear your Santa hat to work, because it's whimsical and nobody can say anything about it. If they do, tell me. I have Santa's number. We'll get you written permission. --- We don't talk a ton of sports on the link, but I have a background working in sports, loving sports, raging about sports, and most importantly, gambling on sports...profitably...usually. So I started "MikeTheMush Sports" which you can find on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. We're up over 100 units of profit in 2022, and are looking to close the year strong. We're always posting picks, breakdowns, reactions, and trying our best not to completely Mush any reasonable take I put out into the universe. Still, if you would have followed every pick we made on our YouTube video this year, and bet $10 on it, you'd be up over $1,000. Join us if you like me, sports, or cash. Any one of the three will do. Two out of three and you have to follow. I don't make the rules. See ya out there. I won't slap your butt as you run onto the field, because I don't think you can do that anymore, but just know that I want to, and it's purely motivational.

It's post-Thanksgiving, but pre-Christmas season...or is it? This episode falls into a little bit of a limbo, but the spirit is alive in us, and on Apple TV+. If you haven't seen the new Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds movie, I do recommend it, but more on that in the episode. Watching it did give me some more thoughts on the evolution of streaming, how the companies goals vary by the financial standing of their biggest shareholders, and how we should measure success in this new world. Of course that gave me the perfect link for the link, and led us down the road of Disney re-introducing Bob Iger as CEO after a brief retirement, and how we'll end up looking at this move relative to the success of Disney +.  It's almost Christmas season, and you can expect a lot more jolly eps coming soon, so this was the warm up. Warm cocoa, if you will. Follow @thelink_podcast on Instagram and Twitter for episode recaps, clips, polls, memes, and late-night thoughts that are generally so genius it's astonishing someone hasn't just hired me as an idea-man by now. Unless one of you fancy ad companies wants to drop some dollar bills in my lap and I can do it myself? That sounds like a ton of work though. No denying the ad would be great, but I'll probably hire a CEO to handle the day-to-day of all the innovation that will come from my head. Wonder how busy Shaq is... Anyway, until next time when the Santa hat will be on, enjoy the in-between... --- We don't talk a ton of sports on the link, but I have a background working in sports, loving sports, raging about sports, and most importantly, gambling on sports...profitably...usually. So I started "MikeTheMush Sports" which you can find on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. We're up near 100 units of profit in 2022, and are looking to close the year strong. We're always posting picks, breakdowns, reactions, and trying our best not to completely Mush any reasonable take I put out into the universe. Still, if you would have followed every pick we made on our YouTube video this year, and bet $10 on it, you'd be up near $1,000. Join us if you like me, sports, or cash. Any one of the three will do. Two out of three and you have to follow. I don't make the rules. See ya out there. I won't slap your butt as you run onto the field, because I don't think you can do that anymore, but just know that I want to, and it's purely motivational.

I love some friendly competition. I also love a competition with $3,000,000 on the line. I also love drafts. Fantasy drafts, real sports drafts, or just good old fashioned "don't-you-dare-steal-my-pick" kinds of drafts. When Laura came on for the Halloween episode, we did a candy draft, and had the listeners vote on Instagram for who got the better team. She edged me out, but it's like y'all have never heard of a hustle before... This time we're back with TEN drafts, of all different topics. 5 picks each, and you'll get to vote on each and every one of the teams throughout the week when this episode drops. The draft categories are... Superheroes/Villains Cartoon Characters Weapons You’d Use to Defend Yourself in a Zombie Apocalypse Animals Books Things That Are Blue Foods That Moment When... (the best feelings) Things You’d Find at Hogwarts Things That Start With The Letter "E" Be sure to follow @thelink_podcast on Instagram to check out the stories Tuesday-Saturday the week the episode comes out, so you can vote on the polls for which teams were the best in each draft. Also follow @thelink_podcast on Twitter where I'll give commentary on how the polls ended up, and how much I love the listeners for having my back...which you will. If you're a weekly listener please consider writing a review for the pod. You can find all the relevant links here so you don't have to waste time, and if you happen to listen on some other platform, kudos, ya got me. After I called y'all out for not doing it, it's the least I can do to link you. If you enjoy this episode, drop us a line (where did that saying come from?) and we'll see about mixing in some more drafts. Until next time... --- Want to rage about sports and/or laugh at my bad beats and/or make some money? If you're a sports fan, and want to get even further into the weeds about upcoming games, picks, and trends, subscribe to my YouTube channel - MikeTheMush. During football season we're posting videos weekly that look ahead to my favorite gambling picks of the NFL week, and some fantasy football sleepers to keep an eye on. Check out even more sports content as the seasons change @MikeMushSports on Twitter and Instagram. Our gambling picks have been hot all year, except for when the Mush gods decide to bring down their wrath. We're up over 90 units on the year as this episode comes out though, which means if you bet $10 on every game we choose in the videos, you'd nearly have a band in your pocket, and not the Beatles or that janky rubber band you use instead of a wallet. Get a money clip like a grown up. Wallets are too fat though, I'm with you there.