Hey guys, Sunday Sampler Time, just some of the podcasts from the Nashville Podcast Network. Since a lot of people don't put up podcasts on Sundays, we put this up maybe here a little bit of what you like, and you go listen to the whole thing. In the Vets Office with Doctor Josie, Doctor Josie sat down with doctor Amy Addis, who is a house called Veterinarian in New York City. So that means celebrity pets like share Billy, Joel, Joan Rivers and some crazy stories. So that's pretty cool.
Four Things with Amy Brown. I had Marcus King on Who's Awesome Morgan's podcast? Oh that's coming up here, but I do want to get started with a clip from in the Vets Office with Doctor Josie, with that New York City Vet.
You're listening to In the Vets Office with Doctor Josie Horschhak.
The people you got close to you were pretty high profile.
And what I have noticed on this podcast especially is will have stars, country music stars or like Bobby Bones come on and you talk to them about their career and their goals, and they're they're kind of one person. And then when you talk to them about their animals, you can just see like a completely different side of them. I think just from watching her on TV that Joan Rivers is pretty intimidating. I'm assuming that you probably saw a lot more of a softer side to her with her animals.
I saw all sides of Joan Rivers. She was an enormous personality. She was driven in a way that very few people are.
When I would go.
Into her home to work with the dogs, there would be posted on the refrigerator her daily schedule, and it said things like up at five, exercise, makeup, leave for studio, and then her entire day was calculated down to the moment and it ended at midnight. I mean, she was very regiment, old enough to be more than my mother, and she had a schedule that would have run me into the ground. So she was an enormously busy person, and she was extremely demanding, and her dogs were so
important to her. So I was used to getting yelled at on occasion or emails that I wish she had never sent to me. But when she was finished with that, she turned out to be, of course a very dear friend. So we would go through the cycles of Joan's love and her wrath. She was an enormous supporter of mine. When I started my house call practice, she told everyone she knew. The relationship over those years turned into a lovely, lovely friendship where we went out to dinner together. I
mean she called one day. We had homes close to each other, about one hundred miles north of New York City, and she called and said, take me to the movies on Saturday night.
So it was like she didn't ask.
Of course, she didn't ask a question. She would have the most beautiful dinner parties where the group of people around the table were just from all different types of parts of her life, and every person felt like they were the guest of honor. She was an enormously gracious, warm, loving person with a little bit of a biting part.
Of her person.
You don't want to be on her bad side. Oh no, I love the story about her Yorky. I think it was a Yorky that you had encouraged her to get a surgery that she did not really want to do, and then she ended up doing it and was like I was right to do it.
Said, well, she was never wrong, of course, But you know, like even with her first Yorkie, Spike. Spike went to work with her wherever she was. He traveled around, he was part of the show, and I recommended that because he wasn't feeling well, that maybe she would leave him out of the show that week and he should stay home. And like all of a sudden, you know, she had just looked at me and she said, don't tell me what to do, just make my dog well enough to go.
Like you didn't.
I wasn't messed with them exactly. Wow. Yeah, it's funny we do, even if they're not famous.
You have everybody that's a bugineer and has owners that can be a little bit more demanding, And I think our job is to kind of look past at and see like, Okay, where's this coming from. They just really, at the core of it, love their pet and want their pet to be okay.
I had a client who moved to New York after he retired. He had been a movie producer, so he moved from California to New York and he lived in new apartment with his two cats. And he paged me on a Saturday night for an emergency and I called him back immediately. I said, what's the problem. He said, my cat just scratched me with his nails. His nails are too long. Come and cut them. I said, it's ten o'clock and a Saturday night. I don't I don't make house calls. If you truly had an emergency, it
would help you. But I'm not coming to cut your cat's nails. And he kind of hesitated and said, you know, in La, nobody would ever say no to me. So he was like being brought back into the real world.
Yeah, you're like not in New York, no means no.
And you're retired.
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Another thing that you talked about in the book that I really loved and I have seen with my own experience as a veterinarian, is that no, there is no such thing as a disabled pet, and so we have a lot of patients that require amputations, or they lose an eye, or they go deaf, and so I really loved how you put an emphasis on that. I think I tell my owners all the time. We can learn so much from our animals. I have had dogs going through chemo that are bouncing around and rolling in the grass.
Dogs on three legs or cats on three legs that would never know the difference. And if someone cut my leg off, I probably would be in bed crying about it for six months.
You're the rest of my life. Who knows.
But they are just so resilient in that way.
What was your house like South Carolina?
Like?
What was it?
I don't know the physically, what was the house like a couple of bedrooms?
Yeah. So I initially grew up in a ranch, three bedroom, one bathroom house with a side room where I had my drums set and my guitar and I would just spend hours in there, either playing drums. My grandfather tell me how to play a train beat, and he'd play along with me.
What's the train beat?
Can you.
Oh like it got it gotta go out? I hear the train coming. That's what I think when you do that.
But yeah, yeah, maybe just because we're trains in it and I'm very slow.
Yeah no, no, no, I mean that that's the train be that's the quint essential. And he taught me, you know, because it's all about the timing and like not letting it drag, not letting it rush, just keeping it right there. And I started on drums actually, so I just I spent a lot of time alone. But it was you know, next door was my grandparents' house, and I just hang out with them when my dad was work and just played guitar all day or drums to sing.
We'll just call it the blues. Before your voice hits puberty? What do you I don't know, man, And how bluesy can you be with a high pitched voice?
Well, I mean you'd have to ask, Like like Tina Turner, I mean that was that was the and like Aretha Franklin, like I liked soul singers. Sure, I feel like you know, even like bb King after like sixty eight sixty nine Bibe was putting out like soul records.
But did it change for it at some point where you were singing but your voice had hit puberty and then after it.
Was I started singing when I was when I was thirteen, So I think that's why I made before that Nah, Wow, I just played guitar. I was too bashful to sing.
Wow.
Yeah, first time singing. Then then why in public? Why what got you there?
Well, you know I had always kind of expressed my you know, trauma or whatever it was, just through the guitar, and you know, when I was thirteen, the girl I had a crush on died in a car accident, and it really fucked my head up. And I had had all these abandonment issues anyway, and they all just kind of like came to a head, and I was really not able to, you know, find a way to comfort myself,
you know. And we didn't have the distractions that we have now, you know, so I wasn't on an iPad or anything to like fully escape and immerse myself in something else. So that's when I decided to start writing and start singing, you know, just so I had two more vessels to put my pain through. And I think the first time I sang publicly, I sang not my Cross to bear by the Oman Brothers.
Man.
Well, that's not an easy one.
It's not an easy so you decided to just go Yeah, I mean it's I'm a little teapot, right.
That's how I learned to swim, you know, just get thrown into the deep end.
I spent a lot of time in therapy. I got some crazy abandonment issues myself. Dad left when I was five or six.
Mom died drugs in her forties, and so you know, mine are to the point where.
They're built in, like they're cooked in.
But I can acknowledge them, and I can see them, and I can see it affect and I can feel it affected me.
But I can ignowlre it. Right like forever, I didn't even know.
I gotta know why.
I was just wanted to be by myself or.
You know, everything told me. I loved them tomorrow about my wife a few years ago. But I was just always like, this is who I am, This is who I am, this swam But that's that was like what mine were rooted in.
What was yours a parent thing? Was yours a home type thing?
Yeah, my mom left when I was very young, and that was really hard for me, and that was it's still something that I really struggle with.
You know, is she alive now, she's still alive.
Her health's not very good, but we you know, we've packed things up and we're we're a lot closer now.
You know that you're a better man than I am. Like my real dad's still alive. I don't talk to him.
Yeah, I mean it's it's challenging.
You know, how old were you?
I was like five, so like that age is really really tough because you know, I'd go to school every day, I'd get sent home from kindergarten every day because I'd cry so hard that i'd throw up. And this was a daily thing because you don't know where her mother's at. It's you know, just as a as a mammal, a living, breathing mammal, You're just instinctively you're gonna need your mother's affection and love and attention. And I didn't have it.
And I have my grandmother, who was, you know, really like my mother.
My grandma adopted me. We might be the same person. Yeah, we're except for that smoothie. That's too much I need again, I need lots of show. Yeah. So your grandma was very instrumental and your your upbringing, huh.
And she was, you know, just a really sassy German woman and just very loving, very affectionate. And it almost, you know, kind of balanced it out. How affectionate she was, you know, made up for the fact that my mother had left. But you know, I still I love my mother and I try to take care of her the best I can.
Cast up little food for yourself.
Life always pretty, but it's pretty beautiful that for a little mouth.
Said, cut your kicking with full with Amy Brown.
First, I want to go over what real alcohols you can have or the ones you may want to stay away from again if you're trying to avoid the anxiety. Apparently, dark liquors like whiskey, prosecco, champagne, and red wine are the worst. They have chemicals that worsen hangovers and anxiety. Sugary cocktails are also a no go, which after I read this, I was like, oh, okay, my drinks the other night on my date YEP had prosecco mixed in a sugary concoction, So damn that was likely my problem.
The high sugar, which leads to a sugar spike and then a sugar crash, which then will increase my anxiety, my irritability. And then also I had no idea about this, but the bubbles in prosecco and champagne they speed up the absorption of alcohol in our bloodstream, which lead to
a quicker and more intense effect. So at the time, it's feeling really good and it's all enjoyable and you're like, oh, I feel great, this is fun, which might lead you to order more, and then the after effects of that anxiety, which I was also surprised to see red wine on the worst list. I mean, the whiskey, the sugary drinks, I get that was easy for me to understand, but red wine was a little confusing. But I guess it's a sugar and chemical thing. And I am bummed to
see prosecco on there. And keep that in mind though, with New Year's Eve coming up, prosecco, champagne, a lot of that is served, and maybe you want to avoid that this time of year and see if you feel better the next morning. Now, as for the best drinks to have to decrease your anxiety, the article said to stick to clear liquors like vodka, gin, or tequila with soap.
Tequila kayala is a little.
What are you all?
I was sitting back here and I was like, man, I can't wait to hit this. When she says tequila, okay, that's scuba.
Steve, I had no idea he was even listening to this. He's back in his glass production room.
Tequila.
You can have vodka, gin or tequila with soda, water or fresh citrus. Those are easier on your system. And then again, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, don't forget water between drinks. It can make a huge difference. And we know this.
I know this.
We don't always do it, but just make a deal with yourself, make smarter choices, and then you'll have less anxiety. Now, Ray speaking of the glass room where Scuba works. He is one of our producers on the Bobby Bone Show, and he was actually just making fun of me this morning for being sold that I can't even handle one drink. Ray likes to drink, but mostly I would say, now it's during brunch on Saturdays. That's his time to go out.
And he's the one that got me on on Booze a while back, which is a supplement that helps you feel better after drinking. And I will say it has helped me, but sometimes I run out or other times I just forget to take it. And last weekend, you know, I had those drinks, but I was out of unboozed. So I do need to order more. And I will shout out Ray because he has a code sisin twenty three.
So I think his handle on Instagram is like sisin Ray Mundo, but sisin is like for season, but s z N twenty three, and that'll get you a discount if you're curious about Unbooze, and I'll link it in the show notes. But in addition to taking something like Unbooze that may help you out. Another option might be non Alcoholic Spirits.
Now.
I came across that brand recently, like I told you, thanks to that Instagram ad, and what I ordered specifically was from Little Saints. It's a whole non alcoholic brand, so there's nothing confusing about it. You don't go to the website and you're like, wait, which one's the alcohol, which one's not, because they all look like alcohol but nothing is. And I was most intrigued by their drink that mimics tequila. I thought it would come in handy
for when I want a margarita something like that. When I got the bottle and the mail, I saw that the company is also founded by a woman, which I love. And my overall review is four point five out of five. I really liked it so much so that, Yeah, I may order more stuff from the site, Like I was saying to Eddie, maybe I'll order some gifts for people.
I know.
There's a lot of na brands out there. This is just the only one that i've tried and really enjoyed so far. And this one is infused with lines Made, which is a functional mushroom. It's an adaptogen. It's good for brain health, mood support, gut health, and a lot of other things. I've always loved lines Made, so to have it in my mocktail it's like a bonus. I don't know if it's just me or if y'all are also getting more non alcoholic type ads, but I do
think that drinking is on the decline drinking alcohol. People are drinking less, which I guess is good and probably why some brands have increased marketing because they want to capitalize on the fact that people are drinking less, or they are curious about drinking less.
And speaking of.
Curiosity, I decided to do a little research because I was like, Okay, what are the statistics on this, like, is drinking actually going down? And I found that, on average, this is from NC Solutions, Americans are drinking three drinks per week and that's down from four to five drinks in twenty twenty three. Millennials in particular are drinking less, like forty percent less this year than last year, with
an average of three drinks per week. Which is crazy to think about if we were going from five drinks to three and with dry January coming up next month might be the highest year of participation yet because this last January was up ten percent from the year before, So it's just in one year and ten percent jump. That is a lot of people. And the top of reasons Americans are drinking less include while we want to improve our physical health, we want to save money.
Although I will say.
The non alcoholic drinks they might be more expensive than the alcohol ones, so maybe they're saving money and just not drinking anything, not even the fake version. And overall, we just want to make lifestyle changes.
We're gonna do it live.
We are the one, two three sore losers. What up, everybody? I am lunchbox. I know the most about sports, so I'll give you the sports facts, my sports opinions, because I'm pretty much a sports genius, y'all.
It's Sison. I'm from the North. I'm an alpha male. I live on the north side of Nashville with Bayser, my wife.
We do have a farm.
It's beautiful, a lot of acreage, no animals, a lot of crops, hopefully soon corn pumpkins. I believe maybe a little fescue to be determined over to you, coach, And.
Here's a clip from this week's episode of The Sore Losers. My in laws come in and they act like my house is a pile of shit. They act like we can't take care of ourselves. They start up, They're like, my father's like, hey, where is that curtain rod that your your wife once hung up? I'm like what, She's never mentioned a curtain rod in her life to me.
All the stuff you didn't do.
I'm like, what curtain There's no curtain rod and he goes, yeah, she said she gave me a to do list and one of them was hanging this curtain rod.
I coach, you haven't done it for six months.
I have never been told about a curtain rod anywhere. And I'm like what. And he's like, yeah, she told me that you guys want to hang a curtain rod in the kid's bedroom. I'm like, we do. So he goes down and hang. He hangs the damn curtain in the kid's bedroom and I'm like, what the hell you want to just take my man card to then? Oh, then we bought a mirror that she bought a mirror in an estate sale, and she I was like, well, where do you want to hang it? I don't know.
I do notice she's stuck in the closet. Never said anything else about it. Her parents are there and her father and La was like, now, so where is this mirror going. And I'm like, I don't know, and he goes, no, no, she said she wanted it in the kitchen right And I'm like, no, she has not mentioned anything about a damn mirror to me since we you know, like we bought the mirror we put in the closet and she said she was gonna think about it. He's like, no,
she said, she wants it hung up right here. So he gets out the tape measure and starts marking shit and hangs it right on the wall.
Yeah, let me get the tape measure. It's in the bedroom.
And I'm like, well, what the hell? Like they start just doing everything, but you got him knocked off the list though it was never on the list.
But you're saying it's a little bit. It's a little bit.
I was gonna say, emasculating, yeah, and a little bit of like okay, and like the kid's laundry, you know what I mean, it gets washed and it stays in the laundry room and you never put it away.
So they go in there and that's where they pick out their clothes. I'm the man in this house, Jim, No, No, father in law like, Hey, we're gonna clean this up right now. We're gonna clean this laundry up right now?
What in this place look like?
Dude?
I'm like, holy s. They like, we can't even take care of ourselves.
Dude.
Oh you're talking about mount laundry?
Honey, what happened to the mountain back here? Dude? It's awesome though, once it all gets done.
Yeah, But I'm sitting there trying to watch football going.
Across the top.
I'm trying to relax, and there's drilling freaking knocking stuff out, like pulling this out, moving this, doing that, And I'm like, so, am I allowed to relax? Or am I supposed to go help that?
That was my big dilemma, right, You just stand there and really you're in support.
I mean, I can't see a TV.
Well, see, we have a lot of tea.
I made sure that we're a TV household, so usually any project.
We're doing, I have a TV I guess what spare bedroom. How often do I go in the spare bedroom?
You do?
But bezos, you got this roller TV that I can roll roll around the spare bedroom.
Never go in there. That's where the in laws are staying, right, And what a pointless room, right, It's so dumb. It's like, oh, we need a spare bedroom, you know when people come visit. Guess how often people come visit? Maybe once a year. So you can figure it out through an air mattress subury. You don't need a spare bedroom. It's absolutely stupid. But I'm I don't go in the spare bedroom. But since they're staying in there, we need to tidy up the spare bedroom.
So we're in there.
The in laws are moving the bed, vacuuming behind the bed, dude, and I'm like, what the they're acting like that we live in the damn shithole. And then I've never done anything in my life. I mean, they've got the vacuum out, they got the mop they're you know, doing washing the sheets and the comforter and the pillows and the every day coach.
That's not even the worst of it. Did you get criticized for your tools?
Oh, next, Hey, where are your drill bits? Oh they're right there in that closet. They may have a little dust on them. And he's like, I didn't see him. I don't think you have any drill bits. And I'm like, oh, I have drill bits, man, they should be right there. So I didn't. I didn't find them. He goes, I'll just go to home depot and get them. You got home depot and I'm like, all right, man, and he goes home Depot gets whatever he needs. He comes back
and he's like, oh, they are in that closet. They were just underneath something. I'm like, I told you. He goes, yeah, but these these drill bits are better. These are these are a little bit newer. And he goes to get my electric drill and he's like, seems like you need an electric drill. The battery's not holding a charge. No, I charge that thing every night.
Should be good.
And he's like, you want to go pick you up one right now? I'm like, or he goes, you want to go to home depot with me and get one. I'm like, no, I really don't. I don't have any desire right now at this moment, at this point in time to go to home depot to get a gosh darn drill. I would just like to relax. And he's like, I'll just go to home depot. So he goes back to home depot.
He made a double trip to depot.
He made a triple tip trip to depot. Right, that's bad.
That means you didn't have it.
Coach, No, I had a drill. I had the drill bits, but apparently the battery wasn't holding its charge. Then he the back door, like when it's wintertime, it's harder to lock it.
Yeah, you gotta winterize it, man, And.
He's like, oh, you need a chisel. He's like, do you have a chisel?
I might Coach, you've been asked for the electric gun, the chisel, the curtain rod in an ancient mirror.
And I'm like, no, no, man, I don't I don't have a I don't have a chisel.
Heels.
I wish i'd known that for I got to go back to home depot and he goes back down. Nebo gets the chisel and he's like, chiseling out where the lot goes because I guess it's sunken down or it's not level anymore. So it was hitting the top and he chisels a little piece of the wood off. I'm like, none of this shit bothers me. None of this bothers me. Can we like, I've lived in this house and none of this has bothered me. I have not wanted to fix any of this. No one has told me I
need to fix any of this. But they come to town and it's like, oh my god, this house is falling apart. And then the spare bedroom. Guess what, right, we never used the spare bedroom. I never put a curtain rod up never, or a shower curtain, right, and so like, how are we supposed to take a shower? I never, I didn't think about that. Whenever you come, we usually just hang a towel and it gets on the or put some towels on the floor and then
brust the water. Well that's unacceptable. Well we'll just run the target real kit quick and we'll get a shower curtain and rot and oh my god.
Damn dude, four depots and a target.
It was like, I mean, it made me just sitting there going and then my wife's like, is everything okay? I'm like, well, besides the fact that they think I am incapable of doing anything. And b I don't know if I'm other supposed to sit there and help, or if I'm if I'm allowed to sit here and watch football.
I don't know.
The you know protocol here.
The protocol is this, you offer something that's just completely pointless. So for example, for me, it's just Gary, let me hold this ladder for you. No, man, does these things hold themselves? It it's four legs, stupid, Okay, no worries.
Man.
You offer something that you know they don't even need help with. You know, hey, dude, it is getting darker. You to grab a light or something.
No, man, I'm good.
Oh okay, Uh, just let me know if.
Anything you know you're offering, you know what am I gonna do?
Hold a light?
You know, stuff like that. Because I looked at the curtain run and they were I mean, it took him forty five minutes to do the curtain run.
I'm like, guys, you gotta measure it. That's a whole thing. It's not just sticking it up there. Gary would measure it. He would put a laser on it, dude, he would. He's got the drill gun. You're gonna do one side then the other. There's a lot to level it. There's a level on top. Me dude, me, I'd stick it up two darts in the sides right.
And we had the exact same conversation. I said, guys, it's been forty five minutes. What's going on? Why is their tape all over the wall. And my wife's like, oh, you know how my dad is. He likes to measure everything and make sure everything's perfect. And she goes, that's how I prefer it. You know what I mean is if we just measure, measure, measure, measure, measure, make sure everything's perfect. You prefer perfectly measured. She goes, let me guess your dad would have just got up there and
eyeballed it. I said, yeah, I think he would eyeballed it. That's what I would have done. I'd have just looked your dad would I'm a construction guy, I know, but I think he eyeballed a lot, like a curtain rod. I don't think you is a big deal.
I would almost imagine that the curtain rod can probably there's probably what is it called backsplash or something where it's actually level there. You would just need to level the top and boom it.
I don't know, but I'm just saying I left that week feeling like, holy s man. He this dude thinks I am the laziest person in the world because I'm like, I don't want to do any of this crap. I just want to watch football. I'd never planned to do any of this be he criticized my tools, what I'm working with. He was like, you need to step up your game, and b see, they're coming back in like two weeks.
Dude.
The worst is a tool criticization, criticizing It happened to me. I would I He goes, hey, will you go get me get me something to screw this in.
Dude.
I just went and got a Phillips screwdriver, like a hand one.
Yeah, dude.
He wanted like some drill gun. That's I bring him that and he's like, what.
The is this?
I was like, at Phillips, fuck you want.
He goes, We'll be out here all night if I'm gonna do it with that, my that's a good point. He's like, you ain't got that thing, you know, whatever the name is, it's just it's like a hydraulic gun. And he's like, but dude, my I hand him like it's limp and it has no cord connected to it, and I'm I'm.
Like, yeah, just this little phillips.
Dude.
He's like that, get out of here, man.
So then I do it, and then I'm walking with my little phillips.
Screwy. Wasn't good at all.
Take personal mules men.
Well, because November is men's Mental Health Awareness month. It just happened. The whole November movement was happening. I really wanted to focus this episode on men's mental health and talk about it in a lot of different ways. But first up, I have an expert on with me. Doctor and doctor Adra you are a psychotherapist, but also you kind of focus heavily on men's mental health.
How are you?
How you doing?
I'm great, I'm so good. I'm so happy to be here and excited to talk more about my passion.
Say you're a male and you did finally find a therapist, and you're like, okay, this could be a fit for me.
Yep.
But then taking that a step further, is they feel uncomfortable to do so why do you feel it has been generally harder for men to get into.
Therapy generally, I think we expect men to be hyper independent. They're problem solvers, you know, there's the trope around the lone wolf, like you can do it on your own, you can figure it out, and you are the provider, you are the protector. Like they're all these and even if these are stereotypes, they are really powerful expectations that still exist in our society. And there are powerful expectations
that some men really hold true. Like there are a lot of men that feel really proud of that traditional masculinity. There are a lot of women who look to men who want men to uphold that real traditional masculinity. There are men who may be feel in conflict with it, but regardless, there's an expectation. And so we're essentially asking men to set aside everything that society has asked them to be. You're a little boy, boys, don't cry, suck it up, be a man. Don't cry. I'll give you
something to cry about. Like I have men who are commenting on my videos on TikTok and sending me dms all the time, sharing the experiences they had at ages as young as four or five or six where they learned, oh, I'm too old to cry now. And so when you learn that young that you're not supposed to have those sorts of emotions, that you're supposed to figure it out on your own, man up. And then we expect them decades later to feel super comfortable walking in and asking
for help. There's just such a discrepancy there between what we generally expect men to be and then what the experience and process of asking for help and going to therapy usually is.
So being someone who is such an advocate for mental health for everyone to address these issues and go to therapy utilizing this space, How is the best way we can encourage men that they are not losing their masculinity and in fact gaining emotional intelligence and emotional vulnerability to become like a better version of this man that they want to be. On this podcast, if I am encouraged, somebody's listening to this and like, yes, this is all true,
this is how I feel. Yes, how is someone like me or say the women who are listening and their partner or their brother or their family member, how can they make it a space for that person in their life to show them that they can have both because they have been taught, you know, on learning these things is part of that. But how can people help them to understand that better?
Well?
I think part of what happens is that I do believe therapy as a resource or like coaching, even I feel like I know a lot of men's coaches who do essentially what I do in therapy, But there's a branding shift which I think can be a little bit
more accessible for some men. But I do think even therapy is becoming a less stigmatized resource, and even in some places in the country, almost like a status symbol, like oh, yeah, I've got the best therapist in New York, Like you're in LA Like yeah, I'm going to go see my therapists. Like there are places where I see that shift happening, And I think especially versus for that, I do see that shifting a bit. I think what we can do general population can do is in our
own homes and with our own relationships with men. What I hear from a lot of men is that before they're even considering going to therapy, you know, they're gauging in their own life. Is there space for me to be emotional? Is there space for me to be vulnerable? And what happens when I do take up that space. What happens when I do allow myself to be vulnerable. I open up, I cry, I share that I'm struggling, I share that I'm hurting, I share that I'm I'm worried,
I'm scared. And what happens, what I hear happen. And this, again, generally, this is not everyone, not at all. But I think the men who are especially reluctant to therapy is that in their own lives, they're experiencing what happens when they are vulnerable and emotional, and it's completely turning them off.
So they're feeling like, Okay, I opened up to my spouse, I opened up to my girlfriend, or I opened up to my friends, and they they shut me down, or they laughed it off, or they dismissed me, or you know, I told her how I was feeling, and she seemed okay, maybe she seemed a little uncomfortable in the moment that I cried. And then three weeks later we got into a fight and she turned it against me and she threw it in my face. And so I think that unfortunately,
we are all unlearning a lot of these stereotypes. Women included, are unlearning what it looks like for a man to be a man, and what our expectations are and what we want and how we reconcile those differences. If we're wanting men to ship, then we're also having to recognize, like, oh, my expectations and and what I've been socialized to expect speets to show.
Hey, it's Mike d And this week on Movie Mike's Movie podcast, I did a spoiler.
Free movie review of Mowana two.
I love me some animated Disney movies, and I know I'm saying that as an adult male in his thirties, but I broke down the entire movie. There have been so many major movies coming out recently, so be sure to subscribe to my podcast to hear more spoiler free reviews. But right now here are my thoughts on ma Wana two. Let's get into it now. A spoiler free review of mo Wana. To the question I want to answer by the end of this review is was it even necessary?
And yes, I know, I'm an adult man talking about a movie primarily meant for kids, but it's a Disney movie.
It is important, so we're here to talk about it.
Pretty much, what this movie is about I hate to say it, it's basically the same thing as the first one. When it comes to the plotline, Mowana goes out on another big adventure. This one is going to test her levels of being a leader. Now somebody now who can speak and communicate with the ocean to a whole new level. Main problem I had it with this movie not just that the story was very repetitive from the first one.
There's no real struggle. It kind of feels like.
The villain was a rehashed version of the villain from the first movie.
It was the music.
The music was so important to Moana one, really so important in.
Any Disney movie right now.
You need that one big song and Mawana you had that song how Far I'll Go, which is a big anthem from that movie. It is the character defining song of Mowana. That is your hit from that Every Disney musical movie needs that song to really resonate with kids, to really drive this to be a movie that a kid is gonna leave the theater and immediately want to go watch it on Disney Plus, even though it isn't available yet. You need that song to define your movie.
Mawana Io did not have that song. It didn't have a how Far I'll Go. It didn't have a year Welcome, which is another character defining song from Maui. It didn't even have the shiny Thing song from one of the villains in the first movie. There were no memorable songs whatsoever in Mowana Too. And what I believe it comes down to is that Linn Manuel Miranda was not a part of this movie. He did not write the songs.
You have two new female writers who did all the music, and they were really just given guidance from Lynn Manuel Miranda before they started making the music for this movie. He sat down with them and gave them the blueprint of what he did on the first one and what worked in that movie. And then they said he was
just a phone call or FaceTime away. So maybe they used him with some guidance here and there, but you really felt his presence missing in these songs because they lacked originality, and it felt like they were given the assignment of, hey, do what we did in the first movie, channel your best Linn Manuel Miranda and create your own songs, but you have to fit in this box. And what happens when you do that? When it comes to music, is you lose that creativity because you're just trying to
do an impression. You're trying to cover the songs from the first one and make them your own. But you don't have that say artists doing it, and you don't have that originality. Because if Lynn Manuel Miranda was given this movie and said, hey, let's see what you can do here with all these new characters, with this new storyline, what songs can you create? He's not gonna do exactly what he did in the first one. He's gonna experiment
and do different things. And that is where you get the better songs, not trying to do an impression of what you did in the first one, but trying to build upon it and create new songs. And you see this happening in movies all the time. Whenever the Batman movies lost Danny Elfman and they had to bring in a new composer and say, hey, do what Danny Elfman did and create these themes. You can't do it because
you're trying to do an impression of somebody. You're not being original, and you're really not growing the.
Music in any way.
So I really felt out of everything that was really what was lacking in this movie. The improvements I do think they made was the animation style, and where this movie looked the best was in the nighttime animation scenes. I think on the water at night there was a level of depth and the shading and the overall flow of these characters. I think that is where this movie really shined. And those action sequences, especially in that third act. So maybe the story was kind of the same thing
over and over again. The music was kind of just slapped together, but the animation really I thought was improved from the first one, so I think at least Disney is getting that right. Because even the comedy wasn't anything new. It was really just rehashing some of the jokes from the first one, which again I don't think kids are really going to care about that, and the theater people
were still laughing as this movie went along. But I think the main thing was we didn't really see a whole lot of development from the character of Moljana from one to two because she went through that entire journey in one, and at the start of this movie it almost felt like she was back at that point after going through all those things and finding out all these things about herself and being this really strong character. By the end of one, it almost like she regressed a little bit and was.
Learning all over again.
Instead, I would have liked to have seen her shine more at the beginning of this movie. He has still been given a test that she had to overcome and do. What she set out to do was find this island and connect her people with the rest of the world.
That still could have been a test. But I would have liked to see her.
Be kind of a stronger leader in the beginning, because I think that would have been more impactful to kids of seeing like, oh, she learned something from the first one. She has these leadership skills now that she has to hone in and the struggles of being the leader, where even though you are strong and have proven yourself, how do you kind of advance on that. Instead, it was kind of just her from the beginning again all over and then trying to do what she did in the
first one. So I think you have to give the kids like a stronger role model at the beginning and show what comes with even though you have proven yourself, how you have to do it again. I will say as much crap as I give the Rock. He is actually a really good voice actor. I think he should stop doing live action movies and just do a voice acting because he really shines as I think he really gives it as all. You can see his inflections and how much he puts a lot of his personal details
into Maui. I think he has a lot of fun with it. It's probably also easier to fit into his schedule. He can just get into a recording booth, lay some lines down, and then get on his private jet and go work out for ten hours or whatever he does whatever causes him to be five twelve hours late to set. I think he actually does really great work in voice acting. Maui is his best character in the last ten years. Why is Maui his best character in the last ten years.
It's because it's the only character that he portrays that actually has depth, that actually goes through something, that actually has ups and downs, and doesn't win all the time. Maui loses fights. Mali also wins fights. Maui goes through sad times. All his other characters in every other movie, he's just the same thing over and over again, wins every fight, doesn't get a scratch on him, faces no adversity.
Maui actually has that, so I think that is why he's so attached to this character and why he's gonna do it again in the live action movie. But I'm not that excited for that. I think he should just stick to doing more animated roles. So for Mawana too, I don't think it was entirely necessary. I was even at a two point five for a while, but there was some clapping at the end of this movie, and I think people did leave satisfied, and I saw a
lot of happy faces all around. So I think I have to give it a point five just because I am an adult talking about an animated movie meant for a much younger demographic, and if they had a good time, I think that is worth a point five boost. So for ma Wana two, I give it three out of five hooks.
Carrylone.
She's a queen talking.
He was sown you. She's getting really a.
Soul.
Just let it flo no one can do it.
Quiet Cary Line. It's time for Caroline. I just I love being a dad. I love shape and and I love it's I just think it's important for them to see how I carry myself and what's important and how I treat their mama and and just them the truth. They're they're half crazy there. So we have a six five twenty three year old and I'm just kind of all about teaching them to grow up and be men.
How do you teach men in this world? I feel like that's a lost art a little bit.
There's been so much people talk about you know, what's it? Toxic masculinity is yes, And the worst thing you could be is a is a man.
It's gone through a season where it's like being just like a man's man is kind of like the worst truly, the worst thing is And.
It's sad because I think that that's what we're supposed to be. And I just I don't know, man. I talked to him about every night we have storytell okay, and it's I love it, a cherish it. And we'll start off.
Got any questions, that's a great hit me with.
Some and they'll ask me, you know, was Bigfoot real?
Well? Apparently he is real and lives at y'all's farm.
True.
I've seen footage video footage on your TikTok of the Bigfoot in the wild.
Do your kids know? Have they?
Do? They still they know Bigfoot's real.
Yes, they know Bigfoot's real. Santa Claus is.
Real, everything's real. I love that tooth keep the magic going. I feel the same way. That's so fun. Everyone needs to check out Rodney's into his TikTok and dig a little deep and you'll find the real sighting of Bigfoot.
He was there, man, it was a birthday party at the farm and it was a blast. I was laughing and sweating. God, it was hot. Bugs were burning in the commitment. But yeah, we have story time, and I'll start off with you got any questions, and then all hearts and mind's clear, can we move on?
And then all you see you say that all hearts and mind's clear.
Sometimes yeah, a lot of times, so are we good? And then we'll move on to a lot of times it'll be some little Bible story. Last night it was what was it, Oh, the the Jericho and marching around Joshua would And so we went through that for a little bit, and then we'll go into some story. And I try to tell stories that incorporate them in the story that it's them going through some crazy adventure and
it's just a special time. And I'll make them lay still, close your eyes, pictured in your head, and we do it every single night. I love it.
That's amazing, it's fun. Why is being a dad so important to you?
It's a responsibility. I mean, it's the most challenging and most rewarding thing I've ever done, will ever do. It's it's part of you, know what you leave behind, And it's teaching them to be in service and connected, to be more than just a good citizen, but to make a difference. And I mean that's the future of everything. I just I truly believe that. And how they see me carry myself and live my life is the first
thing on my mind what I'm thinking about. And it is cool because Rose is How do I explain Rose? I say, she's she's kinder than she's tougher than life and kinder than love. She's just what a.
Wonderful thing to say about your wife. Tougher than life and kinder than love.
She is.
Oh, how has her love changed you? How has it?
How has it affected your heart and being married to her?
Man, I don't know if I do that.
Without crying.
Yeah, that's so sweet, Rodney, What a gift?
Having a love like that is also the biggest gift you can have, exactly.
And for them to see that, I think that's so.
She's completely just metamorphosized you as a human with her love.
Yeah, and it's with her. It's when somebody loves you that way. You're vulnerable, but you're tougher than anything that could ever come at you. At the same time because you have that.
Do you have a place to a soft place to land.
Yeah, you're kind of fearless. Nothing else can hurt you. Nobody on earth can hurt me, but her. I don't know. Things fall into place when you when you see somebody love you, and you just I just quit, I quit listening to me about me and just trust her.
Oh okay, so what did you about you tell you? And what does she tell you about you?
I mean, it's that golden rule thing about you know, treat others how you want to be treated. But that's I can't remember where I even got this from. Hit me a long time ago about I wouldn't walk up to you and I don't know, say awful things to you, punch me in. I wouldn't force a gallon a whiskey down your throat or large or you know, super double large pizza just cram it down your throat. So I don't know why people do it. You do it to yourself, those things you say things to yourself.
Like bad self talk exactly. That's it. It took me forever to even realize what self talk was. Like, I didn't know that for a long time until I started getting into therapy and self aware that, like I even had bad self talk. And then when I realized it, I'm like, man, I am an asshole to myself, Like I am picking myself apart, I'm tearing myself down. I don't believe in myself. It takes a lot to change that. Did you have some pretty gnarly self talk?
I think so? Yeah. You know, I grew up, I was adopted, and.
Your adoption story is so touching and it's such a journey. I mean, that's a lot to go through as a kid, it's.
But what it does to you is it makes you you deal with self worth and you're trying to overcome just abandonmenton that's your It's just a lot of self worth stuff. So you you beat the ship out of yourself over and over.
And that's this week's Sunday Sampler. If you hear something you like, go check it out. Go to the feed, subscribe to it, write a review if you don't mind. It really does help us out new episodes throughout weekly, so go check them out.
Thank you guys, we'll see you next week.