Can you believe? Nikko finally got his own place. In episode 14, Emily and Nikko discuss how dramatic it was for Nikko to move out into his own place, but how amazing this choice was for himself and out friendship! (yes, that's Joe Exotic)
Monday, March 22, 2021
Episode #13: Heteronyms
In episode 13, Nikko and Emily discuss Heteronyms. WTF?! I know, I know... what the hell are heteronyms. Well, listen to the show and find out... or just read on in this post.
Words that are spelled the same, but pronounced differently
Examples
Data
Preferably
Insurance
Exactly
Irrevocably
Neither/Either
Nefarious
Envelope
Visage
Caribbean
Vase
Ambidextrous
Syrup
Regardless/Irregardless
Caramel
New Orleans
Aunt
Pecan
Mayonnaise
Coyote
Crayon
Mozzarella
Mischievous
Adult
Roof
Route
Different
Notre Dame
Can you think of any others? Let us know and be sure to subscribe to our podcast!
Stay Sharp! Stay Caffeinated! Stay Cool!
Episode #12: The G.O.A.T. of Baseball Movies
On this episode, Nikko and Emily discuss their choices for the G.O.A.T. of Baseball Movies. Though they may have disagreed on the placement of a few, the were dead set on the #1 position!
The Natural
- Nothing was going to stop Roy Hobbs from fulfilling his boyhood dream of baseball superstardom. 14-year-old Hobbs fashions a powerful bat from a fallen oak tree. He soon impresses major league scouts with his ability, fixing his extraordinary talent in the mind of sportswriter Max Mercy, who eventually becomes instrumental in Hobb's career. But a meeting with a mysterious woman shatters his dream. Years pass and an older Hobbs reappears as a rookie from The New York Knights. Overcoming physical pain and defying those who have a stake in seeing the Knights lose, Hobbs, with his boyhood bat, has his chance to lead the Knights to the pennant and to finally fulfill his dream.
A League of Their Own
The All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League was founded in
1943, when most of the men of baseball-playing age were far away in Europe and Asia fighting World War II. The league flourished until after World War II, when, with the men's return, the league was consigned to oblivion. Director Penny Marshall and screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel re-create the wartime era when women's baseball looked to stand a good chance of sweeping the country. The story begins as a candy-bar tycoon enlists agents to scour the country to find women who could play ball. In the backwoods of Oregon, two sisters -- Dottie (Geena Davis) and Kit (Lori Petty) -- are discovered. Dottie can hit and catch, while Kit can throw a mean fastball. The girls come to Chicago to try out for the team with other prospects that include their soon-to-be-teammates Mae Mordabito (Madonna), Doris Murphy (Rosie O'Donnell), and Marla Hooch (Megan Cavanagh). The team's owner, Walter Harvey (Gary Marshall) needs someone to coach his team and he picks one-time home-run champion Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks), who is now a broken-down alcoholic. After a few weeks of training, as Dugan sobers up, the team begins to show some promise. By the end of the season, the team has improved to the point where they are competing in the World Series (which is no big deal, since there are only four teams in the league).Field of Dreams
- "If you build it, he will come." That's the ethereal message that inspires Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) to construct a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield. At first, "he" seems to be the ghost of disgraced ballplayer Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta), who materializes on the ballfield and plays a few games with the awestruck Ray. But as the weeks go by, Ray receives several other messages from a disembodied voice, one of which is "Ease his pain." He realizes that his ballfield has been divinely ordained to give a second chance to people who have sacrificed certain valuable aspects of their lives. One of these folks is Salingeresque writer Terence Mann (James Earl Jones), whom Ray kidnaps and takes to a ball game and then to his farm. Another is Doc Graham (Burt Lancaster), a beloved general practitioner who gave up a burgeoning baseball career in favor of medicine. The final "second-chancer" turns out to be much closer to Ray. That "magical" field in Dyersville, Iowa still draws thousands of baseball-happy tourists each year.
Bull Durham
A blend of comedy, drama and romance, Bull Durham follows the intertwining of three lives brought together by the great American pastime. Crash Davis (Kevin Costner, showcasing his Midwestern charm) is a perennial Minor Leaguer assigned to the Durham Bulls, a hapless team with a long tradition of mediocrity. There he tutors a young, dim-witted pitching prodigy, Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) in the ways of baseball, life, and love. Each strikes up a romance with Annie (Susan Sarandon), the team's "mascot" who takes it upon herself to sleep with a new player every season. Each has his/her own conflict: Crash struggles to end his career with some measure of dignity; Nuke struggles to make it to the "big show"; and Annie struggles to find something more than a roll in the hay -- and of course, Crash and Nuke come into conflict over Annie's affections to further complicate matters. The film treats the sport of baseball with a sort of casual reverence, highlighting both the drama and the humor inherent in the game, illustrated by Annie's numerous references to baseball as "her religion."
The Sandlot
The Sandlot is a coming-of-age story about a group of young boys growing up in California in 1962. A new, shy boy (Thomas Guiry) moves into the neighborhood, where he is initially rejected by the local boys because he doesn't know how to play baseball. Soon, he learns the sport and joins the group of boys who play ball in a local sandlot, and with his new friends, he has a variety of adventures.
Honorable Mentions
For the Love of the Game
42
The Babe
And there it is, my friends! Let us know if you think we missed any!
Stay Sharp! Stay Caffeinated! Stay Cool!
Thursday, January 14, 2021
Episode #11: Animal Idioms
And on this episode, straight from the horse's mouth... it's Animal Idioms!
What the what, you ask? Let me explain...
An idiom is a type of figurative language; one whose meaning has no relation to the words in the phrase. This type just happens to involve animals...
- When pigs fly
- Something that will never or is unlikely to happen; impossible
- Frog in your throat
- Having trouble speaking due to a problem in your throat
- Cat got your tongue
- A question directed to someone who is being unusually silent
Crocodile tears- Fack or insincere tears
- As the crow flies
- In a straight line
- Sitting duck
- An easy target, vulnerable to attack
- In two shakes of a lamb’s tail
- In a very short amount of time
- Monkey on your back
- A problem that has been difficult to solve or get rid of
- Elephant in the room
- A problem or controversy that is too big to ignore, but everyone tries to avoid talking about it due to embarrassment or conflict
- One-trick pony
- Lacking a variety of abilities; only one good ability to show
- Hold your horses
- Slow down, stop
- Weasel out of something
- A person abandons responsibility or commitment in a way that is sneaky or cowardly
- The cat’s meow
- Something that is excellent, wonderful, or really great
- Cat’s outta the bag
- To reveal a secret
- Pig-headed
- Stupid or stubborn person
- That really gets my goat
- Annoying
- Let sleeping dogs lie
- Leave it alone, leave something in peace
- Wild goose chase
- Chasing something that is very difficult or impossible to catch
- Quit cold turkey
- To stop something completely and immediately
- Fish or cut bait
- Either do something or get out of the way
- Fish outta water
- To be uncomfortable in a particular situation or environment
Ants in your pants- Can’t stay still because you’re agitated, excited, or worried
- Mad as a hornet
- Very angry or furious
- At a snail’s pace
- Moving very slowly
- Busy as a bee
- Extremely busy
- Open a can of worms
- Create a whole new set of problems
- The world is your oyster
- You have many good opportunities in front of you
- Watching like a hawk
- Watching something very, very closely
- Dog eat dog
- Very competitive
- Get your ducks in a row
- Organize things
- I’ll be a monkey’s uncle
- I’m very surprised
- Like shooting fish in a barrel
- Very easy to catch or trick
- Bull in a china shop
- Very clumsy person
- Eager beaver
- A person who is excited about doing certain work
- Straight from the horses’s mouth
- Directly from the original source
- The black sheep of the family
- The most unpopular or disliked family member
- Look like something the cat dragged in
- To look tired or worn out or dirty
- Raining cats and dogs
- Raining heavily
Whatever idiom floats your boat, we reccommend you use it as often as possible!
Remember to find us, like us, comment us, rate us, etc. on all your podcast listening platforms!
Stay Sharp. Stay Cool. Stay Caffeinated.
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Episode #10: The G.O.A.T of Epic Television Series Notes
On this episode, Emily and Nikko discussed
EPIC TV SHOWS
See what I did there? These are the shows (in our humble opinion) that changed the way we watched TV as a society.
The Sopranos
Tony Soprano juggles the problems of his fractious family with those of a "Family" of a different sort - the mob. He sees a therapist to deal with his professional and personal problems, which bring on panic attacks. He deals with personal and professional power struggles, affairs, violence, the threat of exposure and betrayal, and a whole bunch of people being whacked.
First aired January 10, 1999
Final episode June 10, 2007
The Sopranos is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time. The series won a multitude of awards, including Peabody Awards for its first two seasons, 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, and five Golden Globe Awards. It has been the subject of critical analysis, controversy, and parody, and has spawned books, a video game, soundtrack albums, and assorted merchandise. Several members of the show's cast and crew were largely unknown to the public but have since had successful careers. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named The Sopranos the best-written TV series of all time, while TV Guide ranked it the best television series of all time. In 2016, the series ranked first in the Rolling Stone list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.
“it’s impossible to overstate The Sopranos’ influence on television across the globe. Though HBO’s epic Game of Thrones has since surpassed its viewing records, The Sopranos paved the way for that series’ filmic scope, massive budgets and worldwide popularity. Arguably, every drama that premiered afterwards bore its mark: plots were instantly darker, heroes were instantly anti-heroes, stakes were instantly higher. Even comedies adopted some of its hallmarks, including deeply flawed main characters and twisting, highly serialised storylines. This rippling influence began with The Sopranos’ true artistry, and the landmark performances of James Gandolfini as Tony and Edie Falco as his wife, Carmela, among others. But the TV landscape of the time and changing technology amplified that effect enormously.” - BBC Article
The Walking Dead
Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman, this gritty drama portrays life in the months and years that follow a zombie apocalypse. A group of survivors travel in search of safety and security, constantly on the move in search of a secure home. But the pressure each day to stay alive sends many in the group to the deepest depths of human cruelty, and they soon discover that the overwhelming fear of the survivors can be more deadly than the zombies walking among them. At times, the interpersonal conflicts present a greater threat to their continuing survival than the walkers that roam the country.
First aired October 31, 2010
American post-apocalyptic horror television series for AMC based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The series features a large ensemble cast as survivors of a zombie apocalypse, trying to stay alive under near-constant threat of attacks from zombies, colloquially known as "walkers". However, with the fall of humanity, these survivors also face conflict from other living survivors who have formed groups and communities with their own sets of laws and morals, often leading to hostile conflict between the human communities.
https://relevantmagazine.com/culture/deeper-message-walking-dead/
The Walking Dead is fun and exciting, but it also reminds us of the importance of the communities we live within and create. It’s a caricature of the dangers we face—underlining the reason we have to stick together. Because as in real life as much as The Walking Dead, there are two kinds of dangers: external forces and forces from within. We have to fight the pride, violence and injustice we see in the world as much as we have to fight internalizing these ugly powers ourselves. As the heroes in the best stories know, the best safeguard is compassion, through community, for one another. This is not only what keeps us safe, but it also keeps us from bending to the same depths of depravity we see in our enemies. - Relevant Magazine Article
X-Files
In one of the longest-running science fiction series in network TV history, FBI special agents investigate unexplained, mind-bending cases known as "X-Files." Though the government is convinced that the outlandish reports are false, conspiracy theorist Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and realist Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), for most of the series, stop at nothing to prove that "the truth is out there." Series creator Chris Carter also serves as executive producer of the thrilling pop-culture phenomenon.
First aired September 10, 1993
Final episode March 21, 2018
The X-Files was a hit for the Fox network and received largely positive reviews, although its long-term story arc was criticized near the conclusion. Initially considered a cult series, it turned into a pop culture touchstone that tapped into public mistrust of governments and large institutions and embraced conspiracy theories and spirituality. Both the series itself and lead actors Duchovny and Anderson received multiple awards and nominations, and by its conclusion the show was the longest-running science fiction series in U.S. television history. The series also spawned a franchise which includes Millennium and The Lone Gunmen spin-offs, two theatrical films and accompanying merchandise.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/09/the-x-files-25-years-later/569389/
“Beliefs create themselves on The X-Files, which premiered 25 years ago, on September 10, 1993. Mulder (played by David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson), partners on a unit dedicated to investigating unexplained phenomena known as X-Files, became sci-fi archetypes: the believer and the skeptic paired up to probe spooky cases. It seemed like their job was to determine what was real, but more often they looked at what they felt was real, and why, and whether there was a difference. The show was less about absolute truth than about the truth as a concept, and how it bends around collective perception.” - The Atlantic Article
M*A*S*H
Members of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital care for the injured during the Korean War and use humor to escape from the horror and depression of the situation. Among the 4077's people are Capts. Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce and "Trapper John" McIntire, Majs. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan and Frank Burns, and Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly.
First aired September 17, 1972
Final episode February 28, 1983
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, owned by 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/what-mash-taught-us
“mash: A Novel About Three Army Doctors,” a little-remembered shaggy-dog volume by Richard Hooker that engendered fourteen more novels; a feature-film adaptation (directed by the then up-and-coming Robert Altman); and one of the highest-rated television series of all time. Of these iterations, it is the last that arguably left the greatest cultural imprint, running for eleven seasons and considered by many to be the gold standard for quality programming in its day. The show was embraced by audiences and critics alike (it also spawned three of its own spinoffs), and when its finale aired, on February 28, 1983, it set a record for the most-watched television episode in broadcast history—a mark that still stands. “mash” was mainly about decent people trying to survive an intolerable situation” - The New Yorker article
MASH is about surviving amid the chaos
Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin's best-selling book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" is brought to the screen as HBO sinks its considerable storytelling teeth into the medieval fantasy epic. It's the depiction of two powerful families -- kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and honest men -- playing a deadly game for control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and to sit atop the Iron Throne. Martin is credited as a co-executive producer and one of the writers for the series, whose shooting locations include Northern Ireland, Malta, Croatia and Spain.
First aired April 17, 2011
Last episode May 19, 2019
Game of Thrones attracted a record viewership on HBO and has a broad, active, and international fan base. Critics praised the series for its acting, complex characters, story, scope, and production values, although its frequent use of nudity and violence (including sexual violence) was criticized. The final season, especially its last two episodes, received significant criticism for its condensed story and creative decisions, with many considering it a disappointing conclusion. Many critics and publications have named the show as one of the best television series of all time.
“Game of Thrones tapped into a large number of fantasy fan networks and built a large mass audience for its showings. The blending of several different genres in the show attracts interest from a broad range of interests, and the high production values and high-quality acting allowed the show to explore a lot of issues related to power, politics, social justice, gender and race representation. Seeing the watch party videos with people gathered in pubs and theaters cheering at the show as if it were a sporting event shows the broad popularity and enthusiasm for this show.” - The University of Colorado
“But on the other side, the show features powerful women who use their cunning and authority to exert their will on their world. Though the show reflects the misogynistic environment of it’s source material (the book itself invokes 15th-century English historical events, and that ties the narrative to the cultural norms of that period), female characters are able to act both within and outside those constraints to affect their society.” - The University of Colorado
https://www.metro.us/the-cultural-impact-of-hbos-game-of-thrones/
“It has proven to every media outlet that ‘geeks’ are people too, with populations, committed interests, deep passions, and pocket books to match the rest of the world’s television consumers,” Vince Gerardis, co-executive producer for “Game of Thrones,” told Metro.” - Metro
So there you go kids! Our list... hope you enjoyed it!
Stay Sharp. Stay Caffeinated. Stay Cool.
Episode #9: Dreams Decoded Notes
On this episode, Nikko and Emily discussed dreams... and man they had a lot to say... of course, there is a lot to say about dreams and still so much left undiscovered. Here's the research they uncovered:
Dreams
Wikipedia says “a dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not fully understood, although they have been a topic of scientific, philosophical, and religious interest throughout recorded history.”
Types of Dreams - https://www.healthline.com/health/types-of-dreams#standard-dream
Standard Dreams
Most dreams are predominantly visual, meaning that images are at the forefront of dreams, rather than other senses like smell or touch.
While most people dream in color, some dreams are entirely in black and white.
The less stressed you are, the more pleasant your dreams may be.
Dreams can be very strange — and that’s totally normal.
Your mood, events in the news, pain, violence, and religion may all influence your dream’s subject.
Nightmares
Potential Causes of Nightmares
watching or reading something scary
sleep deprivation
eating right before bed
medication side effects
having a fever or being ill
sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, nightmare disorder, or narcolepsy
Common Nightmare Themes
death or dying
physical violence
being chased or hunted
Night Terrors
When someone has a night terror, they wake up terrified but may only have a vague idea of what they dreamed about. Most of the time, they don’t remember dreams from the night terror.
Technically not a dream, but a sleep disorder
Night Terrors result in a person waking up
screaming
kicking or moving violently, even jumping out of bed
sweating
breathing hard
with a racing heart rate
- disoriented and unsure where they are or what’s going on
Lucid Dreams <-- Nikko's had these!
Lucid dreaming means you’re aware that you’re dreaming while you’re in the dream. Like most dreams, it often happens during REM sleep.
Most people don’t have frequent lucid dreams, though some research reports that 55 percent of people experience it at least once in their lives.
Sometimes you can control a lucid dream if you have practice. This can help you control your dreams, especially if you tend to have recurring dreams or nightmares.
Day Dreaming <-- Emily does this ALL the time!
Daydreams occur consciously, but you may still feel like you’re not fully awake or aware of your surroundings. If someone catches you daydreaming, they may say that you look “zoned out” or lost in thoughts.
Daydreams usually involve other people, whether real or imagined. Some research has shown that daydreaming about people you know predicts positive well-being while daydreaming about people you aren’t close to can predict more loneliness and worse well-being.
Recurring Dreams
Recurring dreams are dreams that repeat more than once. They often have themes such as confrontations, being chased, or falling.
You can have neutral recurring dreams or recurring nightmares. If you have recurring nightmares, it may be due to an underlying mental health condition, substance use, or certain medication.
Figure 8 Dream (Emily's)
Flying Beach Towel Dream (Emily's)
Turn to Stone Dream (Emily's)
False Awakening
False awakenings are a type of dream occurrence where a person believes they’ve woken up but actually haven’t. If you’ve ever found yourself dreaming that you woke up, but it was actually a part of the dream, this is a false awakening.
Healing Dreams
While there’s not a lot of scientific information on healing dreams, they’ve been described as dreams that
bring you balance or harmony
give you a sense of connection, meaning, or purpose
bring about reconciliation
leaves you feeling joyful or at peace
Prophetic Dreams
Prophetic dreams are thought to be dreams that have foretold a future event. If you dream of something happening and then it occurs later, you may feel you’ve had a prophetic dream. There’s no real way to tell if a dream is prophetic or not — it comes down to what you believe. Some believe that a prophetic dream is just your subconscious anticipating a particular outcome and having you dream it to prepare.
Vivid Dreams
Vivid dreams are almost always associated with waking up during REM sleep when your dreams are most vivid and more easily remembered.
While we may consider any dream that we experience in REM sleep “vivid,” with vivid dreaming, it’s used to describe a particularly intense dream that felt very real. You may also remember your vivid dream a lot easier than a typical dream.
Anyone can have vivid dreams, but if you’re pregnant or particularly stressed, it may contribute to having one.
Physiological and Psychological
https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/what-happens-when-we-dream/
The whole brain is active during dreams, from the brain stem to the cortex. Most dreams occur during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. This is part of the sleep-wake cycle and is controlled by the reticular activating system whose circuits run from the brain stem through the thalamus to the cortex.
The limbic system in the mid-brain deals with emotions in both waking and dreaming and includes the amygdala, which is mostly associated with fear and is especially active during dreams.
The cortex is responsible for the content of dreams, including the monsters we flee from, the people we meet, or the experience of flying. Since we are highly visual animals the visual cortex, right at the back of the brain, is especially active, but so are many other parts of the cortex.
Least active are some parts of the frontal lobes, and this may explain why we can be so uncritical during dreams, accepting the crazy events as though they are real – until we wake up.
Theoretical Divide Regarding Dreams - https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/dream1.htm
Physiological theories are based on the idea that we dream in order to exercise various neural connections that some researchers believe affect certain types of learning. Psychological theories are based on the idea that dreaming allows us to sort through problems, events of the day or things that are requiring a lot of our attention. Some of these theorists think dreams might be prophetic. Many researchers and scientists also believe that perhaps it is a combination of the two theories.
First and foremost in dream theory is Sigmund Freud. Falling into the psychological camp, Dr. Freud's theories are based on the idea of repressed longing -- the desires that we aren't able to express in a social setting. Dreams allow the unconscious mind to act out those unacceptable thoughts and desires.
Carl Jung studied under Freud but soon decided his own ideas differed from Freud's to the extent that he needed to go in his own direction. He agreed with the psychological origin of dreams, but rather than saying that dreams originated from our primal needs and repressed wishes, he felt that dreams allowed us to reflect on our waking selves and solve our problems or think through issues.
More recently, around 1973, researchers Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley set forth another theory that threw out the old psychoanalytical ideas. Their research on what was going in the brain during sleep gave them the idea that dreams were simply the result of random electrical brain impulses that pulled imagery from traces of experience stored in the memory. They hypothesize that these images don't form the stories that we remember as our dreams. Instead, our waking minds, in trying to make sense of the imagery, create the stories without our even realizing it -- simply because the brain wants to make sense of what it has experienced. While this theory, known as the activation-synthesis hypothesis, created a big rift in the dream research arena because of its leap away from the accepted theories, it has withstood the test of time and is still one of the more prominent dream theories.
During REM sleep, several physiological changes also take place. The heart rate and breathing quickens, the blood pressure rises, we can't regulate our body temperature as well and our brain activity increases to the same level (alpha) as when we are awake, or even higher. The rest of the body, however, is essentially paralyzed until we leave REM sleep. This paralysis is caused by the release of glycine, an amino acid, from the brain stem onto the motoneurons (neurons that conduct impulses outward from the brain or spinal cord). Because REM sleep is the sleep stage at which most dreaming takes place, this paralysis could be nature's way of making sure we don't act out our dreams.
Yes, there will be a follow episode or 2 because there really just is sooooo much to discuss. What questions do you have?
Send us an email:
acoffeedrinkersguide@yahoo.com
As always, stay sharp... stay caffeinated... stay cool!
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