Mane Up Memphis Podcast
Mane Up Memphis Podcast serves up practical therapy insights, financial-empowerment tips, and inspiring Memphis stories—straight from the nonprofit that says “wrap-around support or bust.” Hosted by LMSW & CFSW Joey Laswell. New episodes every Tuesday.
Mane Up Memphis Podcast
Episode 8 - Money, Mental Health, and Moving Forward: The Mood Dudes Return
Send us a message at info@maneupmemphis.org
What happens when strength becomes a burden? In this candid reunion episode, the Mood Dudes challenge the notion that "being strong" is always beneficial, particularly for men navigating mental health challenges in today's world.
From back injuries to housing transitions, we share personal updates that spark deeper conversations about financial literacy and well-being. We explore the often-misunderstood relationship between renting and buying homes, debunking the myth that homeownership is universally superior. "Rent is all you will pay; mortgage is the least you will pay" becomes a powerful framework for understanding housing decisions beyond simple calculations.
The conversation takes fascinating turns as we examine how spending patterns reflect our mental state and values. We distinguish between emergency funds and investments, offering practical wisdom for financial resilience during uncertain times. For young adults entering today's complex job market, we provide guidance on balancing immediate needs with long-term planning.
Things get particularly animated when we debate the role of artificial intelligence in creative expression. Can AI truly create art without human experience? As self-described "bridge millennials" who've witnessed the analog-to-digital transformation, we consider our responsibility to guide younger generations through responsible technology use.
Our exploration of neural nostalgia – the psychological comfort we find in familiar media – reveals why rewatching favorite shows provides such emotional relief during stressful periods. Throughout it all, our characteristic banter (including playful accusations about which host might be the "villain") demonstrates how mental health conversations can be both substantive and entertaining.
Got questions or want to join the conversation? Reach out through our social channels – we're building a community around these important topics and would love your participation. Remember: your money reflects your mental health, and mastering your finances means they won't master you.
#ManeUpMemphis
well, it says it's recording, so I guess we're live all right. So welcome, welcome, if this is working and we can try this testing it out. But this is made up. Memphis live. The mood dudes assemble. We are back together again and we're just excited. And it's been a minute. So, guys, it's been since, I think, july 8th. So give us an idea of what has life been like for you, guys, and then we can kind of just jump in. Oh man, ciao. Emmanuel is shaking his head.
Speaker 2:Wait, July 8th or June 8th July. 8th was the last time we uh, we recorded couldn't have been because july 8th I was in somebody's um bed in pain from oh, okay, well, maybe it was right.
Speaker 1:It was right before that.
Speaker 2:I think it might have been the week before, but either way, fourth of july weekend I had a excruciating back pain that put me in the ER.
Speaker 3:I had back spasms.
Speaker 2:Apparently, my spine was curving and this caused what. Do you say? A pinch something, whatever.
Speaker 1:Pinch nerve.
Speaker 2:And I couldn't move but shout out to chiropractic whoever invented that, because that is amazing, Because I have since regained pretty much all my mobility. I'm very happy about that. I've moved homes. I love that for me and mine. I will have you guys and when I say you guys, I mean everyone but James over to celebrate our new home and housewarming.
Speaker 1:What else has happened since we last?
Speaker 2:talked A lot. Life was in the hospital, I think a lot of stuff has happened, guys, but you know resilient factors can we get? Into it. I feel like being strong is so overrated guys.
Speaker 2:And I think that was a decent conversation off of the last two we've had around men's mental health, because everybody wants us to be strong and it has its place, but enough is enough and being strong is overrated, and I would like to hear how that lands with you guys. Um, yes, even you, james, how, um, if y'all haven't caught on yet, I know our repeat listeners do, but this is a running gag between James and I and Joey, so yeah, he's bullying me.
Speaker 2:Don't listen to him. That's why we can't even hear you. We just spent 30 minutes audio testing and we can't even hear you.
Speaker 1:Oh man.
Speaker 2:It's the sour cream, isn't it?
Speaker 3:Joey, can you?
Speaker 1:hear him? I can hear him, but yeah, it's definitely quieter than us.
Speaker 2:Cream.
Speaker 1:Sour cream. But okay, james, give us a little update on how things have been going for you and what's life been like for you.
Speaker 3:these last few weeks have been going for you and uh, what's, uh, what's been life been like for you this last few weeks, life has been a season of accountability for me. Um been making it somehow by the grace of god and I'm gonna keep on making it by the grace of god there you go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, it's uh, feels like there's a lot of stuff going on in the outside world and then you have your own internal world. That's going like stuff going on. So, um, for me, like, uh, my, my mom came into town.
Speaker 1:She flew in from japan she was here for three weeks and I was the tour guide. I was, uh, we did so many activities. It was amazing, like I, I did some, we did some cooking lessons, like she taught me how to cook some of her japanese like staples. So I will definitely, um, share that with you guys. Uh, you know, when the time comes, we'll have like a little potluck or something. Um, but, yeah, I learned some japanese food or japanese cooking.
Speaker 1:Uh, we went to all kinds of places all over memphis, so I really was like a tourist in my own city, which is kind of I think people should do that more often, honestly, because I just I just explored different parts of the city that I wouldn't have normally, you know. And so, um, we went to the civil rights museum. We did, you know, we did all kinds of stuff. We we didn't get to do the Graceland thing, but, um, you know, it was yeah, it was like, okay, no, that wasn't really our thing, but, um, so, um, the last, after the last episode, we I was trying to, and I this is my rant for the for the day, or I don't know, I've been, I've been thinking about this a lot lately, but, uh, in the last episode I I wanted to meet Yuki Kawamura, the Japanese Memphis Grizzlies player while now former Grizzlies player, so as of a couple, maybe a week or so ago he signed with the Chicago Bulls for the Summer League and now he's basically doing really amazing things for the Bulls and he's probably going to get signed on for the Bulls and he's probably going to get signed on. So I'm just like a little part of me is like man. I just became like a super fan of this guy, like I've been really. I bought a jersey of his on eBay and so I have a now outdated jersey of Kawamura with the Grizzlies. So, anyways, and I got a basketball card, I bought a basketball card, I bought a basketball card. So I'm officially a super fan, even though he's with the Bulls. He will always have a part in my heart, but I'm a little salty that the Grizzlies let him go. I'm just going to be honest, because I think they're going to regret that I'm not a big sports guy. I mean I don't follow basketball very much, to be honest, because I think they're going to regret that I'm not a big sports guy, or I mean I don't follow basketball very much, to be honest, but I do I have been interested in in basketball now lately. So, um, so yeah, grizzlies, um, I get it, you know, but you guys are probably going to regret losing mr kawamura, so, um, but yeah, so that was that. That's the. That's one thing I was kind of frustrated about.
Speaker 1:I also did get to see Josh Johnson in concert, finally. Oh man, that was awesome. It was amazing. Like you know, he had just signed or he had been doing the Daily Show for that week and you know, it was just really cool. I mean, I was like he's, I feel like I met, I was seeing him like on the, on the cusp of like really doing some awesome, he's doing awesome things, and like I think he's gonna be a daily show host, like a full-time host, I think. So, yeah, fingers crossed, he did really good and his, his show was great. His opening acts were great, the the venue was at Minglewood Hall was was cool, really great venue, I think, for comedy.
Speaker 1:So any comedians coming to Memphis Minglewood Hall?
Speaker 1:I think it's a great comedy venue and I hope that more comedians come to Memphis because you know, we're trying to make Memphis like a comedy hub.
Speaker 1:That's my goal, personal goal, um, but yeah, uh, that that's been my last couple of weeks. It's been, it's been crazy, been doing some uh, I did a podcast interview today with some, like a former friend. He asked me to be on his podcast. So you know, it's just been busy, been doing a lot of things, exciting stuff. But yeah, I mean, we're here, We've assembled and I wish, I'm hoping that we can do some live interaction with some of the fans. Let me see if that's even possible. But either way, like, uh, you know, if you're watching this live, uh, shoot us a message and uh see if we can, we'll, we'll, uh, maybe, um, answer your question on air, on live on air. So, um, so, before we get into that, um, you know, let's. I guess we can do just like a um, I guess we can do just like a mental health check-in, because I think everyone is kind of stressed out, I think in some ways.
Speaker 2:So I just want to give no, I was raising my hand because we didn't hear James Ewell on this side of my screen. We didn't hear from James on his updates, or did I miss it? You missed it. You didn't pay from james on his updates, or did?
Speaker 3:I miss it. I mean you didn't pay attention to me, it wasn't important, that's right.
Speaker 1:So go ahead. It was brief. It was just brief, okay it wasn't important.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's right. You know a season of transition and accountability because of grace of god. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, that's right.
Speaker 1:My bad, james. What was it Just in one ear out?
Speaker 3:the other for Emmanuel.
Speaker 1:Anytime James speaks, it just turns into the Charlie Brown sound. So yeah, so let's talk. We got a lot of great feedback from our previous episodes. People seem to like our vibe and what we talk about. Have you shown your work to anyone and have they said anything about it? Or has anyone reached out to you guys and said, oh yeah, I really like the episode that you guys talked about XYZ or anything like that Everyone Go ahead. I really liked the episode that you guys talked about XYZ or anything like that Everyone.
Speaker 3:Go ahead.
Speaker 2:Go ahead, James.
Speaker 3:No, please.
Speaker 2:Okay, Everyone who I've spoken to absolutely loves it. I had a couple people say they want to join, but I'm going to choose my words carefully because I don't know if they're watching. They probably are, but yeah, that's been my experience so far and we are overdue. So we got to give the people what they want in this episode, which is the demise of James. So let's make that happen.
Speaker 1:Let's not do any demising today. I think we should save that for another episode. No the comeback is going to be great, I love that.
Speaker 3:The comeback no he's not a part of this. Anyway, I was at a party and some people that I know were actually really interested in the podcast and they were wanting to know, like what our plans were, and I was like can't really discuss plans, but you know we will be talking about like different mental health stuff. Here's some of the topics that we have discussed and they're looking forward to it.
Speaker 1:Awesome, that's great to hear. You know, like I've had some family members say that they they just liked, they just like the vibe. You know, like it's, it's just something, something about like the chemistry or the vibe that we're putting out, that people just like. So, hey, you know, if you guys are digging it, then you know we're gonna keep keep putting it out there because I think, you know, people do need a little bit of, uh, like we're putting. I think we're trying to put out good vibes and we need more good vibes out there. So, if that's resonating with you, thank you, thank you, give us a thumbs up and, you know, share our podcast, our message. You know we're trying to change the narrative around. You know, mental health and finances no-transcript. You had you moved. That's a big financial thing. Um, you know, there's just always, always something. But I mean, I think there's some nuggets, some nuggets to be shared with the, with the community. So, um, I don't know, what have you learned in your moving process, emmanuel?
Speaker 2:that's, that's. I should tell you everything yeah, yeah, that was the mood. Don't be so nice. Even kindness or niceness needs boundaries, because somebody's always going to need you, and that's fine. You have supply, but just steward it a little bit better. As far as this move, which I adopted this years ago hire the professionals. Hire the professionals.
Speaker 2:I love the moving company that we had. I'm not going to say who they are, because you got to pay for problems. I'm sorry, but I just, yeah, hire the professionals, because what you won't pay in money, you're going to pay in time and energy. So just, highly professional. Even if I wanted to move out of this stuff by myself, I could not, because I'm recovering from back issues. So, yeah, and it's worth it. Cheap can be detrimental, and I don't mean like a price tag, I mean like your outlook. Cheap can be detrimental, and I don't mean like a price tag, I mean like your outlook, and you're saving a few bucks, but you're causing so much undue stress and emotional turmoil on yourself because, in the name of saving a buck, please, money can come back, money can increase. Time is finite. So yeah, highland professionals, that is for somebody. Somebody's watching this now. You need to let somebody do it, you don't have to do it all.
Speaker 2:Like that is what the little green dollar is for to exchange for somebody else to do it, and it's okay. It's okay for somebody else to do it, so that's what I would recommend.
Speaker 3:Anything, any thoughts? Jamesames, I can't relate. I've always moved myself um well, you know it is for the last 10 years I've been doing um, my bills and probably the university's bills too.
Speaker 3:So I mean it's up to me, um, but I would say you know, when it comes to moving, really look at the amount that you're earning, what you have put away and what you're willing to part with, because, like emmanuel said, money will come back. Also, if you are in a lower ses or if you're in a student situation, like I was, you might want to consider how much of it you can move by yourself, or if there's any favors that you can call in right, um, or long-term planning if you're getting, like your first car or whatever, will my junk fit inside of here? It doesn't have to be all your stuff. You might have to make a couple of trips, but will my essentials fit in here if I need to pack them up and move them somewhere?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, I mean sometimes yeah, I mean sometimes, especially if it's a short-term, short notice kind of thing, you know, people sometimes have to move within 30 days, 60 days, and things like that happen. I've heard of stories. Actually, somebody in my family they their landlord just decided they have, uh, they're going to sell the property and then, um, they gave them a 30 or 60 day notice, like they're just. They're just like, yeah, you're a long-term, you know good paying tenant, but, um, we're going to sell the house and so they, they got a evict. It wasn't an eviction notice, but I mean it basically was um and yeah, so that's tough, you know, uh, financially that can.
Speaker 1:That can really just throw a monkey wrench in in your best laid plan. So, but that's the. That's why having an emergency fund is so important. You know, um, having that money, that's literally the moment that you need that. That is the rainy day that you have saved up for that, those types of expenses, or so, yeah, I would say, have some rainy day money, because it's it's gonna rain someday. Let's just be real, it's gonna rain in some days it's gonna pour, um, and having that rainy day fund is going to protect you. It may not I mean you may not be able to cover all your expenses or all your costs, but it's. You know you're not going to be relying on credit cards, you know, if you have the cash on hand and that's just going to make your future self thank you, your present self is going to thank you, um, so, yeah, anyone who's listening and you know doesn't have an emergency fund, I would run and not walk towards the bank or to your bank and start a savings account or an automatic savings Also on that note.
Speaker 3:If you don't have any money put away, a firm is your friend.
Speaker 1:You don't have to pay them back.
Speaker 3:It's going to be more money than it would have been to begin with, but a firm is your friend.
Speaker 1:Well, and actually there was an interesting. I've been seeing a study that the Gen Z has been using a firm a lot and in some cases they're using it smartly, in other cases they're not but was that the article that was saying that they're basically using it to replace a credit card? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Didn't it just who proverbially are? They Just come out and say that apps like Affirm and Clonin and stuff can now count towards your credit score.
Speaker 1:They need to. I think yeah.
Speaker 2:I think so.
Speaker 1:I read something like that Because, yeah, it's in this weird middle space now where it doesn't really affect your credit but it can definitely affect your finances. Like you said, four monthly payments sounds really nice because it's like, oh, that's $50 for four weeks or whatever. But yeah, if you miss those payments then you're kind of screwed or potentially screwed. Miss those payments, then then you're you're you're kind of screwed or potentially screwed, so it's, it's a debt. It's a delicate dance, uh, to try to, you know, leverage your money, make it last, but then also it can like, it can be a temptation. You know, like, because that when you're shopping nowadays you have that a, the, a firm button or the clarna button. You know it's like, oh, this is just like $12, or you know $20 a payment for the next four payments. You know, so it's like, oh, I can do $20 a month for the next four months or next four weeks, but I don't know, it's tricky, it's tricky.
Speaker 3:That goes back to knowing your finances, though, is that you know how much money you have left over after you've paid all your bills. If you're doing what you're supposed to do, right, you know if you can swing an extra $25, $40 per month depending on what you've bought. But then you also have to keep track of what all have you bought and how many of those payments are we making at a time per month. Because if you have like three $25 things, that's a $75 payment, that's a, that's a bill.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a utility bill yeah, and and I think the convenience element of it is really really uh, kind of tricky for some people because it's like the buy now it's like layaway, you know. You basically like, okay, like it's, it's virtual layaway, that's really what it is. And some people, layaway is really good, like they can, they like to do it that way. They buy the stuff, they hold it and then they, you know, but this is a little bit different. But but yeah, all that to say is that you know, we, we, we want to just be mindful of of our purchases, especially when you're it's not technically credit but it is kind of it is credit, especially when it's not technically credit but it is credit. You know it's debt, it's a temporary debt. So you've got to be careful with that, you know, because those things have a tendency of sneaking up on you, and I'm guilty of falling for some of those traps in the past too. So, all right, well, that's our money minute. I mean, unless you guys had any other tidbits, because part of our mission here is we're talking to 11 to 25-year-olds.
Speaker 1:Interesting space, you know, with the job market evolving, ai and all this other stuff. Like you know, finances, I think are going to be a really interesting thing for that demographic 11, 25. So you know, like, let's say, if you're a brand new college grad 24, 23, 22, whatever, however old you are and you're in this current job market, I would be scared a little bit. So you got to make sure your finances are in order in order to weather these times of uncertainty and job losses and all this other stuff that goes back to the emergency fund and, yeah, I don't know any thoughts on. You know, if you were a 22-year-old fresh college grad in your undergrad, what advice, what financial advice, would you tell them? I think last time, james, you said stay at home as long as possible. Right, and I think that's a real thing that people are doing, not necessarily by choice sometimes, but that's just the new normal for a lot of this generation. So, yeah, any thoughts, any insights for a fresh college grad from you guys relating to money?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, come here, come to the front Emergency fund, and I'm glad that we are using the correct language. If y'all see one of Joey's credentials, it's CFSW. Google it or use it in you know context schools. But no, there's a difference. One of the worst things I think that has happened to people who have not been financially educated or financially literate is not knowing. Is the is the language. So a lot of people call savings, say they call emergency, emergency fund savings and it's yes it's an emergency fund you should have at least six months, right.
Speaker 2:Six months of your expenses, right? So? That's your rent car, note insurance, life insurance, audit this stuff right everything to keep yourself afloat for that period of time, if whatever happened.
Speaker 2:Okay, savings and I think I said this before, is what, quote unquote, the rich call investments. That's really what that is for. And then, last, the third thing I think we need to do is neutralize the word debt, because when we understand how debt works at least in this country, which again capitalism, racism it can be a good. It could be a good thing, right, but certain communities are taught that you know how, how to leverage, you know debt, good debt, bad debt but then other people are taught that debt is shrouded in another word we call convenience or credit card right.
Speaker 2:So even before the pay now or get now, pay later or lay away, when credit cards came on the scene, people were like using them irresponsibly because it was convenient I don't have the money now, so I'll just charge it, right, right. And then you get this bill, say, oh, I got to pay this back. And then there's this, a letter word called interest, right, oh, I got to pay this back. And then there's this eight letter word called interest, right. So I think if we could master the system allowed to work for us which I'm not there yet, but I'm getting better at it that really helped us. And then the purpose of liquid versus, you know, leveraging your credit. I will be a little transparent and say I liquid a lot of things that I could have just credit and, you know, use credit for Because I wanted to just be done with it. I just paid it with no benefit to my credit score.
Speaker 2:Like maybe a point With no benefit to my credit score, like it would have maybe a point If I would have just went ahead and paid it out and maybe paid a little bit more to snatch the interest. I would have had more benefits for my credit. So I hope somebody is listening and you know really taking this in Because you know we've been there so you don't have to Let us be the traffic directors to say, hey go this way, don't, don't go down this road yeah so yeah, there's that oh, especially if you're home buying.
Speaker 2:Oh, home buying has so much red tape. Yes, it is ridiculous. It's more red tape than staples like I, I, I maybe I may have a little post-traumatic stress.
Speaker 2:I mean acute stress from it Right right, because it hasn't been 30 days, but like it's crazy, like it's quite invasive. Let's start there. They want to know if you got a penny off the street. They want to know what street was it, on, what time it was, what the temperature of the weather was when you pick up the penny and where did you put the penny and why did you pick up the penny, like oh my God, like you can't, even buy a cheeseburger without somebody asking you questions.
Speaker 2:So prepare yourself Right, yes, and then you need to have money saved, or, I'm sorry, a fund separate from your emergency fund, because, guess what, there's this thing called down payment. And if your sellers suck, you gotta do the closing costs too, and then we're not even talking about moving. And then all the unexpected stuff come on censorship with moving so, like you really have to like. Thank you, james, you really. Yeah, it's more than just oh, get a realtor, find a house you like and move it no it's, it's so much more.
Speaker 1:It's so much more. Yeah, it's, it's like a. I mean, it should be. Essentially, you should look at buying a house as like a year-long process, you know, just just just in case you know, because it can definitely stretch out that long.
Speaker 1:But I think the one thing that I do like to talk to people about is the rent versus buy conversation, and I know, like you know any homeowner, you know like a lot of renters they look at their rent and they're like, okay, I'm paying $1,700 a month for a one two-bedroom apartment, but like, a mortgage would cost me $1,400 a month, or even similar. It will be $1,700, let's say. And people see that as like a binary thing. They're like, oh well, I'm throwing money away quote unquote by renting versus. Oh, I'm actually making money by buying. But for one, the making money by buying process takes a long time, a lot longer than people realize. So the first few page, the first few payments and this is gets into the amortization thing and all this other stuff but for anyone who is looking to buy a house, like you might have a $1,700 mortgage payment but only $300 or $400 of that is actually going towards the actual debt and that's for years. Yes, that's for years, until you finally it'll kind of start to I don't know, but yeah, it's's.
Speaker 1:And then you have the homeowner's expenses. You know, like um, because usually as soon as you buy in, or as soon as you buy and you walk in the house, you, the keys are yours. Suddenly it's like, oh, I didn't notice that crack was there, or you know, this door is a little shaky. You know, like so. Next thing, you know like you spend, you know all this money at home depot and you know so it's definitely a lot more expensive than people realize when it comes to renting versus buying. And I think there are some people that jump into it a little too quickly and not and not anticipate all the expenses associated with home ownership. So I I just, I just caution that it's not a, it's not a zero sum, it's not a black and white thing where it's like, okay, apples to apples, like okay, seventeen hundred dollars towards rent versus seventeen hundred dollars towards mortgage is just not the same, um, but I don't know any thoughts, jame, I know uh oh, go ahead I sorry.
Speaker 2:I heard an expert say that rent is all you will pay. Mortgage is the least you will pay. And it's so accurate, because they don't tell you about homeowners insurance, gap insurance and what's that third thing? It's something else you got to pay too. Pmi yeah, that so it's. Yeah, because you'll look especially on Instagram. These realtors will put up oh, just such and such down and this could be yours for such and such a month. No, there's so much more. Oh, hoas, oh my God. Like, I hate those yes.
Speaker 1:I hate those.
Speaker 2:Definitely With a passion.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:If you're renting, it doesn't mean so. The argument that I was told like, if you're renting, it doesn't mean so. The argument that I was told, like if you're renting, that's fine, it's the most you're going to pay. Just make sure that you're also investing. Because on the other side of the coin, if you're buying which is great, you know buying your home but then if something happens, you don't have access to any liquid. Oh, let me sell my home, but whatever, not in a seller's market. Or nobody sell my home, but whatever, you're not in a seller's market or nobody wants to buy your home.
Speaker 2:You're up the creek without a paddle. So there's benefits to both, there's cons to both. But to joey's point, it's not as binary or dichotomous, as people have tried to make it.
Speaker 1:It's just whatever works best for you yeah, yeah, I mean, it's really just, you know, it's a long-term, it's a long-term, it's a long-term investment.
Speaker 1:It's not, it's not a short-term thing.
Speaker 1:You know, like you, literally, like most people, I think, I think on average like three to five years before you might potentially make money off of real estate, not to say that there aren't people who make it faster, you know, because some houses, some areas they appreciate more than others. But yeah, yeah, it's just something you got to do your homework on and and, like I said, if you're looking at buying a house, start the process a year out, because you're going to have to get a lot of documents in order, you're going to have to do a lot of due diligence and you have to get I think you have to get actually fully pre-approved for your loan before you actually start looking. That's just me, just yeah, because I think a lot of people they get that that initial pre-approval that says, oh, you can get a three hundred thousand dollar house, and it's like, okay, yes, mathematically the lender will let you get a three hundred thousand dollar house, but you do not have to buy three hundred thousand dollar house you know what I?
Speaker 1:mean. So that's where you know your eyeballs are sometimes too big for your stomach when it comes to buying a home. And then you realize you get the keys and you're like, oh, this is actually not as cheap as I thought it was going to be. So yeah, I don't know. Just something that I wanted to talk about, especially for that age range, because I know some people in their early 20s they're like I got to buy a house, I got to buy a house, like that's like their mission in life.
Speaker 1:Yes, overrated. Okay, go ahead, James. What do you got?
Speaker 3:So I do come from a household where, if you're renting, you're basically throwing your money away, right?
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Also. So what I would say about buying a house is know what you want the house for, right. So I have a little dog. You're going to hear him every so often during this podcast. It would be great if he had a yard, right.
Speaker 3:I was looking for a house not too long ago and there's all these different barriers to entry like you guys have been talking about, but I would not be getting a house right now if it was not for him. He needs to get the energy out, right. You've got to know what you actually want the house for. So if you are a family person right, like you're a mom, you're a dad, you have kids that you need to take care of right. You want that long-term potential that a house brings, go ahead and get the house. If you're going to use that property to maybe put like a small B&B in the back, and maybe you live out of that and you rent out the main house and this is going to be an investment for you or a way for you to make some money, then go ahead and do that, but have a plan for this house and know what you want with it. Don't just do it to check a box and be like I'm living the american dream. You don't have an American nightmare.
Speaker 2:What is the American dream Lies and?
Speaker 3:deception Rooted in capitalism.
Speaker 1:Get a big student loan debt and then struggle. I don't know what the dream is anymore to be honest. That's a whole other podcast. Right there it's somebody else's dream.
Speaker 3:It's not our dream. Dream is anymore? To be honest, no way. That's a whole other podcast right there. It's somebody else's dream, it's not our dream.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, somebody is making money off of you.
Speaker 3:They're living the American dream. You're not living the American dream. I think more people need to understand that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well said, well said. But yeah, there are a lot of things you know and I think this is where most people when I talk to, who are maybe in their second part of their life or the third part of their life, you know, like when they're, you know older and wiser, and you know they look back on their life. Because the people that I talk to are man, I wish I saved more money. I wish you know, like the people in their 60s and 70s. Oh, buddy, here we go.
Speaker 2:So, if you guys didn't know, two of our clinicians are pet owners. I'm the only one who does not have a pet yet and every now and then they like to make an appearance unscripted on our podcast. But shout out to the Chihuahuas and the Corgis of the world Hopefully a golden doodle will be joining our podcast soon. That's what my wife and I want. But hey, also, don't get a pet if you can't afford it. Pets are not like pets that you know we grew up with, like in the nineties and stuff. I don't understand why we can't write off pets Like the vet. Vet, because I grew up with dogs. I grew up with a poodle, or poodles, as a matter of fact. So like they get like arthritis and stuff, yeah, I take them to the vet. Dog food, doggy daycare if where you're going does not accommodate dogs, it's more than just oh, I want a dog like no baby. That's a bill.
Speaker 1:Get pet insurance too it's also a life, a lifetime, a lifetime of that animal responsibility. You, you have that like that animal's care. You're signing up to be a caregiver for that animal for their all of their life. So a lot of people you know they will gladly pay that money and they love you, like the pets are their family and that's how we are. But like, yeah, I think a lot of people jump into things without truly taking those financial considerations into or financial concerns into consideration. So you bring up a good point that, ok, animals, pets are lovely, there are, you know, our sole animals but they cost money. They cost real money and anyone who's had to go to the vet for an emergency surgery or things like that will know that it can be devastating financially. And then you mentioned pet insurance. That is definitely something that can be helpful for some people and, yeah, you have to budget for it because it's going to happen. James, you had something.
Speaker 3:Learn what you can do at home. Like you might not need to have an emergency stomach surgery. You might just need one part hydrogen peroxide, eight parts water.
Speaker 1:There you go Speaking of the corgi, but yeah, we're. You know, this is live. Oh, yeah, I should mention this is a live broadcast. So I mean, yeah, there are going to be some hiccups. We had some initial technical glitches when we first were testing all this stuff out, technical glitches when we first were we're testing all this stuff out. But, um, but yeah, one thing I did want to, before I forget and I am uh, I do tend to forget things, but we are. We are doing a um at made up memphis. We're doing a um, a fundraiser, and I wanted to go ahead and just um, ah, not you plugging the fundraiser. Yeah, you know, I think it's time, but I just wanted to. Uh, I just wanted to share.
Speaker 2:We didn't tell us you were doing it because oh, you have a presentation.
Speaker 1:Oh, I'm very, I'm very dirty, I'm very I'm very competitive and when they said there was a, there was a contest for this, I I was like, all right, I got this. You guys could have done this. But yeah, ultimately, oh, okay, you can pull up your QR code if you want, but yeah, so basically it's a little contest that we're doing within Made at Memphis and you can basically buy these slice of the price-price cards and it's like $20. It gets you a buy-one-get-one coupon for Domino's and then $10 of that goes to Made Up Memphis for our nonprofit. So if you're feeling froggy, you can.
Speaker 1:I guess, if you're watching this live, I don't know how you would do this, but yeah, this is a QR code. If you guys are interested, we do. It is a competition, a little friendly competition, but yeah, if you're interested, you can hit us up in our different, our perspective socials. If you want to buy from us us, then we get credit for it and then we also, you know, the money goes to main up memphis, so it's a good cause on my live.
Speaker 2:Don't buy from joey because okay really ambushed us. Buy from me. If you're watching this on any other platform, I don't care who you buy from, but if you're watching this on my facebook live, all right.
Speaker 1:Yes, loyalty fair enough, okay, I, I, I respect the the competition aspect of that and I, I, you know, I'm not gonna say anyone who's watching emmanuel's feed, hi, hi, emmanuel's feed. Um, nice to meet you I'm joey, by the way and um, yeah, I mean, if you want to buy from me, that's fine, I would, I would very much appreciate that. But if you wanted to buy with the manual, I can understand that I can understand.
Speaker 2:But, james, I thought you were the sneaky one, but now, now I see all right, all right.
Speaker 1:So, with that being said, I will stop. We'll all stop sharing, but I did also want to highlight something else that is happening at main at memphis, which is, uh, in the fall of 2020, 25 sorry, 25 so we're going to be opening up our, our, the doors to our very first location at 622 minor road in memphis tenn. So we're basically turning the old um Haven um space into our, our future home. So we're going to have, like, an actual place to uh, to have events, and we're going to have, uh, all kinds of cool stuff. So so that's where some of this money is going to go towards, um and yeah, so it was all all going to a very specific cause within made up memphis.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I just wanted to pitch that um, anyone who's watching live, uh now, if you are buying for me, because I have a lot of rich friends, um yeah, go ahead and donate to this. Um, yeah, yeah, donate to this. You do this is.
Speaker 2:This is a 501c3 tax deductible go ahead and make that gift, make that donation, go on the website or you can DM me, text me and I can see the link to contribute. Don't worry about that pizza, that's Joey's stuff. But if you want to contribute to this amazing organization, you should, because, one, I'm a part of it and, two, it's a great vision. So do that.
Speaker 1:Thank you All right. Yeah that's our little. Hey, you know I'm sneaky sometimes.
Speaker 2:I thought there was one op in this group. There's two. That's a me, by the way. There's two. Is it you what? That's a meme, by the way. Thanks too, is it you? Joey? I'm not going to let. I mean, james, I'm not going to let you in this Wendy's head console. You got to worry me today.
Speaker 1:Okay, wendy's head console. Okay, that's going in the show notes. Somehow you got any people watching your stream right now, emmanuel, let's see it's rude streaming, better be.
Speaker 3:I get to call out lurkers.
Speaker 2:I would like a ten piece nugget with honey, mustard, a large fry and a lemonade.
Speaker 3:Got it go get it.
Speaker 2:I was placing my order.
Speaker 1:Okay, go get it okay, it's a few people in here you should find out who's watching, call them out and be like I want you to bad etiquette is it?
Speaker 3:yeah, it's bad streaming etiquette to call your lives oh okay, fair enough I I didn't know that.
Speaker 1:I just thought it'd be fun to be like hey, I see you watching my stream, like you know. Why don't you jump on the the chat and we can? We can, or ask us a question.
Speaker 3:Ask us something that you want to know. Send us questions. You can invite people to participate, but you don't call out your lurkers like hey, we see you. You better participate in the stream.
Speaker 1:Fair enough, I guess that does it I see you in a whole new light.
Speaker 2:I'm genuinely concerned.
Speaker 1:Uh-oh, concerned, that's a.
Speaker 3:No, don't worry about him, Joey. It's just your camera. It's just your camera.
Speaker 1:Oh okay, Fair enough.
Speaker 3:Joey changed cameras for real. I'm concerned.
Speaker 2:Because you're Joey is. This has shown me that Joey will snipe you with a smile, Like he will. You see that he will do it with a smile and those are the ones that. Yeah, I deal with the James all day, but the Joey's of the world, you gotta watch them. You gotta watch them. You have underestimated my sneakiness.
Speaker 3:Let's talk about Paranoia. Don't even try it. Don't even try it. Don't even try it, because now he's coming after both of us, joey. It can't be both of us, that's true.
Speaker 2:Oh, you meant that the villain role has now been split into two.
Speaker 3:I mean, it was never mine to begin with, you were definitely the antagonist.
Speaker 2:Wow, okay, so now I'm in the villain category right, you have been okay and you're like the villain.
Speaker 3:This is a manipulation strategy, isn't it, joey this? Is a manipulation strategy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's like. He's like trying to triangulate us out of the triangle or something I don't know angulate first of all the only person making these personal attacks is you.
Speaker 2:It's always been you.
Speaker 3:The only person making these personal attacks is you. It's always been you. Okay, if you have been watching the show, you're the attacker role, and then you try to get everybody to believe that you're the victim.
Speaker 1:Ooh, this is exactly what triangulation is.
Speaker 3:And every time you go on a talk, I'm going to talk over you about triangulation again, because I'm not going to let you manipulate me.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to let you manipulate me, but I'm not gonna let you manipulate joe either oh man what you gotta say here, manuel.
Speaker 3:Now we're just all sniping each other.
Speaker 2:Now this is crazy okay, let's go there there's something in cinema where our movie buffs here called a plot twist. You know, and sometimes you can have a person in this category based on the experiences that you had with them, but then they suddenly display a new behavior and they become not only a villain in the story but the villain and so you're the victim here, and then the other.
Speaker 3:That's what I'm hearing. You're just upset here again too, that's what I'm hearing. You're just continuing to find him.
Speaker 2:That they're no longer the villain and they're just a villain Whole time. You're just out here trying to get to the end of the story. So when this happens in your life, it's okay, just keep being the protagonist.
Speaker 3:Clinicians in the chat just understand that. Y'all know what triangulation is and y'all just saw him continue to be the victim and he's really the attacker it's like it's like uh, like three.
Speaker 1:Uh, doctor, or was it professor? X's like we're all like like we're, we're all like going at each other like I. I see what you're doing. Oh, I see what you're doing and I'm doing something too, and like yeah, yeah, it's a spider. We're all pointing at each other, like calling each other out for like, oh, I know what you're doing, but it's all in fun.
Speaker 2:We all know I'm fourth walling right now. We know what's really going on, okay all right well, and the the mask is off.
Speaker 1:Now you've found out that I'm actually the supervillain of this story and there's the plot twist. And, actually, speaking of cinema, I did want to talk to you guys a little bit about just some. Well, it's a project that I've been working on. I wanted to kind of like pick you guys' brain as movie lovers. I think I showed you, or I sent you guys, my little GPT thing that I created, right, like my little movie recommendation engine. Well, I've kind of turned it into something else. It's tweaked a little bit now. It's called BlockFlixus. That's where it's like being hosted right now.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, it's like a movie recommendation and movie recommendation engine. But there's a neuro cinematic element to it, which I just learned about neuro cinematics recently, but it's essentially the psychology of cinema. So, as someone who is crazy about movies and who's crazy about psychology, uh, when I heard about neuro neurocinematics, I was I was definitely intrigued, and so, yeah, I've been down this rabbit hole of like the psychology of movies, analyzing movies from a psycho, more psycho analytical perspective, and really like picking apart movies like to to a more granular level from a psychological perspective. So, with that being said, I'm curious is there any movies that are really resonating with you recently that kind of tell a really good story or a really good reflection of mental health or emotions or relationships, anything like that that's been resonating with you guys lately. It can be TV too.
Speaker 3:I'm going to be real with you. I haven't seen anything in years. The last movie that I watched was Everything, everywhere, all at Once, and that one is self explanatory. Yes, absolutely. I'm glad you and that one self-explanatory go nice yes, absolutely.
Speaker 1:I'm glad you said that one, because that's a that's a good one. That's a great one, actually it's a great one.
Speaker 2:Yes, love that movie.
Speaker 2:Oh ew, you made me agree with james um for me attacker so when I used your, when I used yourT, I was intrigued, to say the least. I liked the analysis that it gave back. So apparently my movie genre is called Psycho. Spiritual is what I like. Ooh, I like that and it fits me to a T. Love that for me, because when I gave it my favorite movies like Frankie and Alice gothica not just because holly gary are in them, um, the matrix trilogy and some others, um, it will, oh, doctor, sleep, that's like it may be my favorite movie. It's this theme of, you know, psychology and spirituality which is what I do.
Speaker 2:For those who do not know, I am a pastor, ordained minister for 12 years, praise the lord. So that intersection for me is kind of like my address or one of my addresses. So that was really neat. To um, to, to, just to add language to um. But to answer your question about something that has been resonating with me, uh, there's a show on stars, very popular, called power. This has been out for years but I've been doing a rewatch on it because the protagonist of the show I don't know if I can call him a protagonist, I'll say the main character. The main character of the show is juggling like 50 million things and, if y'all know me, one of my main phrases is I'm doing 50 million things, and it's a hyperbolic analogy. That is still true because I'm literally doing 50 million things at any point in time. So I think what drew me to that show, in this current space that I'm in, is seeing another man BIPOC man handle 50 million things.
Speaker 3:Not that I align with the 50 million things he's doing like infidelity and selling drugs and all this other stuff Murder.
Speaker 2:None of that. But he's kind of in constant transition and balancing the scales between his old life and his new life and there's a lot of reflection in the show and all these parallels. So I just enjoy the writing. It's always going to be the writing for me. I love action, I love whoever may be starring in the movie, but it's always going to come down to the pen. And a lot of these shows the storytelling and the plot points are really dynamic and rich and you can really glean from it and use it in your own reflection. So, yeah, I might watch a little bit tonight. Oh, another movie just came out on streaming. Uh, the what's the final destination. So I'm gonna watch that because you know stupid. And then I'm going to watch the new Wakanda series because Black Panther is also one of my favorite movies that's one of the reasons.
Speaker 2:Your GPT said I like spiritualism, so they just came out with a new series. I will most likely binge that this weekend.
Speaker 1:So there's that nice, yeah, I love, I love that. And then, um, you know, I think what what you mentioned earlier you said you're doing a re-watch, and this is something that I've been doing honestly recently is my wife and I will, will, will have, like we have a digital movie collection and we're also building our, our, if you want to call it analog, but like the dvds and blu-rays we're we're kind of starting to build up a physical medium, uh, collection again and, um, yeah, like we just like to watch movies that we've seen before, but then each time you watch it especially if it's been 5, 10, 20 years you're literally a different person watching the same movie. So your lens has shifted or sometimes changed completely. So a movie that was your favorite when you were a kid and you watched it again, you're like, wow, there's a lot going on in this that I didn't pick up on when I was a kid, because you're looking at it from a kid lens or or a young adult lens and then when you're watching a movie again as an adult, it's like a completely different experience sometimes. So I've been really enjoying, like going back and doing rewatches and, you know, really digging apart some of the, the nuances of some of the movies that, and sometimes, looking at them from a critical eye, you know, because there's some movies that don't age well, you know, like just genuinely don't age well, yeah, and there's some that are just, they stand the test of time.
Speaker 1:So, um, yeah, so we've been watching severance lately, uh, season two, and uh, yeah, it's, it's a, it's a mind bender for sure. I love it. Um, just already, obviously it's season two, but yeah, I didn't watch, um, I didn't get caught up until recently. So we're getting, we're like halfway through severance season two and uh, yeah, I like, I like head scratchers, I like things that make you think and you know, it's almost like a puzzle where you're like, okay, now this person is this and then this person is this. So, yeah, I just, I love those kinds of like mental mysteries and things like that, but, yeah, so, we're watching.
Speaker 2:Sorry, but that made me think of the concept of neural nostalgia. Have y'all heard of that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 2:Yeah it's, it's the concept that people and embrace for me familiarity because it's comforting so like you have to watch the same show every night.
Speaker 2:Um, you have to watch your, your comfort movie. Like that's kind of where that language came from Comfort movie, comfort show, whatever Because when you were introduced to this it brought happiness to you. So now when you want that feeling, you go to what's attached to it. So when you watch this show 12 years ago, you're really happy. So now when I want to feel that or I've integrated into my you know routine, I watch this and they call it neural nostalgia. Have y'all heard of that concept or anything similar?
Speaker 1:I haven't heard of it, but now that you put a word to it, like I, I get it, like I know exactly what you're saying and I think that's. I think there's a kind of a push for that or like a resurgence in nostalgia, especially like I don't know people in our generation, my generation, you know, elder millennials, I think, at least for me. I'm personally going into very much a nostalgic mindset where I'm just like oh man, you remember the days when we had like and Josh Johnson has been really helpful in like, remembering some of these really fun memories of like do y'all remember when we used to have to pay for text messages? You know, like used to have like a 200 message limit, and then it's like you're paying and people are like what do you mean? Pay for text messages, but no, like you had to pay for text messages.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And that was. And then, like I remember, unlimited texting came out and everyone was like oh my God, I can text whoever I want.
Speaker 2:And it was just yeah.
Speaker 1:So now it's like you don't even think about texting as being limited anymore, right, right.
Speaker 2:And calling people after nine because the minutes are free after nine.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And I even and I'm not an elder millennial, um, I'm what I would call a prime millennial, no shade but like I remember. I remember james. We're the same age. Oh, that was you that said get out my bad. I'm so used from the villain energy coming from james. It's so different coming from you, joey. But I remember waiting for the internet. The internet wasn't so accessible, it was like an event. The phone has to be off. You have to listen to this Like to dial up.
Speaker 1:You know, hit the same dial up.
Speaker 2:That was a thing. I remember, the introduction of chat rooms and now we have, like you know, dating and other apps on our phone, like it's just yeah, it's in your hand. So it's such an interesting concept, you know, to see the things, and I think this is why people are obsessed with the millennial generation, because we experienced it all yes, we were the sandwich generation yeah, I, I've heard some of us in.
Speaker 2:My favorite term is the bridge generation because, like, we really do bridge it, like we weren't born into technology but we weren't all the way born, like so far from it or removed from it so yeah, yeah, really interesting and things are changing so quickly too.
Speaker 1:I think that's where a lot of people are like just you know, they're just behind the curve and the curve is is so it's like that exponential growth curve is so extreme that people are like wait, we're doing this. Now we're signing, like have you guys heard of? Like AI artists are being signed by major record labels Foolishness and AI models. I'm not with that. Yeah, like that's the thing now. Like this generation is going to have to deal with AI artists, like that's just the new thing there's no such thing.
Speaker 3:No, it's thing, it is a thing.
Speaker 1:They're basically almost like sentient AI.
Speaker 3:I get what you're saying. They are labeling these AI as such, but there's no such thing as an AI artist, because art is a direct reflection of a person's experience and their concept of that experience, especially when we dig down to the expression of that experience. Ai can't do that. It can just string stuff together. It can cobble things together. It can create a mosaic out of things that already exist, but you can't ask an ai what loss is like and have it give you something that is deep and meaningful.
Speaker 3:It might be something that resonates with somebody, because it's taking things that already resonate from somebody, that were meaningful when the original author wrote it, but it's not going to give you anything new or novel or innovative, and then we're going to see a bottleneck effect everybody's going to be bored, and that's really a great way to just cut the arts out of school funding which they're already trying to do anyway.
Speaker 1:So yeah well, I think there's going to be a resurgence and interest, and there already is a little bit of like analog stuff. You know, like records like lps are coming back in style, like, actually, in memphis I saw a news article recently that, um, that the memphis record pressing company I forget what they're called, but they just they were just awarded like a 2.5 million dollar upgrade award or something like that, so they're expanding record pressings, you know. So I mean the fact that, like in our in 2025, people are buying records more and more. I think that says something that people are like, you know, like the digital perfect.
Speaker 1:Um, you know, audio is great for you know a little. You know it's great, but, like, for anyone that's listened to lps and vinyl, there's something very different about it. That's just, it's hard to to describe. But I think there's going to be a resurgence and interest in, like, the old school way of doing things and in response to the backlash of like too much ai slop, you know too much ai stuff. So I think there might be a more of a resurgence of like actual, like live concerts or or, you know, live performances, things like that. So I'm I'm looking forward to that um, but yeah, the ai artists. It's, it's here. I mean we're gonna have to deal with it, but I don't subscribe no, yeah, I don't, I don't subscribe, but I actually did listen to.
Speaker 1:There was some trending like kind of like a rock band that was all ai generated and it sounded like it was yeah, it was manufactured by, like it was like creating clear water, revival meets leonard skinner meets, like some you know, like modern rock band, and it didn't sound horrible, but it was. It was definitely formulaic, you know. So I I get what, james. What you're saying is that, like it's not art, it's definitely not art, but like for someone who literally doesn't know that that's an ai artist or that's AI generated, they might not realize.
Speaker 3:I got a message for them. I got a message for those people specifically Do better.
Speaker 1:Do better. All right, I'm going to try that myself when I get off, I'm going to do better. So when you say better, what does what does better mean?
Speaker 3:better means actually care about the media that you're ingesting. This has been something that we've been telling kids, at least since I've been in the world is pay attention to the media that you're consuming this goes beyond just the lyrics. But who's the label? Who's the artist? What kind of stuff are they getting into? Is this somebody that you would want to be associated with if you got the chance to meet them?
Speaker 3:if this is an ai right. Who's in control of this ai? What's their game? What's their motive? And are they just creating things to keep you occupied? Or is the content that they're coming up with using this tool meaningful in some way? And if it's meaningful, what meaning are you getting out of it? Because why are you not doing better if you're getting meaning out of AI slop?
Speaker 1:Okay. I mean that's yeah, I mean, those are great questions and it's something that I think we're just going to. We're going to have to be talking about and thinking about, you know, in the next, in the next few decades. Essentially, it's like what is? What is what I mean? Ai is not going anywhere. I mean, you know, if we get into Suho, go ahead.
Speaker 2:Go ahead, Joey.
Speaker 1:Oh, I was going to say if we get into like artificial super intelligence or AGI and all this other stuff, like we don't even know what that's going to look like, you know. But, um, but I hear, I hear what james is saying like we need to be more discerning with the content that we uh consume. But what I was saying is that, like for someone who doesn't know any better, they're probably going to say, oh, that sounds actually decent, you know. And then, and then you're going to have to explain oh, that sounds actually decent, you know. And then and then you're gonna have to explain oh, that's actually not a real human being and all this, you know it's. It's just gonna get crazy. It already is. But I just saw that in the news and I was just like wow, an ai artist was signed to a record label.
Speaker 2:That's all right and it's it's all for money and because you don't have to ensure an ai, you don't have to provide benefits for ai. And I want to be very clear I don't have to insure an AI, you don't have to provide benefits for AI. And I want to be very clear, and I don't think you guys are doing this either. I'm not demonizing AI. I feel like it has its ways. Like, as an assistant James is, I am, yes, okay, of course, but like again, I say this all the time we want to play with artificial intelligence and we haven't mastered organic intelligence. My concern is for Gen Beta, because, just like Gen Z was born with social media, gen Beta is now born with AI accessible to them. So I think it'll be up to us millennials, ironically, to help navigate them through responsible AI usage. And I just think to me it should just be an assistant, like similar to the program called Pilot, not endorsing them or whatever, but like that's it.
Speaker 2:It's the generative stuff that concerns me um that's when uh james other people coming to get you, okay, sorry, yeah, that's that's when I start getting. Concerned is with the generative stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I mean these are the things that we're talking about, um, yeah, so I would be curious to hear, uh, some comments from you. Know the audience, if you're watching live, what are your thoughts? Um, and you know, if you're watching after the fact? Uh, yeah, shoot us, shoot us your thoughts. Um, this is going to be on the different multiple platforms, but we're eventually going to have like a youtube youtube channel and yeah, we're just, uh, we're just going to put it out there. But, um, wow, it's already been an hour and five minutes. Gentlemen, like we've we time flies when you're uh, when you're doing mood duding stuff, when the villains come together yeah, that's um duding stuff.
Speaker 1:When the villains come together. Yeah, that's um. You know what's. What's funny, james? Is what if the irony of all ironies was that Emmanuel is actually the supervillain and he's trying to project? I've been saying that.
Speaker 2:Of course the villains are going to say the hero is the villain. Oh okay, what is that?
Speaker 1:I'm just saying it would be interesting.
Speaker 3:You've come for Joey. You've been coming for me for a while now. I just think that it can't be everybody Emmanuel.
Speaker 2:Well, let's ask the audience who they think the villain is.
Speaker 3:Two of us have not been going out of our way to offend you, and one of us has been going out of their way to come after the other two, so it can't be everybody.
Speaker 2:On the next episode. I would love for you guys to tell us who you think the villain is Objectively. Please comment. Tell us who you think the villain is objectively. Please comment. Wherever platform you're watching or listening to this podcast, who do you think is the villain?
Speaker 1:or villains. Well, and, and, just to clarify, I was.
Speaker 2:I was upgraded to villain status.
Speaker 3:I was nothing I made up, I made villain status for promoting a non-profit fundraiser, like what right, you see how he's trying to spin that audience evil I literally I'm trying to promote a fundraiser also I would like to point out too that back when we first started as the mood dudes, emmanuel named joey as a hero, said he was the new captain america. He named me as a hero, said. He said I was Doctor Strange, but he didn't name himself as a hero.
Speaker 1:That was a very interesting point to make here.
Speaker 2:And he's left us funny.
Speaker 1:He doesn't want to admit.
Speaker 3:He called us the ops. Today he's gotta be the villain.
Speaker 1:That's why he didn't want to say his hero, because he doesn't identify with any heroes. So who are you?
Speaker 3:but if you were truly, paying attention that is a villain line that's so cute.
Speaker 2:Now I'm going to destroy you all but those who you know get paid to listen should know that I have mentioned the hero that I most identify with, and it's so sad. And now, you are gaslighting us, so both of us forgot how about you go, run the last two episodes through AI and ask it to identify the superheroes that were identified during the podcast. Oh my god, this paper bag is about to send me up a wall. Oh my bad.
Speaker 3:Don't blame the lady in the background. Don't blame the lady in the background, don't try to distract.
Speaker 1:Bob, I want you to go do your work.
Speaker 2:Both of y'all get paid to listen and both of y'all missed what I said. Are you just?
Speaker 3:gaslighting us. Right now, I feel like you're just gaslighting us.
Speaker 2:Gaslighting.
Speaker 3:How do two people not remember?
Speaker 2:Because both of you are villains. That's why.
Speaker 3:Alright, then refresh. You already said that we're not villains.
Speaker 1:Refresh our horrible memories and just.
Speaker 3:You don't have to play along with this gaslighting joke. Don't do that. I also want to hear his lie, but you don't have to play along with the lie. Okay, alright.
Speaker 1:Tell us for the second or third time who is your hero.
Speaker 2:I have too much sauce to lie. Don't be insulting. What kind of sauce? And this will be the second time and I actually I don't want to play into your self-deprecation and the old woes me. Is it soy?
Speaker 1:sauce.
Speaker 2:And tell you who the hero is. I want you to go and research it, but I'm going to go ahead and tell you how am I going to research it. I don't even know who the hero is you just say that you're out of the hero and then you're like researching. The person I said I'm most aligned with in Marvel is Black Panther, the Black Panther, the Black Panther, because not only is he a hero, he's a king, Exactly All right.
Speaker 1:Okay, I kind of I don't know. I don't remember you specifically saying Black Panther you definitely do Run it through AI.
Speaker 2:Okay, all right Well we'll run the tapes.
Speaker 1:But, yes, okay, so we're clear. Now, black Panther, you definitely do Run it through AI. Okay, all right, well, we'll run the tapes. But, yes, okay, so we're clear. Now Black Panther is the.
Speaker 3:You know, we have transcripts for this already.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm saying, just run the transcript through AI or, you know, Control-F, whatever you want to do. And when I'm right, you owe me lunch. Both of you want to do, and when I'm right you owe me lunch.
Speaker 1:Speaking of lunch, we're going to try to do some live broadcasts when we're out and about, maybe. So we're going to try to find some restaurants that might be willing to host us. So we're going to try to do some cool events.
Speaker 2:We could have a moody mental health night at your restaurant. Wouldn't that be a beautiful promo for your restaurant? I'm looking at you, Overton Square.
Speaker 1:Call out Okay, well we'll put that in the show notes for calming them out.
Speaker 3:When the villain tells the news outlet where they're going to be. Like, I'm going to be over here at 3pm because I really want the heroes to show up, because they're bored and they need something to do.
Speaker 2:I heard half of that, something about bored and show up. But like hey, restaurant owners, just come by our meal and give us a mic and we'll take it from there. We will talk about mental health in your restaurant and attract those who want to have that conversation in a safe space. Just cut my mail, thank you.
Speaker 3:Joey and I will defend Joe.
Speaker 1:I'm curious to see who's going to be coming out to support Emmanuel like his squad, you know. Coming out in person, yeah, I think it would be fun. I honestly do think, like if we had people and we had interactions from live guests, that would be really cool.
Speaker 1:So yeah, if you're yeah, we'll do some outreach. I think Jasmine has already started that process. She's got like a whole template thing that she's going to send out to um to different uh restaurants. So, yeah, we might be able to to do something like that. So looking forward to it, um, but man, time is is uh ticking away. I know um, you know we know James and I both have dogs that probably need some tending to. But I mean, this has been once again. It's scratching my soul in a good way. You know how you get a really good scratch. That just feels really satisfying. That's what it's like talking to you guys. It's kind of a weird analogy, so I apologize as soon as I said that, but anyways, no, I got it.
Speaker 1:I got it the first time, yeah, yeah yeah, but yeah, I think this is probably a good time to maybe say our fond adieu to the audience, to the listeners, future and current listeners. So, current listeners, thank you so much for watching. I really do appreciate it. I know that there's so much content out there these days, so if you actually sat and watched even some of this, I appreciate it. And then anyone who's watching or listening to the podcast, we appreciate it Because, like I said, there's so much content out there. If you watch even a few seconds of us, then I'm happy. All right, guys, we got any last parting thoughts, james, anything from anyone, any points you want to hit on and, uh, reiterate from this episode?
Speaker 3:recognize the signs of triangulation, because it will save you a lot of headaches in your life.
Speaker 3:Not just, not just like what emmanuel is doing on the podcast, but literally go and google triangulation as far as the attacker role, the victim role and the defender role, because it's never, stable and it's always changing and the sooner that you can catch that going on, the sooner you can actually do something about it and stop participating in that cycle, because it just drags conflicts out longer than they have to. Talking about that for real, not about like joking with Emmanuel.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, so you don't take that personally. Yeah, no, that's a good segue, honestly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's literally abuse. Don't be abused. And we are all out of love. That sounded bad in my head.
Speaker 1:Don't be abused. Oh goodness, that's a good line right there for the podcast. Don't be abused. Oh goodness, that's a good line right there for the podcast. Don't be abused. What about you, Emmanuel? You got anything, any nuggets or anything that you want to drive home?
Speaker 2:Yeah, your money is a reflection of your mental health. It can be a reflection of your mental health as a matter of fact. Some mental health diagnoses ask about financial habits and it can be a symptom of like a lot of things Well, several diagnoses actually. And even in the faith realm there's a scripture that says where your heart is, there will your treasure 12 years guys. Where your treasure is, there, will your treasure 12 years guys. Where your treasure is, there, will your heart also be. So basically, that means it doesn't mean you only spend money on things that you like or that you have love for or whatever. It means I can look at your spending pattern and be able to deduce what you find important. So evaluate yourself and what you find important and see how that aligns with your spending and if something needs to change change it.
Speaker 2:Reach out, we have resources. We can help you with that. I do a lot of that work with our younger um gen z kids. Um budgeting is the word we use, um. So yeah, and master it now, because it's a, it's a fundamental component of life, at least in america. So the the sooner you have mastery over it, the less time it will be a master of you.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I like that, that's a good one. And I mean you really, yeah, I'm glad you brought that point home because you know there is a there is that link between finances and mental health. Um, sometimes they they are directly correlated, other times they're like indirectly correlated. But I mean, ultimately, if you're struggling with your finances, it's gonna, it's gonna affect your mental health, you know. So that's just one more reason to, like you said, master your finances and instead of letting that be the master of you.
Speaker 1:So, um, yeah, I mean, that's that's all I really, uh, I don't really have anything profound to say. I just, you know, I just want to say thank you for, you know, for for you guys, for for showing up and being here in this space and you know, just um, trying to spread some good vibes, uh, I would say, please be kind to each other and, um, you know, give give somebody, give somebody a hug, and just, you know, you know we talked about positive male affection. So, let's, let's try to like guys, let's try to to uh tell your, tell your buddies good night.
Speaker 1:You know, tell your buddies good night, um, but yeah, with that being said, good night you kind of just did actually actually, but anyways, so I Appreciate that assistant, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:We're cooking with gas. Now we're cooking with gas, but yeah, so I'm a villain, so that's a new thing. I guess that's my takeaway for the evening is that I'm not just a villain, I am apparently the villain. Good to know, I'm going to take this, I'm going to Lex Luthor this and just go for it. Just be the best supervillain that I can be. Thank you, emmanuel, for being the origin story for my villain arc, so thank you, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2:I wonder if there's a redemption arc anywhere in there.
Speaker 1:Oh man.
Speaker 3:So I go from good to bad and back to good.
Speaker 1:Okay, All right. Well, gentlemen, it's been a pleasure, as always, love sharing the laughs and the insights. If you guys are interested, um, you know we do. We. We do want to have people on the show, you know. So if you're interested in being part of the mood dude um podcast, hit us up. You know we. We would love to to have a discussion with either a fan or a mental health professional or just anyone who wants to be on the show. So we definitely want to have a community behind this podcast. With that being said, appreciate it everybody. Thanks for spending some time with us and we'll catch you on the next episode. Stay moody.