List Rate Rank: Recent Episodes
List Rate Rank
Topics are researched. Experts are consulted. One definitive and indisputable Top 5 list is created.
The truth is no longer "out there," the truth is here. UFO sightings have not only become more culturally accepted, cases of unexplained phenomena have been declassified and confirmed by governments all across the world. Join David and Felicia as they review some of the most compelling cases, and hear the stories of "Walking the Shadowlands" host Marianne Coleman, a spiritual sensitive who has had many experiences with visitors from other worlds and the unseen realms here on this planet.
Once upon a time there was a brave explorer named David Fedor and an inquisitive adventurer named Anne Marie Sweeney who teamed up to seek the five most magical tales in the land. With a task so challenging, they were aided in their quest by revered scribe Libby Ward. Join them on their quest as the valiant trio discover the Top 5 Children's Books.
Libby Ward is an award-winning comedy writer, artist, and games producer. Some of her delightful work can been found on Cartoon Network's "Be Cool, Scooby Doo!," GSN's "Idiot Test," and most recently, the kid's science podcast, "Who Smarted?!"
She's most excited about her newly-released, bilingual children's book, Luchadormice, which focuses on themes of: diversity, cooperation, inclusion and love!
Mankind has its sights set on colonizing the planet Mars. Newly christened branches of the military are racing billionaires with expendable income to become the first to achieve permanent residence on the Red Planet. But the big question remains... what the hell are you supposed to do when you get there?!? Luckily hosts David and Felicia are your trip advisors for your Martian recreation. And with help from guest expert Ricci Bahia, we guarantee you will be satisfied.
Ricci Bahia studied a masters in Geology with Planetary Science at the University of Manchester and went on to get a PhD there, titled "The Evolution of Surface Topography and Environment of Mars from Channel Networks". He is currently working as a researcher for Rolls Royce examining the characteristics of dust in the atmosphere and how they damage jet engines - but - will be returning to Martian research in February, when he will be starting a Research Fellowship working for the European Space Agency.
In our latest episode we recounted some of history's biggest branding blunders. (If you haven't listened yet, check it out here.) From iconic mistakes like New Coke to modern disasters like Pepsi's tone deaf protest ad with Kendall Jenner, we not only rank what went wrong, but with the help of Laura Rees of lrees.com, we looked at WHY they failed.
Check out some links below to some of the ads we talk about in the episode.
Here's the full-length version of the ridiculous Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial. We love the nod by the cop at the end, the power of Pepsi changing his mind.
Here is the kick ass Casa Sanchez logo we mentioned on the episode. Who wouldn't get this as a tattoo for free food for life?!?
Host Felicia Gillespie thought the "I've fallen and I can't get up!" catchphrase for Life Call / Life Alert was an embarrassment that tarnished their brand. What do you think of the cringeworthy commercial?
Dove soap brought up memories of racist soap ads with some of their recent campaigns. WTF were they thinking?
Let us know what you think about some of these campaigns! What others would you include on this list?
Marketing Missteps, Advertising Aberrations, PR Problems, on this episode of List Rate Rank, David and Felicia are talking about some of history's biggest (and sometimes hilarious) branding mistakes that companies have made while trying to advertise and sell their products. Guest expert Laura Rees (www.lrees.com) joins the show to lend her marketing expertise in ranking these Top Branding Mistakes.
Laura Rees helps smart, fun entrepreneurs and business owners build brands that sell so they can stop spending so much time hunting for customers and build a system that brings customers to them. She's supported some of the world’s most recognizable brands, some of the world’s smallest companies, and lots of organizations in between.
It's the stuff of horror movies. You go into the hospital for routine surgery and come out missing an arm! Or with a DIFFERENT FACE?!? Anesthesia fears are often irrational, but that doesn't stop patients from thinking they might wake up in a bathtub and a pain where their kidneys once were. On this episode of List Rate Rank, our hosts David and Felicia draw inspiration from personal experiences to compile a scary collection of fears. They are joined by Dr. Renee Sunday to rank these Top Anesthesia Fears.
Dr. Renee Sunday is known as the Platform Builder. She is an Award-winning Board Certified Anesthesiologist , Media Personality, Publisher, Bestselling Author , Coach , Grief Counselor, Motivational Speaker, and an Anesthesiologist. Dr. Renee Sunday at her core is a humanitarian and has always been deeply inspired by helping others from all walks of life.
David wasn't able to simply pick a Top 5 list for the Fake Bands from TV & Film episode, that would be too easy. No, he had to create a convoluted series of categories and lists to justify his decision making. Check out the episode above.
Countdown television and films finest fictional bands in this episode of List Rate Rank. With incredible imaginary ensembles like Spinal Tap, Blues Brothers and The Wonders, to family friendly fakers like the Monkees, Alvin and the Chipmunks and the Partridge Family, fake bands are sometimes even more beloved than real bands themselves. Which make-believe music group will David and Felicia pick for their Top 5, and will any of them match the list of guest expert Matt Prigge?
Matt Prigge is a film journalist and professor based in Brooklyn. He's the former film editor of the Metro newspaper, and has written for The Village Voice, Vulture, The Guardian, Filmmaker Magazine, Philadelphia Weekly, and Uproxx. He teaches film and television at NYU and at Temple University and he gets along well with cats.
On this past episode of List Rate Rank where we discussed “Top 5 Ways to Overcome Adversity,” my number one ranked selection was to “get over it.” I said to “accept it and move on” was the best way to defeat your obstacles. On the surface, one might interpret that as a simple or even a cold hearted viewpoint. And since I didn’t qualify this opinion during the episode, I wanted to expand on why it was my number one choice.
When faced with one of the biggest challenges of my life, I desperately tried every gimmick to defeat it. It wasn’t until I accepted my circumstances and moved on, that I was actually able to overcome it.
It was 2015. My world was changing and I was stressed. My wife and I had just been blessed with our first son, although it was a bit more life altering than I anticipated. I was having a hard time finding a balance with family and my creative ventures, and work was kicking my ass as I changed careers. Out of nowhere, my hair started falling out in clumps, the hair on my head and some in my beard. I lost pretty much everything on the back of my head from the above my ears down to my neck, and several large circles above my right eye. I had developed alopecia areata.
One of the main problems with alopecia (an auto-immune disease where your immune system attacks and destroys your hair follicles because it thinks they are invading your body) is that it’s still mysterious as to why it happens. It’s not certain if it’s genetic, caused by something environmental, or if it’s contagious. It affects anyone with no discrimination - no matter your race, national origin, ethnic background, age, or gender. Sometimes it’s permanent, but sometimes it can go away.
I was determined to fight, and for over two years I tried everything. I tried creams, oils, shampoos, and pills. (Didn’t work.) I joined FB support groups. (Kept me thinking about it all the time.) I went on weird diets. (Three months of the strict Autoimmune Paleo Diet. Lost tons of weight, grew no hair.) I underwent months of painful and expensive steroid injections. (Worked a little, but any new growth just fell out as soon as I stopped treatment.) I even went for one of those ‘hair restoration’ consultations. (They’re as shady as you’d think, btw. Their hook was if red light didn’t help you regrow hair, they’ll give you a discount on a wig.) NOTHING I tried worked to regrow my hair.
So I grew my beard and the hair that I had really long to hide the spots, which I often colored in with pens and makeup to camouflage. I wore hats. I changed my look so much that people who hadn't seen me in a while didn't recognize me. I tried to play it cool, but, in reality, I was HIDING. It was my secret that only a handful of people knew. I was so self conscious, I stopped performing comedy. It affected my job, since I hated making YouTube videos because of how I looked. We were getting TONS of views (#humblebrag) but people were often mentioning it in the comments section, like ‘what’s up with his hair’ and "you should make an effort to look more professional." I was ALWAYS thinking about it, worried about it. It consumed me and gave me the worst anxiety I’ve ever dealt with in my life.
Things didn’t change until I said, I’m tired of hiding. I’m over it. I left the long hair on the top as a kick-ass man bun and shaved the sides of my head. I didn't care anymore if people saw my spots, although I did try to minimize them. I got scalp micropigmentation to help blend, tattoos that at least made my super smooth skin look like it had stubble, like at least I made the decision to shave my head. I accepted the fact that I'd probably lose it all, and I was ok with it. And you know what? People made more jokes about my new man bun than they did for the spots. In fact, I don’t know if people even saw the spots. Pretty soon I stopped seeing them myself.
And then, within a couple months I really stopped seeing them because they weren’t there anymore. I wasn’t using any of the gimmicks anymore. None of the creams or shots or pills. I left the support groups on FB to stop constantly seeing the pictures of my fear. My hair just grew back when I stopped stressing about it, when I accepted it, got over it, moved on. I wore the man bun for a few years as a safety net in case the spots came back. I wanted to hold on to the long hair just in case I needed to hide again. I cut it only a few months ago, shortly after my second son was born, knowing that even if the spots returned I was confident enough to handle a second bout with alopecia.
DISCLAIMER: Every experience with alopecia is unique, which is what makes it even more frustrating and difficult to deal with. No two people have the same symptoms or react the same to treatment. One type was like mine, alopecia areata, where bald spots develop in your hair. Alopecia totalis is where men or women completely lose all the hair on their head, completely smooth bald. Then there is alopecia universalis, which is where someone loses all the hair on their entire body, eyebrows, eyelashes, body hair. Sometimes people have alopecia from birth, sometimes people develop it. Sometimes the hair grows back, oftentimes it is gone forever.
I was one of the lucky few who recovered. But I came out of the experience a better version of myself. It sounds cheesy, but I grew as a person and learned lessons about humility and vanity, empathy to others, what’s important in life, blah blah blah. Do I ever want to go through something like that again? Hell no. But am I stronger than ever for overcoming that adversity? Hell yes.
And that’s My Alopecia Story.
Life is hard. This year has been even more difficult for millions of people around the world. Yet daily we find ourselves defeating challenges, big and small. On this episode of List Rate Rank, David Fedor and Felicia Gillespie search for strength and motivation as they compile the Top 5 Ways to Overcome Adversity. They are joined by guest expert "The Quadfather" Brian Swift.
Brian P Swift is a success coach, author and motivational speaker who has faced tremendous obstacles and thrived all the way through them. He believes that everyone is capable of success, and that’s why he has spent over 30 years developing hundreds of successful leaders. His latest book, “The Quadfather” explores the various mental and behavioral practices for building the grit and character needed to achieve the unthinkable. Learn more at https://brianpswift.com
Hear author Sibbie O'Sullivan read an excerpt from her book, My Private Lennon: Explorations from a Fan Who Never Screamed. And, of course, listen to the Shocking Beatles Facts episode if you haven't already. Visit the book's webpage, or buy it from Amazon.
"My Private Lennon: Explorations from a Fan Who Never Screamed offers a new point of view from which to consider the Beatles’ impact on society and on the individual. In a series of linked autobiographical essays that explore the musical, cultural, and personal aspects of intense music fandom, Sibbie O’Sullivan dismantles the grand narrative of the fifteen-year-old hysterical female Beatles fan and replaces it with an introspective and often humorous tale about how the band shaped her intellectual and artistic development.
My Private Lennon charts the author’s realization that the Beatles, especially John Lennon, were a crucial force in her development. A radical departure from other books written by Beatles fans, My Private Lennon invites its readers to consider subjects not usually found in works about Lennon and the band, such as the constraints of memory, the male body, grief, the female breast, race, cultural issues, and the importance of privacy in our over-mediated world. In pieces that engage cultural issues and historical contexts, My Private Lennon creates a witty and provocative intimacy with readers who value the power of art to change one’s life and who love John Lennon and the Beatles."
Despite their initial squeaky clean image, the "Fab Four" of John, Paul, George and Ringo evolved to be some of the most complex celebrities of their time. Our hosts David Fedor and Felicia Gillespie scour the history books for scandalous facts about The Beatles in our Top 5 Shocking Beatles Facts episode. Which ones are so shocking they even surprise our guest expert, author Sibbie O'Sullivan?
Sibbie O’Sullivan is retired Senior Lecturer in the Honors College at the University of Maryland. She is a book reviewer for the Washington Post, specializing in music, culture, and the arts.
Her book, My Private Lennon: Explorations from a Fan Who Never Screamed is a series of linked autobiographical essays that explore the musical, cultural, and personal aspects of intense music fandom, and offers a new point of view from which to consider the Beatles’ impact on society and on the individual.
At List Rate Rank, we want to be as interactive with you as possible. We'll have a constant stream of episodes, blogs and additional material here at ListRateRank.com, but we'll also have exclusive content available across our social media pages that you won't want to miss!
Join our Facebook Group List Rate Rank - Community Page to participate in polls, share stories, and get behind-the-scenes extras.
Follow us @ListRateRank on Twitter to interact with us in Q&A sessions, help us to pick episode topics, and be the first to see updates on episodes and blogs.
We're on Instagram at @ListRateRank where you can see fun photos and videos pertaining to our episodes.
You can find List Rate Rank on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify, but you could also listen to full-length episodes on our YouTube channel. In time, we will also be adding exclusive video content there as well, so be sure to subscribe today!
On today's episode, hosts David Fedor and Felicia Gillespie share tales of personal experience while they compile lists of the Top 5 Ways to Quit Your Job. Who has the juiciest job quitting story? Which will make the Top 5? And most importantly, will any of them be recommended by our expert?
Our guest expert Lydia Lee is the Work Reinvention Coach and Small Business Strategist at Screw The Cubicle. Since 2013, she's helped hundreds of people transition out of the golden corporate handcuffs, develop successful self-employment strategies, and create an impact in the work they want to do.
Her mission has been to support new entrepreneurs and changemakers to find the direction, pathway, courage, and clarity to make their business a 100% expression of their gifts, values, and personality.
For those who listened to our Top 5 Hauntings episode this week, our guest expert Kristy Sumner of Soul Sisters Paranormal shared her list of extremely haunted locations. In case you are interested in further information on those places, please see the links below for their full stories and tour information.
Before that, though, I want to share a video from Soul Sisters Paranormal's YouTube channel chronicling their Top 10 Ghost Encounters as a team. It features unexplained EVPs, shadows, and spirit box activity from places talked about on our podcast, like the Ma Barker House, the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, and the Gilcrest County Jail.
And, as promised, here are the links to some of the most haunted places in the world:
- Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum: http://trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com/
-
Queen Mary: https://www.queenmary.com/
-
Villisca Ax Murder House: https://www.villiscaiowa.com/
-
Lizzie Borden House: https://lizzie-borden.com/
-
Leap Castle (Ireland): http://leapcastle.net/
Our new season kicks off with paranormal stories from hosts David Fedor and Felicia Gillespie as they attempt to rank the world's greatest hauntings. They are joined by guest expert Kristy Sumner, founder and lead investigator of Soul Sisters Paranormal.
We stumbled upon an interesting question in our latest episode, Top 5 Earworm Songs.
In Rebecca Black's "Friday," the singer celebrates the fact that it is indeed Friday, the start of the weekend. "Gotta get down on Friday," she sings. "Partyin' partyin' (Yeah!) Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun."
Similarly, Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" focuses on a party on a Friday evening. "Last Friday night, yeah we danced on tabletops. And we took too many shots," she admits.
So...
Did Rebecca Black and Katy Perry go to the same Friday night party?
Interestingly, both songs immediately reference waking up in the morning in the first line of lyrics. In "Friday," Rebecca Black wakes up early, 7 AM, and grabs a bowl of cereal before heading out to her bus stop. Whereas Katy Perry, in "Last Friday Night," wakes up confused and hungover. There's a stranger in her bed, her room is trashed with glitter and booze.
Katy Perry recovers to do an excellent job of remembering the events of the evening. Maxing out credit cards, getting kicked out of bars, streaking in the park, skinny dipping in the dark. It's all there.
Unfortunately, Rebecca Black is less specific. Besides deciding whether to sit in the front seat or the back seat, Rebecca Black spends most of her time reading a calendar. "Yesterday was Thursday. Today is Friday," she informs. "Tomorrow is Saturday and Sunday comes afterwards."
Rebecca Black never outlines her intentions for the weekend, she doesn't specify what kind of party she's attending. We know she wakes up early for school, eats cereal, is nervous to pick who to sit next to in a car. At the risk of being judgmental, is she even capable of, or old enough to do, half the things that Katy Perry sings about in "Last Friday Night" anyway?
Rebecca Black was born in June of 1997. That would have made her 13 years old when her hit song "Friday" came out in early 2011. Katy Perry was born in October of 1984 and was therefore 26 in 2010 when her hit "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" was released on her album Teenage Dream.
That's a noticeable age gap.
Let's assume Rebecca Black hangs out with an older crowd. She hops into her friends' car after all, so some of her friends have to be at least 16 years old to drive. And some of those kids might be hanging out with 18-year-olds.
But it's doubtful a 26-year-old is going to be hanging out with a group of 18-year-olds, probably not 16-year-olds, and definitely not 13-year-olds literally half their age.
We might be able to assume that Katy Perry was playing some sort of character in these songs, however. The album is called Teenage Dream, after all, not Late-Twenties Dream.
So if we were to ignore the age difference, where would Rebecca Black and Katy Perry party on a Friday night?
At the time of the videos, Rebecca Black and her family lived in Irvine, California. Katy Perry was born about two hours north in Santa Barbara, California but she moved to Los Angeles in the early '00s to further her music career. The music company that made Rebecca Black's "Friday" is, indeed, based in LA.
With everyone involved in these scenarios based within the same geographical location, you'd think it is quite feasible the two could have met up at the same party. But, according to the 2010 Census, the Los Angeles metropolitan area had a population of more than 12.8 million residents, and the region over 18.1 million. The chances of them both being at the same party is staggeringly low.
So, taking all these facts in consideration, did Rebecca Black and Katy Perry go to the same Friday night party?
The Verdict Is In...
While most signs point to Rebecca Black and Katy Perry NOT going to the same Friday night party, they actually did!
I should have watched the video for Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) before doing all this research and discovered that yes, it is the same party.
Not only is Rebecca Black prominently featured in the entire video, she is explicitly named at the end by Katy Perry's character and her "parents" Corey Feldman and Debbie Gibson.
"I didn't do it, it was Rebecca!" cries Perry. "She had a party."
"No, Rebecca Black is a nice girl," corrects Feldman. "I don't think she would have started this, honey," adds Gibson.
But they're wrong, Rebecca Black was there. She's even named in the credits as "Rebecca Black as Herself." It was actually her. It was the same party. Confirmed.
Check out the fun video for yourself:
Music video by Katy Perry performing Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F). (C) 2011 Capitol Records, LLC
Those songs that get stuck in your head, we all know them. We hate them because they're annoying, but they're also so infectiously awesome. Sometimes we wake up and they're there, already running through your head. You'll absent-mindedly be humming a tune, only to realize that you've been at it for hours!
In this episode of List Rate Rank, we'll determine our definitive listing of the Top 5 Earworm Songs, and seek out the expertise of Song Appeal's Hunter Farris to help us explain the science behind why we love the music we love.
Be sure to tune in to our most controversial episode yet!
The following blog article was written by friend of the show Cary Hill as a response to our latest podcast episode, "Top 5 Conspiracy Theories with Expert Brian Dunning." Cary is the writer and director of Scream Park, and is currently in pre-production of his latest film, a sci-fi thriller, "Night Sky." What To Do With The Facts?
Written by Cary Hill Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory. Why shouldn’t they, after all they make for good entertainment. That’s probably the reason you turned in to the latest podcast by List Rate Rank with conspiracy expert Brian Dunning. The time was taken to cavalierly debunk numerous conspiracy theories in the episode, but it lacked in the discussion of why conspiracy theories exist in the first place. One might say conspiracy theories arise out of suspicion, paranoia, or discontent. In this divided time in our nation, a Democrat will tell you the Republicans are scheming behind sealed doors and vice versa. Invisible adversaries are hard at work to get you to look the other way or buy their choice of breakfast cereal. The truth is, conspiracy theories are born out of combination of two elements. The first is vacuum of information or knowledge. This is why so many conspiracy theories originate from government action -- redacted documents, top secret clearances, and suspiciously classified information (Lee Harvey Oswald’s still-classified 1962 tax return, for example) all lead to an absence of public knowledge about an event. Speculation naturally fills this void. The other element, and to which this blog is dedicated, is evidence-to-the-contrary. Orphaned bits of fact that run counter to official narratives that cannot be explained by the official narrative but must be addressed somehow. These bits of fact act as seeds in the fertile bed of information vacuum, and conspiracy theory sprouts forth. The fewer the facts associated with a conspiracy theory, the easier it is to disprove or, at least, poke holes in. The ‘Flat Earth’ conspiracy was discussed in the podcast, a theory that seems to be absent much evidence. Admittedly, I struggle to even comprehend this one. Aristotle made the first arguments against a flat earth in the 4th century B.C. by noting that the hulls of ships disappeared first when sailing over the horizon, that Earth cast a round shadow on the moon during a lunar eclipse, and that different constellations are visible at different latitudes. Guest Brian Dunning’s top four pick Amelia Earhart is another example of a conspiracy theory that lacks evidence-to-the-contrary, so it’s easy to poke holes or spot flaws. As pointed out in List Rate Rank’s conspiracy theory episode, the Moon Landing Hoax is just that. However, NASA hasn’t done itself any favors by erasing the original moon landing tapes. They also have Buzz Aldrin to contend with. The elderly astronaut was recorded saying “we didn’t go there” in regards to a little girl’s question about landing on the moon. (In defense of poor Colonel Adrin, I think he meant we didn’t go back after Apollo 17 but you decide) So, yes, many conspiracy theories can be debunked. But what of the ones that hold up to stronger scrutiny? That contain conflicting facts that can’t be ignored? Admittedly, I winced when hearing Brian Dunning refer to the assassination of Kennedy as having “nothing interesting to say about it” and “there’s no true science.” Indeed, Dunning claims “all evidence shows” that “one guy acted alone.” The evidence, as such, confirming Oswald acted alone presents the following scenario: A former Marine known for being a poor shot fired three shots from a bolt-action rifle in 8.3 seconds (with the scope mounted for a left-handed person, Oswald was right-handed) six stories up, through a tree, at a moving target that was driving away from him. The first shot - which presumably Oswald had the most time to aim - missed completely and struck the curb, injuring bystander James Tague in the cheek. The second shot accounted for seven different wounds between Kennedy and Governor Connolly (and stopped in mid-air before turning direction) before the third shot struck Kennedy in the head. As it stands, you cannot make the claim that “one guy did it” without accepting the magic bullet theory and what Oswald did that day has been impossible to reproduce. Oswald’s M.O. never checked out either: Why would a self-proclaimed Communist sympathizer want to assassinate a president known for being “soft on Communism”? FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had that tree cut down by the way, as it (literally) got in the way of the official story. Bullets defying the laws of physics? Nitrate tests that showed that Oswald had never fired a rifle on the day of the assassination? No fingerprints found by the FBI on the assassination rifle? I have to refute Dunning’s claim that there’s “nothing interesting to say about it.” On the contrary, it’s kept researchers and prominent professionals working hard for 55 years. I think men like Dr. Cyril Wecht, Lawyer Mark Lane, Air Force Colonel Fletcher Prouty, Hollywood director Oliver Stone (who’s 1991 film JFK would lead Congress to pass the JKF Records Act, which led to the recent 2017 declassification of thousands of government documents) and my own father (a JFK researcher for 50 plus years) would take offense to the claim “there’s no true science.” Back to the point, these facts can’t be ignored. You cannot pick and choose which facts to use to support the claim of an official story (“Oswald acted alone” or “terrorists brought down the Twin Towers”) and disregard the facts that create doubt or question the same story. Another perfect example of inconvenient facts meeting a vacuum of information was Joe’s top conspiracy theory of Hitler surviving the war. The Red Army reached the fuhrerbunker before the western Allies, and quickly blanketed the fate of Hitler in secrecy. The Soviets would actually create a campaign of disinformation about Hitler’s death, spreading the claim that Hitler had escaped. Stalin himself would declare to President Harry Truman at the Potsdam Conference that Hitler was alive -- likely the origin of the ‘Hitler escaped’ conspiracy theory. British agent Hugh Trevor-Roper would ultimately be tasked to investigate what really happened. Trevor-Roper interviewed survivors of the bunker and concluded that Hitler and Eva Braun indeed committed suicide on April 30, 1945. The Soviets later claimed they had skull and jaw fragments (found at the bunker) belonging to Hitler -- in 2007 an archaeologist and bone specialist named Nick Bellantoni from the University of Connecticut tested the skull fragment...it was found to belong to a woman under 40 years of age. American intelligence agencies also continued their hunt for Hitler during the cold war, as recently declassified FBI documents show, and CIA memo HVCA-2592 records a confidential source claimed in 1955 that Hitler was still alive, and even contains a photo! Adding to the speculation are mockups done by an American artist on orders from the OSS in the event Hitler tried to escape Germany after D-Day. This information is not to perpetuate a conspiracy theory, but to give an example as to the why behind them and their longevity. The vacuum of information (in the case of Hitler, thanks to Soviet disinformation campaigns and secrecy) led to speculation and theory designed to explain these orphaned facts. This informational void is also responsible for conspiracy theories related to the Illuminati (as David mentioned in his list) and other secret societies (Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Knights Templar, Knights of Malta, Bilderbergers, Club of Rome). These exclusive clubs are often tied with mysticism and eccentricity (Google ‘Rothschild Party Invitation’ for further illustration) and are shrouded with mystery. When you combine this with the fact that prominent politicians and bankers are members...well then, they must be up to something. So what to do with these facts? If debunking fifty conspiracies can be done all in one book by Brian Dunning, are these troublesome ‘inconvenient truths’ just discarded or swatted away? I think our current zeitgeist is only going to breed more conspiracy theories. Claims of fake news immediately cull the idea of a conspiracy to mislead the public or spread untruths. Now information gets lost in the shuffle and a void forms -- ripe for a new conspiracy theory to grow. I have to point out it was (again) the Central Intelligence Agency that institutionalized the phrase ‘conspiracy theory.’ It was born out of the growing rejection of the Warren Commission’s finding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Anyone who disagreed with the official report would be chastised and ridiculed. CIA document 1035-960 lays out countermeasures to critics and ‘conspiracy theorists.’ Some facts can be explained away, some facts debunkers need to explain away. But there are some facts that can’t be just ignored. In the end, it’s really just entertainment; the job of guessing and reverse-engineering mysteries is all great exercises in thought (and fodder for endless History Channel specials and Hollywood movies). Remember, the truth is out there. Big thanks to David Fedor and List Rate Rank. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t include my own top 5 (for various reasons) conspiracy theories: 5. Howard Hughes 4. RFK Assassination 3. Watergate 2. 9/11 1. JFK Assassination Honorable Mentions: “Bill Hicks is Alex Jones”; Roswell; the Kursk submarine disaster; Denver airport; AIDS was created in a lab
Unexplained lights in the sky... strange noises from the woods... government cover-ups... we all know the stories and legends. Sometimes you hear them around the campfire, or from your grandpa, or falling down a rabbit hole online. The best conspiracy theories capture your imagination and test what you truly believe. Join us today as we determine the Top 5 best conspiracy theories with the help of our guest expert, Skeptoid's Brian Dunning.
ABBA Expert Dave Ranallo and I talked for over two hours, yet the next day he followed up with me to claim we "forgot to talk about the most interesting cameo in the world." Since I didn't want to leave anything important out, and I couldn't figure out what he was referencing, I had to follow up with him. (Note: Spoilers below!)
DAVID FEDOR: Ok, Dave. We talked for over two hours about all-things ABBA, yet you reached out with the revelation that we forgot to talk about some sort of notable cameo in "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again." Can you elaborate?
DAVE RANALLO: Happy to! So it's no secret now that Andy Garcia plays Fernando Cienfuegos and Cher, as Sophie (Amanda Seyfried)'s grandmother, rekindles her romance with him. This all leads to the everyone-is-happy climax with Sophie giving birth with husband Sky, Sam (Pierce Brosnan) the happy step-grandfather, and Rosie (JUlie Walters) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgaard) giving it another go. This leaves out sex-obsessed gold digger Tanya (Christine Baranski) until an unexpected guest arrives at the baby's baptism. The guest? Fernando's brother, played by Jonathan Goldsmith -- better known as "The Most Interesting Man In The World" from the popular Dos Equis ad campaign.
Tanya sees this silver fox, eyes him up, and the hunt is on. Happy endings for everyone, including the ghost of Meryl Streep who duets with her daughter and finally makes the ABBA deep-cut "My Life, My Love" a tearjerker.
So, naturally, the question arises: Does this mean Mamma Mia! takes place in the Most Interesting Universe? Or is the Most Interesting Man in the Mamma Mia-verse?
DF: Haha! YES! I forgot about that. Definitely a fun little addition. We'll have to go back and look to see if Dos Equis is being served at the party.
There's surely a rich history and many characters in the Mama Mia-verse, and I'm sure someone has compiled all the Most-Interesting events referenced in the commercials. We may need to look into this further for more clues! DR: It's the kind of thing that can sometimes ruin a movie -- making a reference to a thing that was at once in the zeitgeist but now is forgotten. Often that can date a film (I think back to the Osbournes cameo in Goldmember). I think it works in Mamma Mia because Goldsmith is a handsome man and the bit works vis-a-vis Tanya. When a future ABBA-adoring young man or woman glimpses this cinematic treasure they'll doubtless have no memory of a 2006-2016 ad campaign for beer. Of course, maybe I'm wrong and TMIMITW will stand the test of time like Calgon or the Energizer Bunny. DF: I can only imagine, in the year 2034, how terrifying a CGI Most Interesting Man would be. Or how awesome it would be? I’m sure CGI tech would be better. They can CGI the whole cast for Mama Mia 17: Yes, I’ve Been Broken Hearted. That is, if CGI Meryl Streep does sequels. DR: I would make it my life's mission to create an animated series of adventures for this cast, both young and old, if I had six months, a typerwriter, and Stephen-King-writing-The-Stand-and-IT-amounts of cocaine. Then you just lock Christine Baranski and Julie Walters in a recording booth and churn out pure gold.
Sadly, the Christine Baranski/Allison Janney road trip movie probably has a better chance of being greenlit. Make it happen, Hollywood. DF: Hear that, powerful Hollywood-types who listen to List Rate Rank?! You bring the money and the coke, we’ll give you gold! Thanks again, Dave, for your time!!
Mamma Mia! is one of the biggest movie musicals of all time, and the sequel currently in theaters, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, is reviving the ABBA fever all over the world. We consulted with lifelong ABBA fanatic Dave Ranallo to determine the Top 5 ABBA songs of all time, and also celebrate this spectacular Swedish sensation.
In our "Top 5 Reasons to Travel" episode, Joe and I made a phone call to our friend Ben to reminisce about our trip to Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Due to time constraints we had to keep our conversation brief, which meant many of the details of this epic weekend were left out of the podcast.
Ben and I touched base a few days ago to fill in some of the blanks, recalling such details as bowling ball ice soccer, encountering our Doppelgängers, and Ben finally seeking medical attention.
David Fedor: I remember we took the trip Friday night right after a Cellar Dwellers show. So it was already close to, if not after midnight when we left. The plan was to drive all through the night in your van.
Ben Palmer: Yes. We drove through the night from Beaver County to Windsor. Joe opted to drive the whole way there so he didn't have to drive home.
DF: I know I tried staying awake, but even the chocolate-covered coffee beans didn't do the trick. I woke up just as we were entering an industrial section of Detroit. I opened my eyes and it was smoke and fire everywhere, like a post-apocalyptic hellscape. It was so alarming! I'll never forget it.
Then when we got to the hotel, it was a zoo! Apparently underage Americans from Detroit cross the river to go drinking, and our cheap hotel must have been a popular destination.
BP: As we entered the lobby, the cops were throwing out some kids who were acting like idiots, and we got sort-of lumped into them getting kicked out. After some convincing and smooth talking, we were able to stay and made our way to the front desk. We didn't expect to get to Canada so early, so we asked the hotel if there was a possibility to get a room. They said the earliest they could have one ready for us was 9 A.M. meaning we had about 4 hours to kill. So we did the only sensible thing and walked to the casino.
DF: Naturally. And that's when we came upon the outdoor ice rink with the bowling ball where you broke your elbow!
BP: It was February, so the temperature was a balmy 15 degrees. There were a couple of ice rinks, just sort of oddly placed about the area. No seating or gates, just like, "Hey, here's some ice for you little Canucks to play on!" As we passed one it had a bowling ball just sitting in its center. The three of us shuffled out onto the rink and started passing this bowling-ball back and forth soccer-style. As I was receiving a pass from Dave I lost my footing and slipped. I reached out to catch myself and it was in the process of trying to catch my fall that I broke my elbow. Joe, on his old flip-phone actually once had a picture of me in mid-fall, but alas, that picture is gone. I didn't realize it was broke, I just knew that my elbow was really sore.
DF: Of course, we can't stop to seek medical attention. We have a debaucherous weekend of drinking planned.
BP: The three of us made our way to the casino where we lost some money (Joe probably won... he always did) and left around 7:30 A.M. We spent about an hour sleeping in my van until we could check in at 9:00. We got showers and went to the Walkerville Brewery for a tour. It was a small brewery and I remember they were using whatever returnables they could to bottle their beer, including old Iron City bottles! After starting our day with fresh beer, we headed over to the Canadian Club distillery for a tour and tasting. Our guide was VERY generous in providing us samples.
We took the tour with 3 guys who lived outside Cleveland. We called them our Doppelgängers because each of them had similar traits to one of us. One guy told several stories about his dad (maybe his uncle) introducing him to Canadian Club and he wore a took with the CC logo on the front that belonged to that paternal figure. It was a lively and adventurous tasting, to say the least. My cheeks are bright red, and I can only attribute that to the sheer amount we drank in a short time.
DF: It was crazy meeting up with three other guys from pretty close to Pittsburgh, doing pretty much the same thing that we were doing. Although I don't think any of them had a broken elbow. To think, we're only hours into the first day and you've got to be in so much pain!
BP: We had lunch at a local place and I took a ton of ibuprofen. The three of us slept the afternoon away. That night we hit a local bar, I believe it was recommended to us by our CC tour guide. (That can be the only explanation for what happened next.) As we went in the bar, we again ran into our Doppelgängers from the tour. We had a few rounds of beer and CC and played a bunch of ridiculous 80's music on the jukebox. Then our tour guide walked in: the girl who was giving us the tour of the CC distillery! She had in her possession Canadian Club glasses for all six of us! Rocks glasses that we were supposed to get after taking the tour, but she forgot to give them to us, so she brought them with her to the bar in the hopes that we would be there!!! Talk about service! Yes, it meant that we had to carry these glasses around with us for the rest of the night, but we did it!
DF: I still have mine! It's in my liquor cabinet, I think. The next day we woke up and started drinking again right away. You know the old adages, "When in Rome" and "You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning!" both apply to Canadian weekends.
BP: Sunday there was curling, and I believe that was discussed on the podcast. I remember watching the Pens lose to the Flyers while we ate lunch, and Heath Ledger won an Academy Award for playing the Joker that night (so that puts this event into a proper timeline for you all).
DF: We got into a little bit of trouble that night, too, but nothing that kept us from getting back into the States. It was Monday on our way home that we stopped to get your shot glass.
BP: Even though the Detroit Hard Rock Cafe was right across the river from Windsor, ON, that was hardly my focus for the trip. It truly was an afterthought. Dave; you and I hit the HRC on the way home from Windsor on a Monday Morning. I do remember it being barely after 11:00 am and ordering a shot from the bar. For the bartender it may have seemed weird having someone walk up to the bar and order a shot that early Monday Morning, but for me it was just what I had to do. [Then again, it was Detroit, so that may not have been that weird at all.]
DF: When you got home, even with days of self medicating with beer, whiskey and extra strength ibuprofen, you were still in a lot of pain.
BP: I wasn't about to stop the weekend for something as trivial as pain! I went to the ER Monday night and they wrapped it up. BAD MOVE. When the orthopedic surgeon saw me Tuesday morning, he cursed the ER nurses up and down. As he unwrapped my arm, it was black and blue from wrist to shoulder. The best thing was to keep it loose so it didn't heal incorrectly. So, alcohol aside, I was actually doing the right thing for my arm!
DF: Ben, thanks for allowing us to interview you about our trip, and sorry again for interrupting your tax prep. Hope you got everything filed on time!
###
Why travel? There's so many places to travel to, but what are some of the compelling reasons to get out there and go experience them? In this episode, our hosts are joined by world traveller, "Daddy Blogger" Rick Shetty as they try and determine the Top 5 Reasons to Travel.
Join our hosts David Fedor and Joe Wichryk as they do their best to narrow down the Top 5 Movie Quotes with the help of film expert Matt Prigge. Remember, that in the end "There Can Be Only One."
Our solar system is filled with eight (ok, 9 or more depending on who you ask) exciting and diverse planets. In this episode of List Rate Rank, hosts David Fedor and Joe Wichryk call upon the expertise of Talking Space's Gene Mikulka to rank the Top 5 planets of our solar system.
What is the greatest dinosaur of all time? The T-Rex? Stegosaurus? Triceratops? Our hosts David Fedor and Joe Wichryk debate, discuss and deliberate their choices, and then consult a dinosaur expert to settle things once and for all. Today's guest expert is John Feightner.