Five Dollar Buzz

Mothers of Invention Special Co-Host: Maryann Snow, Special Guests: Lori Miller and Gail Munsch

We here at FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ use the word "mother" a lot - usually in a derogatory context and in conjunction with another celebrated epithet. In this episode, we get our comeuppance and dutifully and respectfully pay heed to the very cradle of our own existence, motherhood itself.

 

And we will not be alone.  Pete opens our show but has to forego the actual interview due to his newfound status of fatherhood. In his stead, we have Pete's sister, Maryann Snow, as George and Roger's co-host.  A mother of three herself, she provides particular insight that would escape the usual Buzzards' grasp.

 

Our two special guests are Lori Miller and Gail Munsch. Lori is a mother of five children (a girl and four boys) and Gail has a pair of twin boys. All of the mothers on the episode discuss the differences in raising babies, the importance of schedules (especially when you have five children or twins), about throwing away the goads of advice you receive as a new parent and what makes it all so damn special in the first place.

 

This is the closest the Buzzards come to their Oprah episode (and that's not being facetious - the Fatherhood episode...well, that was more..."us"). There is real gold here as Gail, Lori and co-host Maryann speak in direct terms on what becoming a mother means as well as the inevitable emotional weight behind it (for good and bad). 

 

So, get your baby swaddled, pop that beer that you've been waiting for all day and take a load off for one very deserved hour while the Buzzards commiserate with you about what you're going through right at this moment.  It's the Motherhood edition of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ.

 

Please subscribe to us on our YouTube Channel and hit like on our audio only versions on Spotify and iTunes. If you have any questions, comments, ideas for guests or episodes, please reach out to us at FIVEDOLLARBUZZ@gmail.com.  We'll get back to you as soon as we get done helping Mommy make another baby.

Tuesday, September 24, 1991: The Day Pop Music Took On a Blowtorch Facelift Special Guest: Kevin Colgan

It's been three entire decades since the celebrated year of 1991 in regards to rock and roll music has passed.  Here in the U.S., it was a hangover of sorts from a ten year stretch of excess and irreverence - symbolized by the financially successful spate of inane and bloated hair metal bands - fondly known as the 1980s.

 

Back in ’91 the world was witnessing the wind down of the Persian Gulf War, enjoying OJ Simpson’s reprisal of the beloved law man Nordberg in the cinematic sequel to THE NAKED GUN alongside Leslie Nielsen, and crawling into the capabilities of Al Gore’s genius invention of the internet.

 

Furthermore, 1991 also saw the release of an exceptionally large quantity of popular music recordings. A few of these very well received recordings include "Use Your Illusion I and II" by Guns N’ Roses, "Out of Time" by R.E.M., "Diamonds and Pearls" by Prince & The New Power Generation, "Death Certificate" by Ice Cube, "Loveless" by My Bloody Valentine, "Achtung Baby" by U2, "Badmotorfinger" by Soundgarden, "Emotions" by Mariah Carey, "Trompe le Monde" by Pixies and Metallica’s self-titled black album, just to name a few.  The impressive list goes on and on. There are many observers and musical academics who consider 1991 just as meaningful as another absurdly historical year - 1967 - with its seminal recordings by The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, The Doors, Pink Floyd and The Velvet Underground.

 

It is truly remarkable that three of 1991’s most enduring recordings were released on the exact same day; Tuesday September 24, 1991.  On this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, each Buzzard examines them in great detail: Roger pays no "Nevermind" by Nirvana, George educates us on "The Low End Theory" by A Tribe Called Quest, and Pete conjures up some "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

 

Featured Buzzard-at-Large Kevin Colgan colors up the commentary by waxing poetic on his nostalgic take of each album.

 

So please, lock the door behind you, adjust the towel, take your seat and politely hit the fan’s setting to "on."  You’re walking in on a purely Gen X session of FDB.

What to Expect When You‘re Expecting - Non Regents Deluxe Dad Edition, Or, Mansplaining Fatherhood

It’s been said a woman becomes a mother the moment she learns she’s pregnant. Rivaled by no system known to MALE, the female reproductive system (complete with a vast array of  inherent natural selective nurture traits triggered upon conception), is an amazing and infinitely fascinating vessel of life creating and life sustaining machinery.  Long the subject of fine art, prose, anthropologic study and scientific inquiry; the process of becoming a mother, or “matrescence,” is a neurobiological experience so profoundly divine, sitting here — attempting description with a pair of male thumbs seems almost akin to taking an Etch a Sketch stab at Picasso’s Guernica.

But if you think defining motherhood is hard…  what of fatherhood?  In contrast to a newborn’s immediate, bodily intimacy with the mother — what can we say about dear old Dad?  I mean what can we really say about a relationship that begins with inevitable distance?  Whereas mothers begin from a position of intimacy and must consciously choose to reject it, fathers begin from a position of distance and must consciously choose to claim their role as father — a non essential one in the Wild Kingdom.  We’re the only male animals arrogant enough to try that.

Eight years ago last week, both George and Nate Buzzard became fathers for the very first time.  In less than a week, Pete Buzzard will do the same.    With a mere combined 16 years to the day in the field of fatherhood, these early inning dads try and break it down for the rookie call up.  Hilarity ensues.  Five Dollar Buzz presents: Episode 208 - What to Expect When You’re Expecting - Non Regents Deluxe Dad Edition - Or, Mansplaining Fatherhood.

The Afghan Epitaph: Three Cups of Kool-Aid with Lauren Kay Johnson, US Air Force

 @LaurenKayJ  was raised in the Seattle area by a mother who was an Operation Desert Storm Veteran. Lauren herself went on to serve as an Air Force public affairs officer and award-winning Department of Defense journalist, deploying to the Republic of Mali and Afghanistan.

 

She joined FDB on the 20 year anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001.  

She reflects on a wide range of topics associated with the terrorist attacks of that perilous day and her involvement in the GWOT that followed.  Lauren speaks on how Sept. 11 played a role in her decision to join the Air Force.  She fondly recalls her mother's influence on her life and the challenges that went along with her mother serving overseas in Iraq back in 1991.  

Listeners will get a lense into what life was like in Afghanistan for some of the locals, the unclear mandates of a long winding military engagement on the other side of the world, and how seemingly small gestures generated large emotional responses from both her colleagues and Afghan children.  Lauren also shares some details of her upcoming book entitled The Fine Art of Camouflage.  

 

FDB would like to thank Lauren and her fellow servicemen and woman for their service.  They would also like to send condolences to anyone who lost a family member on Sept.11, during the GWOT - both on the US side and the innocent  civilian casualties throughout the Middle East...

 

 

n Vino Veritas: The Passion of Clancy: With Special Guests Brian Clancy and Heather Hoislbauer

On this episode the Buzzards get it together with repeat guest Brian Clancy as we do another round of wine tasting, this time it's all things red.  To add some additional flavor we have a great friend of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, Heather Hoislbauer, partake in the episode's festivities. FDB artist Nate Garden joins along 

 

Brian Clancy is an international certified Sommelier.  A real wine badass. Coming from the great state of Hawaii, he regales us with an authoritative sermon on the values of various varietals and their specific ingredients and regions that will blow your mind...if not your eyes, nose and taste buds!  The man has a metaphysical mastery that is beyond informative, it's sublime.

 

Heather Hoislbauer is an amateur appreciator of fine wines who rides shotgun and provides some wise observations herself. She is the Production Supervisor for HBO's hit show "Euphoria."  

 

It's another master class on FDB, as Heather and the Buzzards sit front and center as Clancy puts his knowledge on full display. We get thoroughly toasty as the class progresses as does the wild banter.  We all get sufficiently sloppy the more we get into our cups.

 

Follow along with us as we taste a Burgundy, a Pinot Noir, a Bordeaux, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Port all of them divine and the price is just right. 

 

So get your wine glass, some water and a spittoon and enjoy another expert wine tasting on FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ.

 

And please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel and/or our audio-only versions on iTunes and Spotify. If you have any questions, comments, potential topics or guests please email us at FIVEDOLLARBUZZ@gmail.com. We'll get back to you after we're done nursing one helluva hangover.

Smoke 'Em if Ya Got 'Em: The Business of Weed Special Guests: Sean Stiefel and Brian Jones

The Buzzards go round two on the commodification of marijuana in the United States. Previously we spoke with Patrick Ryder and Brian Jones about the few insurance companies that will cover growers, distributors and sellers on Five Dollar Buzz Episode 10, "Cannabis Cultivation to Corporation" (audio only on Spotify and iTunes). 

 

On this episode, we discuss the world of cannabis hedge funds with the leader of the finance industry Sean Stiefel, the CEO of Navy Capital  (navycapital.com) and returning guest Brian D. Jones, who is the Executive Vice President of QuadScore Insurance Services.

 

Navy Capital was founded in 2016 with Sean becoming its CEO in 2019. Prior to founding Navy Capital, Seanl was a research analyst and trader for Northwoods Capital Management Partners, a TMT-focused global long/short hedge fund. He had previously served as an associate within an equity long/short fund at Millennium Partners, and he began his career as an equities trading analyst for Barclays Capital. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.

 

As mentioned before, Brian D. Jones joined QuadScore Insurance Services as the Executive Vice President in 2021.  He contributes a wealth of diverse insurance industry experience.  His depth of knowledge in handling a broad array of complex operational, regulatory, underwriting, management, and actuarial matters also added value to his previous roles at Hartford Life, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hartford Investment Management Company, and AXA XL, a division of AXA. Most recently, he was on the front lines of the cannabis insurance market from its infancy in 2017 through its maturation.  He developed an underwriting strategy for the cannabis account portfolio and kept his team up to date on changes in the market.  Mr. Jones developed a thorough distribution channel of brokers who work with cannabis clients, and he regularly meets with executive-level stakeholders to design solutions and innovative ways to insure their risks.

 

We are at the forefront of turning marijuana into an industry as respectable  as any produce you'd find in your average grocery store.  It's big business and as more states climb aboard its legalization and these businesses require the fiduciary support that finance strategists and insurance companies provide.

 

So, pack it, light it and take another hit from the bong as FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ keeps relevant with our namesake (probably more like TWENTY DOLLAR GUMMIES in modern times) and goes straight to the lungs of an ever-growing - and reputable - business.

 

The future looks bright but we're only wearing shades so you can't see our red-stained eyes.  We keep a healthy supply of Visine in our war chest (wonder how that business has flourished in recent years).

 

And please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel and/or our audio-only versions on iTunes and Spotify. If you have any questions, comments, potential topics or guests please email us at FIVEDOLLARBUZZ@gmail.com. We'll answer you back shortly after we finish eating that entire dozen of Krispy Kremes we had delivered because we can't really get off the couch

Interview with the Laughing Black Vampire: The Haunting of Steven Van Patten Episode 204

"Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make." - Bram Stoker

 

The Buzzards go goth on this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, as we speak with acclaimed horror author Steven Van Patten and talk about all things vampires, werewolves and the shape of horror to come. 

 

Van Patten is the author of the trilogy Brookwater's Curse - Volume1, Volume 2 and Volume 3: Extinction Agenda -  about a former Georgian plantation slave named Christian Brookwater who becomes a powerful vampire. He becomes an agent for a secret vampire law enforcement who has to keep those damn werewolves in check among other supernatural creatures of mayhem. Brookwater also can't seem to curb his murderous impulses when confronted by obnoxious racists, much to his agency's chagrin. The hero's journey continues as vampire politics, civil war and love triangles abound.

 

Van Patten has also written a two-book series, Killer Genius: She Kills Because She Cares and Killer Genius 2: Attack of the Gym Rats, about a woman named, appropriately enough, Kendra the Killer Genius. She is a super intelligent serial killer with a conscience and only kills those she conceives to be racist, sexist, abusive or dangerously criminal. In the sequel she takes on sexual predators and the Russian mob.

 

He also wrote a children's novel called Rudy's Night Out about a young boy who sneaks out at night to a party and discovers a scary world out there.  Will his father - a man with a secret and the last name Brookwater...hmmm - find him in time?! You'll just have to read it to find out for yourself!

 

He is also a co-author of two anthology series - Hell at the Way Station and Hell at Brooklyn Tea. The former he co-wrote with acclaimed author Marc L. Abbott and the latter with Abbott and Kirk Johnson. They are stories of horror centered around Brooklyn, where Van Patten grew up, and a framing device includes the authors themselves as participants in the supernatural shenanigans.

 

Hell at the Way Station won two African-American Literary Awards including Best Anthology and Best in Science Fiction. Van Patten also won an award for Best Independent Publisher for his Laughing Black Vampire Productions publishing company.

 

Van Patten is a member of the New York Chapter of the Horror Writers Association as well as a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA). In his spare time he has done some stage managing for several television shows. He also wrote some television episodes for a series called "Viral Vignettes."

 

The Buzzards get all nerded out with Mr. Van Patten as they talk about his books, his publishing company, his fascination with horror, horror movies and the mighty borough of Brooklyn. 

So, concoct your elixir of absinthe with a sugar cube and some water, turn out the lights and get ready to be thoroughly entranced by the new prince of darkness. The Buzzards get eerie with Steven Van Patten.

 

Please remember to subscribe to us on YouTube, iTunes or Spotify for all future and old episodes.  If you have any questions, comments, ideas or potential guests for us, please email us at FIVEDOLLARBUZZ@gmail.com. We might have to wait until dark as the sun doesn't seem to favor our pasty complexions.  

Spiritual Opium: Will Hershey On Invensting, Gaming, and Futurism

The provenance of video games was always the domain of the misunderstood misfits.  Old school coin-operated stand up terminals were located in smokey dive-bar back rooms or seedy shopping malls.  The early in-home entertainment consoles were first adopted by the propeller head and pocket protector set.  As those gaming systems became more advanced and realistic, the introverted and ostracized members of youth became the standard bearers of the online gaming communities.

The Boomer establishment has a rich history of being at odds with the video game industry.   Early 1980s fears of Japanese manufacturing supremacy, placing societal violence's blame on gaming's cartoonish pistol play, inaccurately correlating health issues to screen time, as well as dismissing a dynamic and innovative sector as a passing fad.  You name it, Boomer's did everything but self-reflect. 
 
What's more - just this week China's official news outlet — published a lengthy analysis that used terms such as "opium" and "electronic drug" to describe the harmful effects of gaming on children.
"It turns out 'spiritual opium' has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry," the article read. "Insiders warn: watch out for the harm of online games."
 
As in so many other instances - the Boomers and Commies got it wrong. Again. 
 
GenX knew very early that video games were none of the above, but rather a wild frontier of entertainment, education and camaraderie. The Millennials grabbed the baton and went sprinting farther down the path to take gaming to a place not even the most enthusiastic GenXer could dream possible. 
 
One of those thought leaders is our guest on this episode of FBD. 
 
Will Hershey (twitter: @maybebullish) is the visionary CEO and cofounder of Roundhill Investments with offices in NYC and SF.
Roundhill believes that e-sports and video games are the future of live media, sports and entertainment.
Will and the Buzzards swap old school video game stories, discuss investing in this sector of the economy is no longer a fringe frontier exercise, as well as the future of the metaverse and sports gambling.
 
So set the control paddle down, unplug the headset and kill the screen.  
Roll up the dank and pour a drink.  You may just walk away ready to reposition your investment portfolio with some weighting to gaming!
 
After you spray the citrus, mind you...

Boonetown: The Life and Times of Mark Boone Junior

On this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, the Buzzards mix it up with legendary character actor Mark Boone Junior, or just "Boone" as he prefers to be called.

 

Boone's had a weird and storied career, from his improvisational cabaret beginnings with Steve Buscemi to early No Wave work with underground directors like Eric Mitchell (THE WAY IT IS OR EURYDICE IN THE AVENUES, UNDERGROUND, U.S.A.) and Lizzie Borden (BORN IN FLAMES) to indie darlings like LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN, SLAVES OF NEW YORK, Buscemi's masterpiece TREES LOUNGE (among several films that Buscemi directed), and PETE SMALLS IS DEAD. 

 

Hollywood came a-callin' and he caught a big role in Sam Raimi's western THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, did two for David Fincher, SEVEN and THE GAME, two for Christopher Nolan, MEMENTO and BATMAN BEGINS.  He was in ROSEWOOD, THE THIN RED LINE, GET CARTER, 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, FROZEN RIVER and so many more.

 

He has also been in quite a bit of television. The list includes "The Equalizer," "Law & Order," "Quantum Leap," "Seinfeld," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Flaked," "The Last Man on Earth" and recently in "The Mandalorian."

 

The list goes on.  However, it is his role as Bobby Munson on "Sons of Anarchy" for the full seven seasons that has gotten him the most recognition. The blessing and the curse of a high profile television show is brought to bear.

 

We get the full monty on our man Boone, from his childhood and time playing collegiate and professional soccer to the early beginnings in NYC with Buscemi and their experience with Martin Scorsese, Peter Gabriel, Roseanna Arquette and Nick Nolte on the film NEW YORK STORIES to the Fincher/Nolan days to "SOA" to now. 

 

Boone is great fun to talk with and he is both reverential and candid in equal measure. So pull up a chair, have an oat soda, and listen to Boone wax on about a life in showbusiness, no matter how reluctant he may be about defining himself as such.

 

We are in Boonetown: population: 1.

 

Please remember to hit subscribe on our YouTube Channel or on Apple or Spotify. If you have questions, comments, ideas or guests for future shows, please email us at FIVEDOLLARBUZZ@gmail.com.  We;ll get back to you just as soon as we finish watching that new series "Paradise City" on Amazon. Just for the Boone parts, ya know.

FDB on DMT: Psych-Out with Rick Strassman, M.D.

Welcome to Season 2 of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ.  For the first time ever and from here on out we will be providing both an audio only version on Apple and Spotify as well as a video recording on our new FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ YouTube Channel! 

 

And boy do we start out with a doozy.  On this episode the Buzzards talk with renowned professor, researcher and author Rick Strassman, M.D. He is the clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. He also held a fellowship in clinical pharmacology research at UC San Diego and was Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico. 

 

Strassman was the first person to do human research with the psychedelic DMT. And through that research he authored the famed non-fiction book DMT: The Spirit Molecule which was subsequently turned into a documentary with the same name featuring Joe Rogan as the narrator (whose podcast he has also been on). He has also written two other novels, the non-fiction book DMT and the Soul of Prophecy - in which he compares Hebrew prophecy with DMT experiences - and the fictional novel Joseph Levy Escapes Death. 

 

On this episode we have the great doctor explain all things DMT and other psychedelics such as LSD and ketamine, you know, the good stuff. We also learn more about Dr. Strassman himself, too, which gives us insight into how he approached his research in the first place. 

 

To say the least, we at FDB were all too eager to be schooled in this class, hell, we sat right up front willingly and raised our hands even when we weren't called upon.  The best students he ever had.

 

So get your changa and your pipe, take a hit, wait ten seconds, exhale, repeat two more times, kick back and focus your attention on our voices as we take you past the light show, past the beings trying to take you to your death, go through the tunnel and find us on the other side in this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ. We gonna get psycho-fuckin'-delic, baby!

 

Please remember to hit subscribe on YouTube so that you can be updated on each new episode or, if you want to still listen to us on your long drives to the tollhouse of pain, remember to like us and subscribe on Apple and Spotify.

 

For any comments, questions, ideas or potential subjects and guests, please reach out and email us at fivedollarbuzz@gmail.com.  Just wait at least fifteen to twenty minutes as we come back from our, ahem, "trip."