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The LNBE Podcast
Mike Rispoli presents: The LNBE Podcast—"Literally Nothing, But Everything."
It’s a mix of personal stories, life lessons, and hot takes, all told like you're on the phone with your most unfiltered friend.
No experts. No advice. Just vibes, opinions, and faith-based curiosity.
The LNBE Podcast
Episode 50 - Nothing but Late Night Thoughts and Football Discourse
Embracing humor and a dash of skepticism, I’ll recap my weekend, ponder a post-apocalyptic world scenario, the intricacies of human nature and survival by also mentioning Christopher Browning's "Ordinary Men." We'll also entertain ourselves with the topic of movies, discuss the challenges of the New England Patriots’ post-Brady struggles, and the legacies of Julian Edelman and Mike Evans. Your feedback is always welcome as we navigate this lively mix of humor and introspection.
If you would like to share your opinion, send an email to lnbemedia@gmail.com and don't forget to follow me on Instagram and TikTok @thelnbepodcast.
all right, what's going on? Everybody, thank you for tuning into the first tuesday episode of the year of the lmbe podcast, where lmbe stands for literally nothing but everything. I'm mike rispoli and, to spare all of you, I'm actually doing this on Sunday night, and it's like almost 1230 now, because today I just sat my post-holiday fat ass on the couch and just watched football. That was my day today. I know, don't I lead such an exciting life, guys, and the Monday night game, which was the Lions and the Vikings, ended up around 1130. Dude, the Lions just look so good. I mean, that game ended up being way more of a blowout than I thought it was going to be.
Speaker 1:But, as we've learned in the past, if I'm watching sports while I'm trying to record this podcast, then I have a tendency to get way too distracted and in my life, unlike some of you degenerates, I try to learn from my mistakes, although, let's be real, there are plenty of other areas that I definitely need to work on. So, anyways, I'm doing it Sunday night because I have shit going on tomorrow and I'm not 100% sure if I'll have time to do it. So here we are. Plus, let's be real, it's not like I got to wake up for work tomorrow morning. And why push something off tomorrow when you can do it today? Well, mike, if you don't want to do it tonight, why don't you just wake up early tomorrow before the stuff you have going on? Are you kidding me up early tomorrow before the stuff you have going on? Are you kidding me? Wake up early on the one of many days that I have off? How proactive do you guys actually think that I am? Plus, honestly, I'm actually way more of a night owl, and even when I did have a job, waking up in the morning was always a struggle. I always wanted to be one of those people that could just wake up at like 5.30, 6 am, get a workout in and just take on the day by the balls. And it's funny because there was a period where I was doing that. I want to say that it lasted maybe a month, but then all of a sudden, like I just missed one day and it was just downhill from there. So for right now, we embrace the night owl life until I have to actually get my ass in gear when I actually get a full time job. But until then, here we are, and also the truth in the matter is like, once I'm asleep, I am out Like dude. I am such a heavy sleeper I truly don't wake up, for shit.
Speaker 1:Do you guys remember that earthquake that happened in New Jersey? This, oh my gosh. I almost just said this year, but it's 2025 now, so technically it's last year. Hey, I might be 28, but I'm mentally still like 21. So I'm still trying to comprehend the fact that it's not 2018 anymore. But yeah, no.
Speaker 1:So New Jersey had an earthquake if you aren't familiar with it, back in like April of 2024. And apparently it was actually felt in my area of Connecticut. Even if you aren't in my area, I actually think it made national news. But short story that I'm not trying to make unnecessarily long. I am such a heavy sleeper that I actually slept through it. I remember waking up that morning to like 50 texts from friends and family and I was just like, oh my God, who the hell died. But it was about the earthquake. And that was when I realized that when World War III breaks out and that bomb goes off, I'll probably sleep through it out and that bomb goes off, I'll probably sleep through it. So bad news is I'm dead, but good news is I don't have to worry about the world aftermath and just prolonging the inevitable, because I am definitely a goner.
Speaker 1:It's actually funny because over the weekend, my friend Jordan came to visit. You, broke your rule. You said a name All right guys, right guys. Well, he gave me permission and also said, and I quote, I'd be honored for a shout out. So, anyways, my friend jordan came to visit over the weekend, which, honestly, was a nice little surprise, because he's never been to the vastly wealthy, superiorly overrated town that is greenwich, connecticut. Well, with so much wealth, isn't your town nice? Isn't there a lot to do? No, what's there to do? Get an overpriced meal at a subpar restaurant and walk up and down Greenwich Avenue to all those designer stores where you look at the price tag and just go nope, because the same sweatshirt that you can find at Saks Off 5th yeah, we got one of those it costs $500. But at any other department store like Kohl's or Target, it costs like 15 bucks. Well, that's exactly what we did.
Speaker 1:But anyways, he told me that his dad liked to hunt and his wife told me that they actually just recently went over to Jordan's dad's house to have venison tacos and I realized in that moment that I would be so screwed if our world were to go to shit. Well, why is that? Well, for starters, I've never shot a gun, but honestly I feel like if the world were to go to shit and we were in that post-apocalyptic like world kind of thing, I think bow hunting or using a crossbow would probably be your best bet, because I don't know, every single time I talk to a hunter or something and they're always talking about the buckshot and you got to eat around it or whatever. At least with a bow you're getting more meat out of whatever it is that you killed and also it's quiet like dude. In that sort of a situation I don't want nobody knowing where I am. I mean, even in a civilized society that we have now, people are already savages. Why would I want to wait and see what people are truly capable of? Like? You could honestly think that you would be the nicest person. You would never hurt a fly, x, y, z.
Speaker 1:But for any history buffs out there like me, there's a great book that one of my friends recommended to me. It's a book called Ordinary Men and it's about Battalion 101. And pretty much what this book is about is back in World War II there was this group of guys called Battalion 101. And I haven't read this book in years so my details might be a little bit spotty, but from what I remember it was a group of guys that were too old to be drafted but they were too young to not serve. So they were maybe like late 20s to maybe like early 40s, and these were just people that were ordinary men, like they were accountants, they were barbers, like whatever you could think of, and it was how the German army got these quote-unquote ordinary men to become killing machines and how they were able to do horrific things to Jewish people even though they had no desire to initially do it, and how they soon became desensitized to what they were doing.
Speaker 1:It's a really crazy book and it kind of goes into the mentality of like what people are truly capable of when they have no choice but to do something. Because during World War Two, if you were part of Hitler's army and the Nazis, it was either kill or be killed. And that was part of the whole thing with the Nuremberg trials, where the topics surrounding people's ethics started to come into question, where you had all these high officiating Nazi members just being like, well, we didn't necessarily want to do it, but it was kill or be killed in this sort of a situation, because if we didn't do what we were told, we were technically going against authority. So yeah, man, you really don't know what people are truly capable of given a certain situation. So, yeah, if you're interested in the book, I highly recommend it. It doesn't read like a textbook, it actually reads like a novel. And again, if you are interested, it's called Ordinary Men and it's by Christopher Browning, but anyways.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I would definitely be so screwed if there was a post-apocalyptic world, because I've never had to also forage for food or build a shelter. But one thing I do know is I'm avoiding mushrooms, because you can't trust those fuckers for anything. If it ain't a mushroom that's coming from the grocery store, I want no part of it because I don't know what the hell that thing is going to entail. You got three options, because these things are more unpredictable than a roided out maniac's mood swings, and I know that this is a meme all over social media, but truly you do have only three options. It's either nutritious and delicious, it has you seeing God, or it's going to have you passed out in the fetal position and you're going to die in like 30 minutes.
Speaker 1:So I'm not trusting any of that shit and the last thing that I want to do is get absolutely Baked out of my mind seeing shit that's actually not there in a post-apocalyptic world. I mean, I just don't fucks with psychedelics. Man, people are putting shrooms in coffee and shit now, like I was never interested in any of that stuff, never fazed me to even try it. Part of that is because I truly don't like not being in control of what's going on around me, but the other part of it is knowing me and what my mental state is like. I know that that would be one of the worst trips of my life and the last thing that I need is a trip to the frigging hospital because I ate the wrong mushroom. So not in my wheelhouse of things to try. I know that saying is YOLO, but there are truly some things that you do not need to try in your life.
Speaker 1:Honestly, for those of you who have tried mushrooms, I'm genuinely curious. Write in and tell me what your experience was, whether it was good or bad, because I've seen stuff where it's like people are just becoming really more aware of like what's going on around them and what's going on in their life. They have like these fantastic moments of self-clarity and all that shit. But then I also want to know what the other side of that is like, where, if you have a bad trip, does that also cause you to have like the self-awareness and stuff and like like that's what the demons are that you're fighting inside? I have no idea, but I also know I for a fact have no desire to know what that's like on either side of the spectrum. That shit just truly scares the shit out of me. So, yeah, write in with your experiences.
Speaker 1:You can email me at lnbimedia at gmailcom, and, while you're at it, don't forget to rate the podcast and write up a review to let me know how much you guys like this thing or if you hate it. Either way, I don't know. For some reason, though, episode 18 has been randomly just blowing up and I don't know why you guys like me talking about my shitty golf game. I don't know. I think that's what I talked about that episode. I'll have to go back and check it out. So I'm curious what was it that you guys liked about that episode so much? All right, sorry, I know I deviated there a little bit, but speaking of um me being fucked in a post-apocalyptic world, I've also never had to build a fire from scratch like dude. If I can't find a dura flame, I'm cooked. So I'm honestly good with getting it over with quick. The sooner the better, in my opinion. Okay, honest question If there ever was a purge or an apocalyptic event or something like that and you have no choice but to go outside, logically and honestly, how long do you think that you have before you become Andy Dufresne and Shawshank Redemption and are just totally fucked, fucked.
Speaker 1:Haven't seen the movie? Watch it, it's actually pretty good. Is it my favorite movie? No, but IMBD ranks it number one out of like 250 movies. So if I don't say that it's a top 20, some of you are going to pull a White Chicks and have a BF. Haven't seen White Chicks? Bf stands for bitch fit People get with the program. My God, look at at that.
Speaker 1:I just gave you two movie references of vastly different genres, but honestly, I can think of five movies I'd watch before I would watch shawshank. Oh, off the top of my head. Oh god, you guys are putting me on the spot here, he says as he talks to himself in front of a computer. Honestly, I would watch Goodfellas before I watch Shawshank. I'd probably watch Forrest Gump I would put Uncle Buck in that list. Tropic Thunder is a good one and, honestly, I think I would watch Grown Ups before I turned on Shawshank. And some of those I don't even think I would put in my top five of all time movies.
Speaker 1:All right, wait, new segment idea. What's a movie that you think is well overrated but everybody else loves, or was overhyped by Hollywood? Like I already started with Shawshank, but I'll give you another one the Revenant. Like I already started with Shawshank, but I'll give you another one the Revenant. I actually went to the theater to see that movie when it came out with a friend of mine and after that movie my friend and I walked out of the theater like dude that fucking sucked, watching Leo crawl through snow and just saying my boy was three hours of my life that I will never get back, and he won the Oscar for that fucking snooze fest of a movie. And we all know the jokes that the bear was the better actor. X, y, z, and I'm not on here to reiterate old jokes from when.
Speaker 1:When did that movie come out? Hang on, give me one second, let me look this up real quick. Hang on, give me one second. Let me look this up real quick. The Revenant oh my God, that movie came out in 2015? It came out 10 years ago, oh my God. All right, give me a moment here.
Speaker 1:I just aged myself. What have I done with my life in these past 10 years? No, no, no, no. We're not going to bitch about the negative. We said that last week we're on to greener pastures. Now, how the fuck did I even get on this topic? Oh, that's right, apocalypse. The macho man in me says that I would learn the necessary skills and I'll tough it out. And that will just be my life, because if it's one thing about evolution, the human species has an incredible ability to adapt. But realistically, I think I would last anywhere from three days to a month before I die from either not finding water or food source. So, yeah, I honestly want to know how screwed you think you would be, because I think I've done a pretty good job at establishing how screwed I would be, just like the New England Patriots. Oh, look at that segue. I told you I just got done watching the Lions game. Did you not think I was going to talk football?
Speaker 1:It's the last week of the regular season and it's at this point where the seasonal depression really sets in, because I'm just like damn, we are now thoroughly into the throes of winter here in connecticut and it's been colder than casey anthony's heart. But the new england patriots, since tom brady has left, has just continuously found ways to totally shit the bed. But, mike, they won today. They ended their season on a good note. You should be happy. Oh yeah, it was fantastic watching the Patriots beat up on a bunch of second and third stringers that the Bills were playing. Yeah, I'm thrilled that they won, because in doing so they also lost the number one pick in the draft next year.
Speaker 1:Well, why do you need the number one pick? Drake May looks like a stud. You have your quarterback. What do you need the draft for? I don't know. Because desperate teams the Giants will literally sell a kidney in their left nut to get that pick. So we could have had draft capital to actually get a wide receiver we so desperately need, because the Patriots wide receiver core is literally ranked last in the division. Not even last in the division. The fucking league that wide receiver core is dog water.
Speaker 1:And then we could have used some of that draft capital to try and get the offensive line because the whole offensive line needs to go a 33 year old injury prone. David andrews is our top lineman and the rest of the guys on that side of the trench are just second string caliber players at best. Look at at the Eagles, look at the Lions, look at the Chiefs. If you don't believe that championship teams are built in the trenches, you're absolutely wrong. A good offensive line is the true core of a good offense.
Speaker 1:Look at why Brady was so good on the Patriots for so long. His offensive line was amazing and it's not like during the last half of his Patriots career he had the greatest wide receivers to work with. Oh, but he had Edelman. Look, I love Edelman. The dude is not a Hall of Fame player. The only reason he's even in the conversation is strictly for the fact that Brady brought that team to the playoffs so many times. That is the only reason why Edelman was putting up thousand yard seasons every year like he's absolutely a Patriots Hall of Famer, but an overall Hall of Famer. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:How do you put Edelman on the same caliber as Mike Evans, who literally today just had his 11th consecutive season with 1,000 plus receiving yards. I mean, that is something that we haven't seen since Jerry Rice. That is unbelievable. And some people are saying that this guy isn't like a top 10 talent. Are you kidding me? Fuck dude, I might even put him in my top five all time Because, like, think about the guys that were thrown to him Josh McCown, mike Glennon how many people even remember those guys? Ryan Fitzpatrick, jameis, winston Blaine, gabbert Now he's got what's his nuts? Baker Mayfield thrown to him. The only truly competent quarterback slinging that ball to Evans was Brady, and it's like, could you imagine the records that guy would have broke if he had good quarterbacks throwing to him his whole career? Hot take. But I think Jerry Rice would have been knocked down a peg. But when it comes to Julian Edelman, here's my take If Wes Welker is not a Hall of Famer, then Julian Edelman is not a Hall of Famer. That just makes sense to me.
Speaker 1:But as a Patriots fan, here's the silver lining Kraft actually did something that was really smart and he fired Gerard Mayo as their head coach and it was just like dude. Why did he even have the job. To begin with, gerard Mayo, fantastic Patriots player. I loved watching him growing up, but the dude wasn't even a coordinator, he was just an assistant coach, he was a linebackers coach. So honestly, that's I think a janitor would have been more qualified for the job. Considering they're pretty good at picking up garbage and considering what I've seen from this Pats team in the past four years, it would be a pretty good idea to have somebody who's good at cleaning up trash. So here's my hope Now that Gerard Mayo's out as the head coach of the team, mike Vrabel is still out there as the head coach of the team.
Speaker 1:Mike Vrabel is still out there and that dude brought the Titans, with Tannehill at the helm as quarterback, to the frigging playoffs. So Vrabel is more than capable. He's also an expatriate and you know Kraft loves trying to bring back expats. So that's my hope. You get a competent coach who actually knows what they're doing. Maybe you bring back Josh McDaniels as the OC and then hopefully you get Brian Flores from Minnesota to come over and be their DC. That would honestly be the best case scenario for this Pats team. You got Drake May, who's a fantastic talent. I think he's a stud. I honestly think he's the franchise QB. You use the draft to kind of pick up some missing pieces. You get some competent coaches in the building. This team could be back in it. But the regular season's over and now I'm just looking forward to hopefully watching some good playoff games. And that does it for me today.
Speaker 1:Hopefully you guys enjoyed this episode. Please share it with a friend. Rate, comment, subscribe, like review. Continue doing what you guys are doing to help boost this thing. I really do appreciate it. Also, don't forget, you can send me an email to lmbemedia at gmailcom if you guys want to write in. Thanks for listening. Have a great week and I'll catch up with you on Friday. Thank you.
