The Weird and the Weary

Pedro Francisco of Portuguese and Jack Churchill (no relation) were two individuals who made Rambo and Dutch look like ballerinas as one was a 6'8" gigantic man named the Virginian Hercules (Pedro) and the other a damned wolf out of hell! Jack would go into battle swinging a sword off a boat while others struggled just to get ashore. Yeah, war is crazy. Send a good man to war and demons run for cover! Check out our latest episode, The Tale of Two Bad*** Soldiers!

Death is an inevitable part of life, a ride we can all enjoy but for so long with the departure always being a surprise or any day coming. But in some cases, such as Harry Houdini's death that was possibly caused by complications from a flurry of punches belting away at his midsection without warning, it can be something of legends. Like Flukey Stokes and his son's lavish funeral complete with a coffin outfitted to look like a Cadillac while the deceased son was propped up behind the wheel, looking cool, detatched, and quite.....dead. Check out the raucousness the boys have to bring and please, don't bring your kids. It's THAT kind of party.

Sounds like an action-packed film about adventurer, Lake Natron and his search for the mystery behind the fires of the Darvaza Crater while falling in love and saving denizens of poor slaves, but alas, it isn't. It's about two of the scariest places on Earth. Lake Natron can calcify anything that touches it and leaves behind a macabre display of art that shows the balance of life and death. And while that fun is happening in Africa, Darvaza, "The Door to Hell" is open for business in far off Turkmenistan's Karakum Desert, and has been for almost 50 years now. Soviet geologists had come upon this methane producing crater and figured setting a fire to burn the gas would be a good idea. WRONG. It is a gas pocket that continuously produces methane and has not stopped since. What a world. Check out this week's episode on Lake Natron and the Darvaza Fire Crater.

Animals. Some find solace in animals more than people. Sometimes those people wind up hiring hitmen to kill a rival wildlife sanctuary business owner because that's an everyday occurrence, you know? Some burn just want to watch the world burn and others want to live a flamboyant lifestyle that doesn't care much for what other people want or think cuz hell, Joe Exotic means business. And sometimes that business leads to a 22 year jail sentence. You know, the usual stuff. Check out the weird life that is Joe Exotic's in this week's episode, The Weird Tale of Joe Exotic.

Corn flakes and Vaseline. Who would have thought that two of the most commonly used household items in the world would have such an interesting and strange history. Such as the story of John Kellogg, his brother Will, and the invention of corn flakes by two men with one, John, wanting to incorporate it into a 7th Day Adventist diet which forbade sugar, alcohol, sex for fun (even among married couples!) basically everything fun while his brother wanted to add a little sugar to add another realm of sensation but NOOOOO! John nixed that. Then there is Robert Chesebrough, inventor of Vaseline, who supposedly ate a spoonful of it everyday to maintain a healthy lifestyle and applied it to burns and cuts to show off the healing properties of his new petroleum jelly. Smart indeed as he created the Chesebrough Manufacturing Company which would later become Pond's. Join us as we try out a bowlful of corn flakes and vaseline and see if we can live to 123.

Animals sometimes wind up being better companions than people and although sad to say sometimes animals show more humanity and courage than a handful of trash-talking beer wrestlers. Wojtek the Bear for example was a mimic but he exemplified the characteristics of a perfect soldier; strong, considerate, and a hell of a smoker and drinker. Then there is Lance Corporal William "Billy" Windsor who served in the 1st Battalion, Royal Welsh, Infantry of the British Army who went wild and was demoted for a short while before regaining his rank later on and finally, Corporal Jackie, a baboon who served in the South Africa Army during WWI and was raised in rank from Private to Corporal and received a Medal of Valor for the injuries he suffered a conflict. What a little bad-boy! Check out the War Animals, this week on the Weird and the Weary!

Have you ever just wanted to tell someone to kiss you where the sun don't shine? Unless you're a nudist who frequents the beach but never you mind, because we have a treat for you! The term "kiss my @$$" was born from the mind of a mercenary who lost his right hand in battle against a cannonball and died an old man with numerous children and an autobiography. His story was even made into a play by Goethe! Who said that the human condition wasn't always full of scatological fair? Ask Mozart, he's got plenty of jokes for ya! Check out this week's episode, Götz and the Origin of a Classic Term.

Idols exist in all forms but one of the most prevalent in today's society is that of the music icon, the bright star that rises high and sometimes crashes hard for all the neck-craning, amateur smartphone videographers to catalogue and gawk at on social media. Sorry, had a "get off my lawn" moment. Anyway, South Korea is home to many treasures such as kimchi and of course, K-Pop. But behind the scenes lies some disturbing truths about what lies behind closed doors and closed lips. Enter a sordid tale as we briefly touch on the Burning Sun Scandal aka Burning Sun Gate (really, can we please do something beyond Nixon?) and the sad deaths of two beloved Stars, Sulli and Goo Hara, beautiful souls with demons too powerful for them to endure; the hatred and viciousness of cruel individuals. Check out this maudlin tale of the Burning Sun, Tortured Souls. The Weird. The Weary. And everything possible in between....

Welcome fellow Weird and Weary, uh, -ers to our 65th episode, and we go over the five top stories that we decided were a mix of n00bness and learning, finding weird stories and trying to make sense of them in a raw, unfiltered discussion akin to debating the merits of sci-fi or whether or not the last Star Wars really was a proper sendoff to such a classic story a la Joseph Campbell and such. Sorry. I just finished reading a Tom Robbins book. For those of you who have been there since day one, thank you. Lurkers or not, huge audience or small, some of you have heard us and some of you have enjoyed while others may despise and loathe us but we're doing it selfishly for our selves while selflessly throwing together this podcast for someone out there to laugh out loud to some of the awesome comedy gold you will find. Or not. But probably yes. Check out our 65th episode (only 35 left to that special 100th) and thank you for staying Weird and Weary, and be good to each other and especially yourself.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year's Eve! Another year has come and gone and as we reflect on our numerous blessings and so forth, we wonder, how do some other countries do for celebration? Such as Mexico in Guadalupe where the Virgin of Guadalupe is celebrated over almost five weeks with numerous Catholics congregate and celebrate their faith while in South Wales, an event called Mari Lwyd where a horse's skull is placed on a stick, and a group of people sing and try to convince the houseowners to let them in to eat. Some people are so damn rude! Check out what we have to say as you drive to work, eat your lunch, or pass out from all that holiday eatings! Be well, people!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOURS!!!! Imagine watching TV with your kids, some Christmas Special or something of the sort when suddenly and without warning a strange man in a familiar pop icon mask from the 80s being weird and telling the world to kiss his arsecakes. Or watching a football game when suddenly pornographic images pop on the screen to your sheer embarrassment (or enjoyment, we aren't judging). Yes, these things happened as well as a few more such as a failed attempt at holding a tv host hostage while they read the interloper's manifesto. This and more is covered quite hilariously by your three knuckleheaded hosts, Jason, Kevin, and Lee at the WEIRD AND THE WEARY!!!

Rube Waddell was born on a Friday the 13th and died on April Fool's but this man was something else. Something of an eccentric, an athlete who defied as much as he defined the WTF nature of humankind, Rube would set baseball pitching records that wouldn't be broken until almost 50 years later. Join us as we take a brief glimpse into the wild story of Rube Waddell, baseball player, football player, soccer player, and all-around wild stallion.

In Rochester, Minnesota, during the winter months, murders of crows congregate in urban centers and cause the downtown and nearby Mayo Clinic to be inundated with crow feces. This is a problem for many different reasons (uh, POOP!) but a small group of people known as the Crow Patrol do what they can to keep Rochester crow poop-free. And in Oregon, other incidents with animals have people puzzled and wondering what could possibly be mutilating their prized bulls and mother cows and draining them of their blood? Without leaving a drop of blood or tracks behind? Hrmmmmm. Check out this hilarious episode as we talk about the Crows, the Cows, and the Bulls!

Sharon Elizabeth Kinne aka La Pistolera is the longest standing fugitive in history who made a daring escape from a Mexican prison on murder charges after being acquitted for one of her boyfriend's wives murder. And she was supposed to face a fourth trial for the death of her husband but guess that isn't happening now. Check out the crazy %^% stuff this woman did just so she could be "comfortable". What in the hell? On this week's episode, we speak of the Abhorrent Acts of Ms Kinne.

Imagine a nice beach on a sunny Australian day where you and your loved one are about to enjoy one of the best vacations ever in Somerton then onward to whatever other dangers the Bush has in store for an unsuspecting traveler. And then you see what you think is a man napping but in actuality he is a dead as nails corpse with a mysterious writing in Persian in his presence and no explanation as to what happened. Join us as we chat about the Mysterious Case of the Somerton Man.

Life is a trip. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but never dull. But some things just need to die. Such as the need to zero in on a particular area and designate it as worthless while leaving the inhabitants to the wind like starving dogs. Or the need to try and convince wicked men with hearts full of vitriol and violence to turn their lives into a positive one. Join us as we talk about the designation of 'most incarcerated zip code in the nation', 53206, and the audaciousness of Daryl Davis, a blues and R&B African American 'friend' of 'reformed' KKK members. We can't make this up.

Words eludes us when we read about cases like this. We wonder why such events have to occur and how people can be so damn cruel and inhumane towards one another but that can only change one realization after another. This week we talk about the dastardly ignoramus known as Franklin Delano Floyd and how we helped a bunch of elderly ladies, no just kidding, how he didn't want to do all the work involved with starting and raising a family so he kidnaps his stepkids and well, you have to check it out! On this week's episode of the Weird and the Weary, FU, FDF!

Halloween is the time for spooky yet innocent times however not everyone is on the same page when it comes to not doing harm. Such was the case with Cindy Song, a young, intelligent, hardworking Penn State University art major who disappeared late into the wee hours of Halloween in 2001 and has not been heard from since. It is a mystery that is puzzling and tragic in its missing details, false leads, and a horrifying discovery. Then we cover the 1974 case of Ronald Clark O'Bryan whose son, Timothy, was the victim of a tainted pixy stick and died a painful death after an hour of agony. The police were baffled but when a straight shooter like former Harris County Prosecutor Mike Hinton got wind of this tragic occurrence, his due diligence would bring to light a murder most foul and profane. Find out why some people just don't like to go out and do ANYTHING because damn, there is some serious crazy stuff out in this world. Come check it out on this week's episode, The Mysterious Disappearance of Cindy Song and The Case of the Deadly Pixy Stix.

China is a hotbed of political activity from human rights violations to protests in Hong Kong against the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill which many fear would erode the foundation of justice in effect within China. It seems as if China is not just the #1 importer many worldwide deal with but also a big bully that doesn't know which way to terrorize, through laws or straight up violence. Five of the bullied are covered this week when we discuss the Causeway Bay Books Disappearances. They worked for a bookstore, Causeway Bay, that specialized in books normally banned in China. Eventually, the political party tired of their insubordination and seemingly orchestrated a series of events that turned their lives inside out and upside down. This week, on the Weird and the Weary, The Causeway Bay Books Disappearances.

Reddit is one of the most frequented websites on the Internet. There are categories for just about anything you could imagine and even things you'd never thought could exist but some redditor investigators may have found something so Byzantine, so insane that it had to be a hoax but what if it wasn't? This story starts with an innocuous message stating that a fellow redditor had passed away. The redditor had a website that hosted barely legal pictures and what would be further discovered would be scrutinized and analyzed to find hidden messages within the HTML of the website. Messages seeking people with certain qualifications and skills that may have been deep black ops. But can the internet truly be trusted? Is this a well-maintained host or maybe an admin having fun for the past 7 years. What a long con! Check out this week's episode, Lake City Quiet Pills!