This week, Max has a surprise grab bag for Brian! Will he think these things rule as much as Max does? We discuss everyone’s favorite flying rodent that isn’t a flying squirrel, gum of the chewing and blowing variety, and the thrill of getting a nice new writing implement. 

It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our little corner of our old podcast’s Discord at discord.comedybutton.com - and of course, we’re always happy to get email from listeners at [email protected]

Intro contains clips of actual bats, a Fruit Stripe Gum commercial, and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas.

This week, Brian prepared a special surprise variety pack grab bag of things that he thinks Max might be a big fan of. Gingerbread Houses, those once-seasonal edible wiccan domiciles that have since become a year-round architectural novelty, Snaggletooth, who is one (or two) of the most iconic cantina aliens from Star Wars, and Stegosaurses. A dinosaur, that probably had feathers but almost definitely didn’t have long flowing hair like a beautiful woman or a show dog.

It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our little corner of our old podcast’s Discord at discord.comedybutton.com - and of course, we’re always happy to get email from listeners at [email protected]

Intro contains clips from The Simpsons, Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes hit song “Mad About Me,” and a toy commercial for The Lost World action figures.

How music looks isn’t as important as how it sounds, but it certainly plays a role. This episode, we talk about our relationship with album covers, which sometimes look like the music they’re promoting, sometimes look like something else entirely, and sometimes don’t look like anything at all. Huge thanks to Patreon backer Thijis Van Sise for suggesting the topic.

It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our little corner of our old podcast’s Discord at discord.comedybutton.com - and of course, we’re always happy to get email from listeners at [email protected]

Intro contains clips from This Is Spinal Tap, an interview with Iron Maiden cover artist Derek Riggs and Saturday Night Live.

At one point, using fire to cook stuff outside was part of daily life, but now it’s just a way of microdosing caveman life. Whether you’re using gas, charcoal, or a hot sidewalk, there’s something wonderful about preparing food outdoors, so crack open a cold one and join us as we discuss our favorite recipes, methods, anecdotes, near-disasters, and questionable tips about this great pastime. 

It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our little corner of our old podcast’s Discord at discord.comedybutton.com - and of course, we’re always happy to get email from listeners at [email protected]

Intro contains clips from Fenslerfilm’s GI Joe Porkchop Sandwiches PSA, National Lampoon’s Vacation, an Australian tourism commercial hosted by Paul Hogan, and King of the Hill.

This week, we’re delving into a very special sort of generational brain damage that we can specifically blame/thank the Reagan administration for: toy commercials! Growing up the 80s and 90s, children’s programming was practically indistinguishable from advertising, so why shouldn’t we have equal amounts of nostalgia for this particular type of bite-sized marketings? Let’s take a look back at some of the most infamous toy ads, the most famous people who popped up in them, and of course, Judge Reinhold’s Weenie Whistle. This episode’s topic was suggested by Patreon backer Matt Schottroff. Good call!

It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our little corner of our old podcast’s Discord at discord.comedybutton.com - and of course, we’re always happy to get email from listeners at [email protected]

Intro contains clips from Mighty Max, WWF, and GI Joe toy commercials, Vin Diesel’s infamous viral Toy Fair video, and The Santa Clause.

This episode, we tried something new and recorded on location from a restaurant in Düsseldorf, Germany. We sampled the local beer and talked about some of our adventures in Deutschland, including regional varieties of gummi candy, museums, kiosks, cities in which you can actually get around on foot, bees, yellow jackets, and other stuff. Apologies for the background noise, this was an experiment! We’ll be back to normal next episode.

This week, we’re tackling a few extremely unrelated things that rule: fire (the element), Keith David (the actor) and bread bag clips (the clips that come on bags of bread.) Why, you ask? Well, it was your idea - specifically, the suggestions of our Patreon members Mikhail Kaban, Krystal Stewart, SuperMecha, Bruce Wayne Brady and Jack Peterman. 

It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our little corner of our old podcast’s Discord at discord.comedybutton.com - and of course, we’re always happy to get email from listeners at [email protected]

Intro contains clips from a YouTube short about bread bags, The Prodigy’s “Fire (Sunrise Version),” Beavis & Butt-Head, Disney’s Gargoyles and They Live.

Comic-Con! What was once a niche gathering of outcasts has become a massive pop-culture spectacle, and even with the infusion of blockbuster media franchises, it’s still a wonderful time, whether you’re in San Diego, New York or somewhere in between. This episode, we reflect on the rise of comic book and sci-fi convention culture, our first exposure to it, some of our most bizarre adventures there since.

It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our little corner of our old podcast’s Discord at discord.comedybutton.com - and of course, we’re always happy to get email from listeners at [email protected]

Intro contains clips from an 1972 San Diego newscast, The Simpsons, Dexter’s Laboratory and Mission Hill.

Come on in, the water’s fine! This week, we’re talking about one of the most simple, possibly primordial, occasionally deadly pleasures in life, which is traversing a body of water for recreational purposes. Y’know, swimming! It’s an essential survival skill, but also just a nice thing to do when it’s hot out, whether it’s in a pool, ocean, lake, river, pond, watering hole, crick, spigot or some combination thereof. But, that’s assuming there’s not an abundance of mud, trash, weeds, slime, or scary creatures impedling your paddling.

It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our little corner of our old podcast’s Discord at discord.comedybutton.com - and of course, we’re always happy to get email from listeners at [email protected]

Intro contains clips from Jaws, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Anchorman and Adult Swim’s original bumpers

Concerts! One of the most expensive and exhausting ways to lose hearing and form lasting memories, this week we’re discussing our own histories seeing live music. From Brian’s countless hip-hop shows in New York City to Max’s repeated accidental patronage of Jefferson Starship, we have plenty of anecdotes. Are they more entertaining than attending an actual concert yourself? No. Is the audio quality better? Eh, debatable. Would we charge you 23 dollars for a beer? Never!

It would totally rule if you helped support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, You can also show your support by following us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our little corner of our old podcast’s Discord at discord.comedybutton.com - and of course, we’re always happy to get email from listeners at [email protected]

Intro contains clips from Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Heavy Metal Parking Lot, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and The Simpsons.