Reads and Weeds

Lisa Green, first timer on the show(!) and Masters Degree recipient(!woohoo!)recommended this book of wonderful short stories in all different formats and it was such a great read at this moment when my mind was drifting towards way too serious. If you love the humor and weird of BoJack Horseman, you will devour these stories.

Somehow I got through decades without reading Huckleberry Finn. Thanks to Carl Merrick for suggesting it and hanging with me for the discussion. It is way too cold right now. Our country is changing rapidly and it's kinda scary. The Michigan comedy scene is thriving. AI is making customer service more and more terrible. And somehow, this book, originally published in 1884 about the adventures of a young boy floating down the Mississippi River is still absolutely relevant. Of course it has been controversial and banned over the years because it speaks so much truth and folks seem to hate that. Well all the more reason for you to go read or RE read it.

It is a strange but somehow peaceful time. We are in the 'holiday season', which is 'show season' for me. We are between the election and the inauguration. We decided to read a surprisingly silly Zingerman's SOP and revisit the piece I read for my dear friend's wedding. Jamie updates me on the news from a recent cannabis conference in Vegas. Come see me January 2nd at 50 First Jokes!!

My lovely friend Patrick Dunn wrote his first horror comic and it was just wonderful to hang out with him and talk about it. You see, he is a journalist by trade and this is a completely different set of skills, and he had been missing all the drawing he used to love to do and has re discovered that love. Of course we had great weed and snacks. We also hit on post election coping, problems specific to men with large heads, and how lucky we are with our circle of weirdo friends. Check out his podcast where he discusses every horror movie on Netflix. It's called, conveniently, 'Every Horror Movie on Netflix'.

Shelly live at Entheofest 2024 in Ann Arbor on September 22, talking books with new friends, fellow psychonauts and bookworms. Thanks to Claire Forster for helping me with the table. Thanks to MIchigan Psychedelic Society, Decriminalize Nature, Great Lakes Expungement Network, and everyone that works so hard to make this lovely day happen every year. Thanks to Soencer from Detroit Psychedelic Society, Joe, Dalton, Vlad, Whitney McDunn, Evan, and David for taking the time to record with me! Thanks for listening.

Isn't it strange that we are all trying to figure out the bodies that we live in? Where do we turn when the physical 'fixes' we are trying aren't 'fixing' the issue? Thanks to integrative health practitioner Lacey Reedy for suggesting this book and for discussing it with me. Times are strange and it can be stressful and sometimes we hold stress in our bodies. This is a great book to start learning to interpret what our bodies are telling us.

This episode was recorded live at the Independent Comedy Club in Hamtramck as part of the Detroit Women of Comedy Festival in May 2024. I was joined by Claire Forster whose 'lapsed academia' brain helped me digest alllll the vocabulary and concepts from Amanda Montell's third book. We had the friendliest most engaged audience and goodie bags with treats from MINT Cannabis and Linette Desano. It was a beautiful happy day during a truly crazy time in America.

Thanks so much to Kseniya for sharing her research with us and congrats on the awards your writing received. This topic is close to the hearts of many of our listeners and we would love to hear your experiences. I was thinking of many of you while we were recording. I appreciate this amazing thoughtful research and also would love to hear your personal stories if you are willing to share. The Federal government seems to be moving forward with rescheduling cannabis! And there is a great big Richard Scarry book! Spring is here. May the 4th be with you.

This show was recorded the day after a glorious Hash Bash weekend and I think you can hear that in my scratchy voice. We are back with fantasy author Scott Mooney to discuss the third and final book in the poisoned apple trilogy, 'The End of the Rose'. It was so good! I tore through it in a few days. Twists up until the last few pages. What will happen if the giant awakens? Where can I get a glass slipper bong? How long with Antoine be trapped in a magic mirror?! Order these books and find out. Go check out Episode 24-Pricked and Episode 43-Screaming Beauty for a refresher on the first two. We were joined by playwright/teacher Nathan Corliss, whose play Three Sinners was read for Episode 58. I don't know if I say it enough, but I just feel like the luckiest person to be surrounded by creative people willing to share themselves with me. The song we refer to(and I attempt to sing badly) is 'Deep Dark Truthful Mirror' by Elvis Costello. Also, since we all met doing improv, we want to shout out to the new Ann Arbor Improv Theater 'hear.say' ! We're proud of you!

Shelly is joined by Jamie Lowell and Josey Scoggin to discuss all the fun leading up to Hash Bash 2024. The Treasure Hunt is on again! Maps available now- http://Givebutter.com/hashbashtreasurehunt Go have a blast wandering around Ann Arbor supporting Great Lakes Expungement Network.

Shelly gathered with a fantastic fun group of theater vets to discuss and read scenes from Brian Cox's new childrens' play 'Stone Dragon Stew'. Thank you Brian for sharing this gem with us and thanks to Laurie Atwood, Robert Papineau, Tommy Cook, and Dinah Tutein for jumping in. Villagers of Nearhere are fed up with living under siege of the Stone Dragon, who keeps dropping rocks from the sky! Residents are forced to stay inside, wear a helmet, or suffer the consequences! Smart villager Bookseller offers up a plan: find a brave knight to defeat the Stone Dragon and restore peace to Nearhere. The only problem is nobody in the village knows any knights, so four brave villagers set out to find knights willing to fight the ferocious dragon. After the knights prove to be no help and hope seems lost, a renowned chef shows up and shares the perfect recipe for successfully dealing with the Stone Dragon.

On a sunny winter Saturday during the Traverse City Comedy Festival, Shelly got to hang out at Verts Neighborhood Dispensary and talk comedy writing with Tanner Oliver, Sam Rager, and Melanie Hearn. What a treat!

I hadn't talked with my friend Beth Dougherty for over 20 years when I asked her to do this with me. We grew up together in South Carolina. I was in the choir. She painted. We sang Heartbreak Hotel on the sidelines when we were supposed to be cheering on the Boiling Springs Bulldogs. I have wanted to work through this book for so many years and am loving it. She has lived in Germany for a while, so this conversation was just such a gift like we hadn't missed a day, like it was just 1998 when I sang at her wedding. And what a treat to have someone in my life for DECADES who sees Art and Creativity as a Spiritual Path like me. Thank you! I'm doing my pages! Talk in 12 weeks!

Last show of a true rollercoaster of a year. Jamie Lowell, Chief Operating Officer of Meds Cafe, is on to give me the scoop from MJ Biz Con. Believe it or not, even with new businesses open every day, this plant is still illegal in some places and people are still serving time for cannabis crimes. Thanks to everyone out there still fighting the good fight. Shoutouts to so many, in no particular order-Michigan Weedsters, Americans for Safe Access, Sons and Daughters United, Great Lakes Expungement Network, Michael Thompson Clemency Project, Michigan Cannabis Caucus, Josie Scoggins, Latrish Matson, Amie Carter, Leah Skylar. Also, Spotify wrapped is fun, I need help from YOU, and 50 First Jokes Ann Arbor is Tuesday, Jan 2nd! Come see us!

Thanks to Kevin Suboski for recommending this one and for being completely honest about his thoughts on the book. Did we love it? It's complicated. Do the 'insights' hold up? It seems they do! Let me know what you thought about this one. Thanks to Redemption brand Mafia Funeral strain for helping Shelly through this one. Big big love out to the cannabis activists and criminal justice reform community in Michigan who lost some very important warriors in September. We miss you Rick Thompson.

September is here and that means that we are excited about the 3rd annual Entheofest taking place on the diag at the University of Michigan on Sunday, September 17th at 1:11 pm. Entheofest is a free speech event celebrating sacred plants and fungi and facilitates creating a base of equity in this growing industry. There will be live music, speakers, and community. We will once again have a table there and are so excited to see you all again. You can check out this amazing collection of books curated by the Entheofest team and enter a drawing to win them. I KNOW! SO EXCITING. They are in my house right now and it's just delicious. Thanks to Sara for being the absolute best person to preview them with me!

McKenzie Luria, founder of Sunfish Strategic Partners, recommended this one and we had a great time talking about how doing business can be fun. Even accounting! She loves accounting and these principles helped her begin to see a better way to operate. Even in the cannabis industry! Even when the world is insane. There is a better way people! Go get a book or find your crew and learn new stuff. It is the best!

This episode was recorded live on May 20, 2023, at the Detroit Women of Comedy Festival at the Independent Comedy Club in Hamtramck. Thanks to the hilarious and mighty Melanie Hearn and her perfect dog Foxy for joining me and thanks to that wonderful mid-day audience that showed up! What a fun vibe to discuss Two-Boy Weekend. Don't let those cute book covers fool you! The Wakefield twins of Sweet Valley High are always into some risky business. Thanks to Redemption Foundation, Treetown Cannabis, Bookfield Books(bookmarks), Bloom City Club and 'This That and the Odder Thing' for gift bag treats! If you've enjoyed at least ONE episode of this show, please check out and support these organizations. www.greatlakesexpungmentnetwork.org www.redemptionfoundation.org www.lastprisonerproject.org

I am so grateful to Dr. Dan Piccolo(dear old friend and percussionist) for recommending this book and to Ross Huff(dear old friend and trumpet player) for joining us on the read. Two big ideas stuck with me from this book. One is that creating music is dependent on the tension between understanding the basics of a deep tradition AND constantly improvising to create something new. Two is the intimacy in Dyer's stories about many of America's most lauded musicians. We see Thelonius Monk, Lester Young, Charles Mingus, Ben Webster, and more not as icons but in their completely messy painful humanity, often suffering at the hands of the country that celebrates their music, dealing with real mental health issues and loss. Dan and Ross were the perfect guests and you should take my advice and go check out their music. www.danpiccolo.com www.rosshuff.com

Hey there! You're having STRONG FEELINGS......and maybe, hopefully...... you are being mindful and trying to decide what to DO with these FEELINGS. Well, life coach Jackie Wallace and psychotherapist Elizabeth Reed want you to start writing that shit down to start dealing with it. Shannon Trudell is back.....yaaaay....and this very PRO THERAPY group is having a great time talking about this journal. If you can't afford therapy yet, order this journal and take the first small step to sorting out those thoughts. We are all here cheering you on!

Special HashBash week promo! The wonderful hardworking Josey Scoggins joins me to talk about her favorite books, the great work the Redemption Foundation is doing, and the Treasure Hunt you can join to support both Sons and Daughters United and the Great Lakes Expungement Network. Come roam around Ann Arbor with us trying goodies and sending help to people that need it.

I am so grateful that Robyn Gilleran and Sarah Grogan totally get me and laughed when I mailed them this book out of nowhere the night after they first met at a comedy show. I had a feeling these two awesome moms would have a blast together and also have exactly the right commentary on this important work of literature about child-rearing in the animal kingdom. If you are a mom that sometimes takes herself too seriously OR puts pressure on herself to be perfect OR you are heading to a baby shower soon and need a gift, grab this book. You gotta laugh.

I love how Fredrik Backman creates the messiest most human humans and lets them have the most real awkward fraught sweet moments your heart can stand. I laugh/cried through 'A Man Called Ove' almost 10 years ago and laugh/cried through Anxious People too. What could be better than to chat about this with one of my favorite kindred messy humans, Emily Petersmark, the rockin singer songwriter from Michigan based band The Crane Wives. Strangers at an open house become hostages....sort of....and it isn't really scary. It's touching. It's weird and funny. And so much lived life is underneath all the mundane and then you remember the title. And all assumptions about the characters I started with were challenged and reminded me to check myself. I was beating myself up when I started this write-up because I meant to release it over a week ago. Then I remembered that this whole book is about how ridiculously difficult it is to be human. 'Don't think about that anymore now. Think about something nicer. Think about cookies.'

Thanks so much to Amber Asbury for recommending Worth the Fight and for connecting me to Matthew Simpson. Thank you Matt for sharing your experience of facing the darkness and finding the light in service. More of this, please! Visit Amber! www.nirvanacenter.com/ Keep in touch with Matt! worththefightbook.org Magic n' Microdosing Mastermind: January 10th 2023 cohort www.nltrans.org/mm-mastermind Microdosing Mondays Meetup: www.meetup.com/psychedelics-and-…-personal-growth/ Support Michael Thue- gofund.me/ed0af22a Support Great Lakes Expungement Network greatlakesexpungementnetwork.org/ Support LastPrisonerProject www.lastprisonerproject.org

I love dogs and I love books and I love promoting the work of friends so this was just so fun. Meet Wembly the Pug, lovingly based on first-time author David Shoup's pal of 18 years, Elvis. Elvis is gone but his adorable spirit lives on in the courageous Wembly. Shout out to Antonella Fant also for the precious illustrations. I love it so much. Hope you do too!

Claire is back! It is the day after the midterm elections and we are relieved that our rights were protected by Michiganders. Maryland and Missouri voted for cannabis legalization. Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota rejected it. I'm trying a new recording setup and smoking tiny joints and we have a great spontaneous conversation about everything from feng shui to gun safety and try to catch up on allllll that we've been reading. She loaned me Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro several months ago, which was released in 2005 to much award buzz. I read it right away but was so disturbed by the reveal of the horror underlying this seemingly simple story of teens at a boarding school that I couldn't really talk about it until now. Keep voting so we don't end up here, please and thank you.

After some light-hearted Kanye bashing and wonky editing, I settle into a great conversation with Hyped up Live Co-Producers Tony 'TMoney' Green and Yorg Kerasiotis, along with author Jackie Wallace to discuss Jackie's new book 'Behind the Wall'. The title is alluding to alll the stories that happen BEHIND that wall of gold records you see. If you would have told me over 25 years ago that I would be hanging out with the man that laid down the bassline on Doggystyle, it would have seemed like a long shot, but here we are, hanging out in Tony's Detroit studio, having a lovely conversation over weed and snacks. Of course, it makes perfect sense that we would become friends, both being connectors and encouragers and saying yes to too many projects. Thank you YORG for THIS connection. If you love Death Row Records, you love Tony's sound. Get the book and learn the story behind the sound!

I recorded this one live at Detroit Specials Used Books store with owner Dora Badger and two cats! Animals are welcome here. In fact, a portion of all sales from both the physical and online stores goes to animal rescue organizations in Detroit. I am not a regular fantasy reader and initially struggled with Hairston's language. Thanks, Dora for shifting my perspective and making it feel so much more approachable. We had a great discussion. It is a truly tragic epic fantasy set in a richly imagined world. It fearlessly calls out the undeniable future of a system built on greed that takes natural resources for granted. Go see Dora at the store! Get involved with Detroit animal rescue!

We aren't reading a book this episode. We are reading and discussing actual legal questions posed to Nick Leydorf, Comedian at Law'. Melissa and her 6-month-old golden doodle are hosting me in the garage where Melissa rolls the fattest joints in the land. Check out Nick's new album 'Free Consultation' available Oct 14th. You can pre-order now through the link @comedianatlaw OR come party with us at The Fledge in Lansing for the release party that same night. Shout out to Om of Medicine for hosting his first headliner set in 2018!

How does the title of this book make you feel? Are you UNCOMFORTABLE? Are you CURIOUS? ANNOYED? And why? That is kinda the whole point of this book. Annie Grace is just leading you through a mindfulness exercise around this ONE topic. No judgment. No shame in the process. Just observation and questioning of potentially long-held beliefs. This questioning has been a huge part of my life. Can you relate? Thanks so much to Teresa for suggesting it and for being honest and willing to share her stories. Shout out to anyone who has turned their life around. Peace!

First of all, dancer and author Kristi Lynn Davis is a DELIGHT and this book made me so happy. We are silly show people and it makes sense to us to buy groceries at 2am and have prop accident scars that we are proud of. She takes the reader with her from a small dance studio in Michigan to New York then all over the world and back obeying her call to that show biz life. We cram in choreography on an Alaskan cruise ship and are lavished with gifts on tour with the Playboy Girls of Rock and Roll and then follow her running downstairs in heels and a tiny costume to attend another Rockette's birthday party in a Vegas dressing room. ALSO! I have a WHOLE NEW RESPECT for precision dance at that level. WOW! Impressive. My knees are hurting from reading about the number of high-heeled kicks that life requires. We didn't talk about weed very much in this episode mainly because we all know there is no weed in show biz. Hee hee. Cheers to Beaver Island where we get to hang out in the woods and party and never worrying about what 'normal' means.

I couldn't believe we hadn't read any Shel Silverstein on the show yet! And now that we have, I am mad that I didn't get to hang out with him as a friend. Would this writer of children's books and country songs AND stoner poetry be my friend? OF COURSE HE WOULD HAVE! WE WOULD HAVE LAUGHED SO MUCH! First time guest and fellow 'bookfield' veteran Lester Crafton is on! He educates me on solar energy and the obvious problems in our current system. Thanks for jumping in and reading along. So fun! Learn more about solar energy at ovanova.co. Shout out to all the other door to door 'Book People' who have in the past or are still moving cannabis freedom forward.

You might already know TJ Zindle from his first band Last Conservative or more recently from shredding guitars in his sister's band Erin Zindle and the Ragbirds, BUT I'm excited to talk to him about his songwriting! Go ahead over to Bandcamp and get his NEWEST album 'Now Let Go', the follow up to 2017's 'Hold On With All Your Might'. What a great follow up name right? That's a good start. But then dive into his last couple of albums too. They rock and they feel. We talk about his creative release during the 2020 shutdown, which came in the form of prolific writing and recording in his basement using Garageband and the space granted to him by the stopping of the world. We talk about songs that make us cry and songs that should be honky tonk covers. We talk about getting better at life and never giving up on rock and roll. Shout outs to his lovely wife Flavia, Mike Zeis, Josh Mullin, and Jamie Candiloro.

It was so interesting to revisit The Great Gatsby 100 years after the time it was set in. Was Fitzgerald's snapshot of America post Spanish flu jazz age that much different from post Covid America? Are rich couples still getting away with murder? Are lovesick people still doing things for the most bizarre of reasons? Are people still partying too much on Long Island? Yes and Yes and Yes. But it is a short and completely delicious read and Fitzgerald's ability to create so many vivid characters in so few pages is still so impressive and fun. I listened to the audio version read by Jake Gyllenhall and would highly recommend that. Shout outs to Decriminalize Nature petitioners out and about at Movement in Detroit all last weekend and thanks to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for having so much weed for the nearby states who don't. Thanks so so much to my guests-resident Gatsby obsessed expert Eleanor Hanley(first timer!), Moon Abbott(thanks for coming back!), and Paul Gordon(host of Diamond Dust-ups)for joining me!

Early in this discussion about Untamed by Glennon Doyle, Mary Dettling called it Shakubuku, which was referenced in the 1997 John Cusack movie Grosse Pointe Blank as 'a spiritual kick to the head.' It's a Buddhist term meaning roughly 'break and subdue' in which the resistance of another is broken by forceful argument. And I get it. It is a mind shifter, especially if you grew up wanting to be a 'good Christian girl', like Glennon. But to me it didn't feel forceful. It's one woman telling a story of drastic change and vulnerability that inevitably happens when you start to live a life that reflects your deepest truth. To me it feels more like another buddhist term-Shōju, which means “to lead others to the correct teaching gradually, according to their capacity and without directly refuting their religious misconceptions.” Living your truth is the ultimate honoring of KNOWING. It was so so good to have this reminder. The reminder that the 'God' that was marketed to so many of us was not the one we are coming to really truly know in the KNOWING, the one that honors the highest and most beautiful version of ourselves. And it is so honest, and funny! Thanks to Paul Gordon for joining us again and making the lovely veggie tray. Shout out to Dori Edwards for employing me and Mary almost 10 years ago so that we could meet and be friends, and to the yummy OREOZ from our local caregiver that we smoked.

You wouldn't know it by how silly we start, but this conversation with my friend Ray Reyes is about to get really heavy. His is the first story in Mike Hain's compilation of near death experiences published in 2021. It is May and outdoor cannabis farms are being planted. Thanks Island Farm for the delicious Shiraz preroll! There is throat singing in an ambulance. We disucss House Bill 5512(look it up Michiganders)and also MEETING GOD. We talk about the comfort of knowing and the need to share the wonder of the universal soul and it's power to pull us through grief. Shout out to our community of friends-Jamie Lowell, Rick Thompson-Hi Jazz Cabbage! Charmie Gholson-can't wait to see this BOOK! Motown Rage! If you want to see Ray Reyes ROCK- Rising Up Angry will be at Shovelhead Lounge in Longwood FL June 17th!

"In Native ways of knowing, human people are often referred to as 'the younger brothers of creation'. We say that humans have the least experience with how to live and thus the most to learn. We must look to our teachers among other species for guidance." I had the pleasure of talking about this book with Sarah Nunez Bida and Luna Alexander. It is art and science and history and love of all living things. It teaches us that gratitude and reciprocity are key to preserving the planet. We didn't get around to some of the popular bookclub questions about Windigo boogeymen or the Council of Pecans. We DO want to request a way to join a field trip to learn about cattails. We DO want to know our 'siblings' better. What I hope is that this will be like a conversation that you overhear while you are going about something else and it will cause you to read the book and learn to love the earth the way the earth loves us.

Oh boy! Breaking news from a midwest elementary school prompted an emergency minisode! This writer is a budding activist if I've ever heard one. Bravo. The writing is direct, on message, and passionate. Paul Gordon is back with me, lending his voice to the dramatic re enactment of this journalistic piece. He ALSO has a new podcast you should go follow on Instagram called 'Diamond Dustups-stories of baseballtercations' coming SOON to allll streaming platforms! It is Hash Bash week! We're back LIVE in the diag in Ann Arbor this Saturday and we'll be collecting sigantures to get the Decrminalize Nature initiative on the ballot in November. This episode was fueled by a Michigan grower and the Tropicana Banana and IceCream Cake Combo smoke has proved to be my motivational woonderdrug these past few nights.

I'm back with the second half of the delicious interview with Erin Zindle-multi instrumentalist front woman of the Ragbirds and confessed pure songwriter at heart. In this half we explore writing from a place of pain, how badass her band is,(shout out to Loren Kranz on drums, Shannon Wade on bass, and TJ Zindle on guitar), and writing as a self fulfilling prophecy. We talk about how the process shifts when writing with different collaborators-shout out Alex Holycross from Native Howl. We quote lyrics in unison again because we are cool like that. Go to festivals this summer and see Erin Zindle and the Ragbirds. I'll be there dancing around, so grateful. Contact her about songwriting lessons. Support her at patreon.comtheragbirds.

Well this was just wonderful. In this episode I sit down with my lovely longtime friend Erin Zindle to talk about songwriting. Erin is the multi instrumentalist frontwoman of the band the Ragbirds. I have loved her music for so long because it speaks right to me, makes me want to dance, makes me want to pray, sometimes to cry. Erin also teaches private songwriting lessons and taught for years at Interlochen. The songs we reference in the episode include Good, Believe It, Enemy, Medicine, Brave New Beat, Adoration, Book of Matches, New Story, and Curious. There are so many more that I love! We talked so long I made it two episodes. I just joined https://www.patreon.com/theragbirds and you should too! Also Erin Zindle and the Ragbirds are back on tour after tooooo long and are fired up so make sure to catch them soon!

Oh wow! There was drama on the school snow hill and this kid got to the bottom of it. I want to read more stories written by kids. Please send me more! This gem really got me. So fun! Happy last day of February! I don't know who needs to hear this, but stop taking yourself so seriously.

Before there were reality shows where gay friends were dramatically overwrought, there was Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray. We think he might have invented the genre. Thanks to Moon Abbott for the recommendation and to Paul and Moon Abbott for being the first parent/child combo team on Reads and Weeds. If you enjoy a witty 19th century upper class comedy tinged with a super dark lesson in the perils of excessive vanity, this book is for YOU! The songs I mention/sing not so perfectly during the episode are 'Older and Taller' by Regina Spektor and 'Forever Young' by Alphaville. Go smoke something and read the book and listen to the songs and let me know what you think. Cheers!

It was high time for me to catch up with my former improv class buddy Kate Britt. She enthusiastically recommended Fifth Business, the first in the Deptford Trilogy. And she knows stuff because she is a LIBRARIAN. I didn't realize how bad I had been missing smart witty IN PERSON conversation during these cold ass wintery lingering pandemic days and it was just so much fun. The 't nana' I refer to a couple of times during the episode is the 'Tropicana Banana' strain that was grown by an awesome caregiver in Michigan. Yum. How had I not heard about Robertson Davies until now?! I love the fictional village of Deptford and it's inhabitants and the circumstances that affect their whole lives as seen through the eyes of Dunstan Ramsay. It was just what I needed. I felt like I was sitting beside an awkward wonderful storyteller learning about how he came to be the man he is. If you are looking for a novel to just sweep you up and carry you along on these cold days, go get it. I've already started the second one!

It was a 'show must go on' day, and thanks to the lovely recommendation from and company of Cynthia Shelby Lane, it was fun and engaging. If you are looking for a very easy to read and reference guide on how cannabis is being used to treat many well known conditions from insomnia to epilepsy to ptsd, this is the book. If you are looking to start exploring the plant medicine of cannabis for the first time, also a great place to start. Also, Cynthia is amazing and still trying to be an astronaut and this is a big huge year for her unstoppable dream. AND we will both be at 50 First Jokes at the ARK in Ann Arbor Jan 6, 2022! Come see us!

We are smack in between Thanksgiving and Christmas and nothing captures that feeling for me quite like Mad Magazine. I had missed it so! Since I was teeny, I felt like they got me. They 'got' the 'funny'. I knew it before I even understood the word 'satire'. I was so excited to find this special edition in a grocery store and realize the humor holds up so well to this day. Still so smart and daring and silly and not afraid to call out the absurdity in America during this time. And the discovery that they never took ad money, well that just warms my lil ole heart. Thanks Paul Gordon for geeking out with me on memory lane.

I have loved this book for so long. Every few years when I re read it, it is usually because I am hoping it will inspire me. It always does. I feel like Stephen King is hanging out with me telling life stories and talking shop. It is, of course, TELEPATHY! (If you know you know.) I hadn't read lots of his work but that doesn't matter. He is the teacher that wants you to use your tools, write what you know, and tell the truth. If you like to write, want to write, or were writing but are now stuck, go get this book. Message me and let me know how it made you feel. I got to talk about it with Ellie Snyder, Michigan comedian on the rise who is currently shopping her first finished novel around and working on a second. She has been living the lessons and it was great to have someone who had as many favorite parts as I do. Sigh. Thank you Stephen.

I bet some of you saw that title and had a gut reaction to the idea of reading affirmations. Maybe you have rewired your brain and changed your life for the better. Maybe you think they are absolute bullshit. Maybe you feel like using affirmations is just lying to yourself. I'm ALL FOR IT. One day while taping some dance videos for World Dance Workout with Sandy and Nikki, we were having major technical difficulties. We all started our slap happy affirmations. 'I am great at audio tech! I'm never sore! I love social media!' But for real though, we have all seen some miracles. Manifestation. Let's talk about it.

Shelly hangs with Myc again to dive into the mind of William Leonard Pickard. Myc calls him an ENIGMA-defined as 'a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand'. I would have to agree. In the middle of reading this epic memoir that is at times magical realism and often an historical reference, I heard him speak at the inaugural Enthoefest. He was the most present soft spoken world traveling master chemist recently released from a life prison sentence psychonaut that I have ever met. His journey takes him out of prison to the monastery to Harvard to the sometimes dark and terrible and sometimes healing and beautiful drug behavior and policy that effects it all over the world and back to the largest LSD production lab bust in history. Well, it isn't boring. Also, reading someone's story through their own beautifully elevated consciousness and understanding is just so lovely.

Shelly hangs with Roberta King to talk about Budding Prospects-A Pastoral-by T.C. Boyle. HOLY COW if you have been in the cannabis industry for awhile or ever worked at a grow you have to read this. It is too funny and real. Of course it starts with a charismatic money guy showing up at his friends place talking about big money to be made-And ends with......a very crowded and hot apartment. HA! HA! So much schadenfreude! Much has changed in the world of weed since it was originally published in 1984 but the characters and challenges are so familiar and hilarious. T. C. Boyle knows how to paint the messy messy stuff beautifully. We also talk about upcoming caregiver rallies in Michigan and fun cannabis events Roberta is producing.

While listening to the audio version of this magical book which is set on a farm in Mexico during the pandemic 100 years ago, I was working on a farm in Michigan and living through a pandemic in 2021. (AND, AND it originally came out in 2015 but it SEEMS like she MUST HAVE KNOWN that another pandemic was coming, you know.) Anyway I highly recommend experiencing it that way if you can. Medicate and listen to it in a hammock or working in your garden! There is a mysterious wise boy who communicates with bees and knows the future. There is a woman who nurses 3 generations of a family and outlives them all. There is the family that is doing their best with surprises and suffering. There is a dark terrible villain who felt cheated. There is sugar cane giving way to orange trees and old ways giving way to new. This is the magic of reading. This isn't my story but it IS my story. Thanks Amanda and Angie for hanging with me on this one, and for eating the oranges and honey and for smoking all the things. It was so lovely.

We love the podcast 'My Favorite Murder' with Karen and Georgia. Somehow two friends talking about true crime and being their daring authentic selves has inspired a giant 'Murderino' community that is supportive, honest, humble, bold, and knows when it needs therapy and we are HERE FOR IT. We love this book and want you to read it. Shelly and Angie(Bone Jackies) are joined by Paul Gordon(who recommended the book and edited this episode), Allyson Bobbitt(You Made Me Watch podcast) and Lauren Bridges(who inspired me to be a murderino many years ago).