Thomversations

Mark Pickerel You never know where your skills will take you, even if you grow up in a small town that has no real outlet for your creativity. You could start a band that is part of the founding of a movement called Grunge. Mark Pickerel talks about starting The Screaming Trees, drumming with Nirvana, and how life and wisdom has changed him from trying to force the direction of life, to producing his own music and being okay with where his creativity lands, but still doing his best to get the word out about it. Give a listen to one of the founders of Grunge Rock to now a maker of Americana Music. It's a great talk.   

This is part 2 of the conversation with Wanz. He'll tell you bout what happened after someone screamed, "We're all gonna die!", to his life after college and the bands he played in, and yes he'll talk about the truly fun and awesome experiences he had singing the hook to the song Thrift Shop all over the world. Wanz Great stories, great conversation.  If you missed part one, check it out here: https://www.thomversations.com/e/the-story-of-wanz-part-1/     

This Thomversation is with Wanz, Michael Wansley, of Thrift Shop fame and his hook of popping tags and only having $20. This is the first of a two part conversation with the man where he will tell you about his life from his first memory, which seems appropriate, of him singing, to the morning after his first gig fronting a funk band in college at Central Washington University (Go Wildcats!). In part 2 he'll talk about what happened after that, to his different bands, to the amazing happenings of Thrift Shop to today. He's a man of many stories, and he good at telling them. Give a listen and subscribe so you'll get a notice when part 2 comes out. 

Art, and specifically street art is a way of life for Jason Clifton. He's also been in the Hip-Hop and skateboarding scene for decades and is making his living as an artist in Ellensburg, WA. His art varies, but portraits are his specialty. Take a listen to this wide ranging Thomversation that goes from Banksy to Black Lives Matter. 

How do you go from learning to play music, to becoming a master of an instrument? Today you will hear from Ben Price. He is/was a graduate student at the University of Idaho getting his masters degree in Orchestral Tuba Performance. I put the is/was in there because when we recorded this he was still a student and was supposed to graduate this May, 2020, but he is waiting to give his recital for the final check to earn his degree. Now, when you think of important parts of an orchestra the tuba may be down your list, but you'll hear how if the tubist is off time, or off key, the rest of the orchestra is off. It's not just the oompahs in the background, it's the foundation. Come along and enjoy Ben's story from how a joke of being a little kid playing a huge instrument, became a life's passion.

Back in March of 2019 Zack Dekker came in to talk about growing and selling marijuana in Washington State. He returns to give us an update on how his marijuana farm and operation is doing and we talk about the state of the legal pot business. Plus we get into other topics like waking up early and the importance of a good Bud Tender. Give it a listen. Be well.

This Coronavirus pandemic is hard on us all. It's stressful and it's not easy to keep a "social distance" since we are all social creatures, in some way. This podcast is just a quick check-in with you to see how you are doing, how I am doing, and a little about what we can do to help others. Be well my friend.

This Thomversation is with Benjamin James and it's mainly about movies. The process of making one from the script, to getting the best “Best Boy”, and you'll learn what a person with that job title does, as well as why there so many producers on a movies. Plus you'll get a look at a dark period in Benjamin's life when his parents were kidnapped. Yeah. Wonder why he likes horror movies? This is a really good talk and another one I think you will enjoy. Thanks for checking it out. Listen, you will like.

Would you put your life in danger to study a bird? Jordan Boersma has and will likely do it again. He is a biology PhD candidate at Washington State University and has done some courageous work in Papua New Guinea in order to study the interplay between ornamentation, hormones, and behavior, in, namely, the White-shouldered Fairywren. He has some great stories: how some people there have never seen a white man. The past New Guinea culture of eating people. The real struggle he goes through in order to do his field work. This is a really good talk, and very informative about people, and how to manage your way around an unfamiliar culture and country. You'll learn a lot from him. Good stuff. Give it a listen.

This Thomversation is about taking care of your mind with Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor Andrea Mason. Your mind and your body work together to create you. You need a body that is in good shape and working order and a mind that is just as healthy to keep all of you fit. If your body was injured badly enough that you couldn't heal it on your own you would seek professional help, an M.D. If your mind is injured by trauma and you are not able to heal it on your own you should seek help from a counselor, psychologist, or psychiatrist. If there is something that keeps reappearing in your mind, and it is taking a toll on you, then you may need to get some tools to help or maybe just have someone who is willing to listen to you. This podcast is right for you to learn what it means to be an independent counselor, and how insurance works, and why you should seek help. Andrea is good people. Give a listen and hear for yourself. It gets deep.

Dr. Jeremiah Busch is an Evolutionary Biologist, educator, and personal friend. In this Thomversation we talk about evolution, what is it really? To evolve takes such a long time that we have to alter our thinking to grasp tens-of-thousands, much less millions, of years. It'll work your brain matter. Ever heard of this Charles Darwin guy? We talk about his importance to scientific thought and his radical idea of evolution. He didn't come up with it overnight. It took a long time and critical thinking to come up with his theory. Dr. Busch makes it easy to understand so you can gain a bit more knowledge, which we love here at Thomversations.

On this Thomversation you'll learn about Virtual Reality with Devin Gay. You'll learn why it feels real. How what you see in V.R. is meant to give you a sense of presence. That means that you actually feel, think, become aware of the space you are in as if it is real, even though it is something you would never find in the real world. Let that sink in for a moment. If you have never had a “true” virtual reality experience, I suggest you seek it out. It will probably blow your mind as much as it did, and does, mine. By “true” I mean something beyond what you experience with a headset and a phone attached to it. High resolution googles, and stereo, if not binaural sound, and controllers that let you interact with the virtual world. When you experience VR you feel as if you are IN in that world, not playing some entity in that world, like in video games where you play the game, but you may not exactly feel like you are present in that world. It's a good and very informative Thomversation. Give it a listen.

Your veterinarian can be as close as a family member to you. They go through the ups and downs of your pets and livestock. From birthing to death. Veterinarians carry a lot of weight to make sure animals have the best healthcare they can provide. Today you'll hear from Veterinarian Dr. Susila Bales. She's been a practicing vet since 1997 and is very knowledgable about her profession; from treatment of the animals to the treatment of the clients who come into her clinic. I've wanted to do a podcast with a veterinarian for a while now since my dog Dazey started having a life ending illness, and her eventual death. We talk about the life and death of pets, and the difficulties of being a veterinarian. It's a very informative talk and one I think will help you get a greater perspective of the life and work of a veterinarian. WOOF!

Think about all of the buildings, of any size, you see every day. Architecture is everywhere, but what is it? What makes something architecture? Does it have to be created by an architect to be architecture? These questions and more are answered in this episode of Thomversations. You'll hear from Architecture educator, and my friend, Matt Brehm and he will tell you what makes up a building, how and why do you need to design it, the types of different materials and building uses you need to know in order to design something that the client wants and still make structure function as needed and intended. The different aspects of buildings that maybe you and I don't think about as we wander thru various buildings day-to-day. Give a listen, I think you might learn a thing or two. I know I did.

If you have ever had to euthanize a pet, you know how horrible it is. You know the heartache and sadness you feel for days. We had to do this to our dog Dazey. You'll get the story and a talk about her and how she not only affected our lives, but friends lives too.

What is a natural resource? Why do we need them? How do we use them? What is the intersection of business, people, and natural resources? So many questions, so many answers from Dr. Steve Daley-Laursen. He is currently a Professor of Society and Natural Resources at the University of Idaho, but just days away from retiring at this writing. He's also been the Dean of The College of Natural Resources at U of I, and a past President of The University of Idaho. He'll give you some insights on his experiences. He is a very knowledgable man with a set of values that he follows to keep his life in perspective, you'll hear about those. Also how he likes to help people and groups to focus on what they have in common over their differences. There is lots to learn from him and I think you'll enjoy what he has to say.

Mindfulness. When you learn or hear about it, suddenly it seems like the word is seen all over the place and heard everywhere. So what is it? How do you do it? What does it do for you? All of these are covered in this Thomversation with Dr. Jamie Derrick. She is the University of Idaho Mind Founder & Mindfulness Educator/ Facilitator at the University of Idaho, and is a practicing psychologist, who uses mindfulness to help her patients. After talking to Jamie and listening to how mindfulness can help, I've been practicing it in my life, especially when I lose my focus. Matter of fact, I listened to this episode, and the brief meditation we do together, to help relax my body and sharpen my brain to keep on task with writing this description. It works for me. Maybe it'll work for you too. But if you have curious mind, like me, then give a listen. Take a few deep breaths, focus your mind, and take in an in-depth look into Mindfulness. It's time well spent.

Today on Thomversations you'll hear from marijuana entrepreneur Zack Dekker. He grows pot organically on a farm and in the actual soil, not hydroponically, and sells it in Washington State thru his legal marijuana business Binx Buds. Also sold under the Old McDonald's Farm brand. Along with his business partner TJ, they have been in the legal pot biz in Washington State since the medical marijuana days where they started growing weed on a large scale as a collective. Thru this start they have grown into a fully sustained business that not only grows, but also processes pot, which is something not every pot grower does. On this podcast you'll find out what it's like to grow pot, the ins and outs of the trade, and why and how they lost their farm and then had to rebuild, in a different part of the state. It's a great one, give a listen.  

Amit Sharma is a passionate physicist who came to the United States from India to study physics and follow his passion of teaching others about it. His life is full of ups and downs, especially when dealing with U.S. Immigration, but his positive attitude and dedication to his craft and science have seen him through the tough times. After hearing this Thomversation, you'll want to be a student in his classroom. 

On this episode of Thomversations, you'll hear Bob Batwin tell the stories of his life and what he has accomplished, how he has chosen to live, his travels and adventures around the world: teaching people karate, studying art, and conducting business. You get the feeling that you can do it all too. The ups and the downs, the struggle of trying new things in order to get ahead. The ability to stop doing one job or business and start doing another as it becomes more lucrative, I think you've got to admire that in a person. And all the while doing art. Fine art. Bob's art is for sale, contact him via Bob Batwin Art on Facebook. Here are a few examples:  

Nancy Chaney, former mayor of Moscow, Idaho sits down for a Thomversation. She is living an interesting life where she embraces the positive benefits that sudden changes in life can bring. When you do, you just might become mayor of your town, or have wonderful dinner in a foreign land. Nancy is alright. Listen and find out for yourself.

Jim Boland sits down for a Thomversation. Jim road his bike from the U.S.A. West Coast, to East Coast, and it took him 30 days to do it. Quite the ride. You'll hear how he did it, and stories along the way. Like getting bitten by a dog! It's a good talk.