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... we could turn off auto ads. I don't know. I almost titled this "If I had a new partner" instead of a nickel but it didn't actually make sense. Annyyyyway We're making Tom talk about polyamory again! Join the dads as they dissect a truly awful Reddit post about a marriage opening up. Is any part of what happened in that story actually ethical non-monogamy? Does the polyamory community co-opt language that should be reserved for other groups? And in a spirited back and forth, could the "right person" make you "be" monogamous or polyamorous? But first, BLUEY TALK. Because those two topics go together. Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearolddads.com

6:00 HOUR: Should Miami (OH) still get in the NCAA Tournament? Are injuries an excuse for the Red Wings?

“Cancer didn't just change my life; in a lot of ways, it saved it.” In this episode, Nick speaks with writer and cancer survivor Edward Miskie about identity, resilience, and rebuilding life after cancer. Edward shares his journey through alcoholism, a rare and aggressive cancer diagnosis at 25, and the emotional fallout of survival. He opens up about losing who he was, shedding old identities, learning to create a new version of himself, and the power found in asking yourself what you truly want. What to listen for: Cancer stripped away his sense of identity and derailed every plan he had for his life. Coping took many unhealthy forms, such as alcohol, casual sex, and escapism, etc. All attempts to feel “normal.” Humor, community, and intentionally creating fun moments helped him survive emotionally. After treatment ends, survivors lose their daily medical support system and feel like they're free-falling. “The question that changed everything for me was simply: What do you want?” Asking what we want puts us back in charge of our lives Whether you're in tune with your intuition or not, asking what you want will most often bring up an answer, even if it's surface-level; it's a start Taking charge of your life doens't always mean taking action first; it often starts with a simple question “Humor and fun helped me survive the darkest moments, even when it felt impossible.” Escaping or bypassing is never the answer to healing; however, a subtle mental shift can be just what is needed to keep moving Finding “fun” and humor in life often leads to quicker resiliency Life sucks at times. Why not have fun as best we can in every situation, no matter how dark or dire? About Edward Miskie Edward is currently celebrating 13 years as a sole survivor of a rare Non_Hodgkin’s Lymphoma with the publishing of his book Cancer, Musical Theatre, & Other Chronic Illnesses, available at Barnes & Nobel, Apple Books, Walmart, Amazon, and others. For the last 20 years, Edward has spent his life in NYC writing, producing, and performing. https://www.edwardmiskie.com/ https://www.remissionfilmfest.com/ https://instagram.com/edwardmiskie https://www.tiktok.com/@edwardmiskie Resources: Check out other episodes about life change from cancer Cancer Doesn’t Define Your Life, You Do, Embrace The Suck Unpacking A Five-Time Cancer Survivor's Journey With Shariann Tom Interested in starting your own podcast or need help with one you already have? https://themindsetandselfmasteryshow.com/podcasting-services/ Thank you for listening! Please subscribe on iTunes and give us a 5-Star review! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mindset-and-self-mastery-show/id1604262089 Listen to other episodes here: https://themindsetandselfmasteryshow.com/ Watch Clips and highlights: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk1tCM7KTe3hrq_-UAa6GHA Guest Inquiries right here: podcasts@themindsetandselfmasteryshow.com Your Friends at “The Mindset & Self-Mastery Show” Click Here To View The Episode Transcript Nick McGowan (00:01.23)Hello and welcome to the Mindset and Self Mastery Show. I’m your host, Nick McGowan. Today on the show we have Edward Miske. Edward, how are doing today? Edward Miskie (he/him) (00:11.107)How are you? Nick McGowan (00:12.376)I’m good, I’m good. I know we’ve had just a little bit of technical issues getting things started, but here we are. I’m excited to talk to somebody who’s from the Northeast. I know when I was describing how the show would be, I was like, here’s kind of a Northeast can of how it’s gonna be. But we’re gonna talk about a pretty fucking heavy topic that sadly a lot of people either experience or know somebody that is going through it or has gone through it. And I fucking hate cancer and I know you do as well. So man, I’m glad that you’re here. Why don’t you get us started? Tell us what you do for a living and what’s one thing most people don’t know about you that’s maybe a little odd or bizarre. Edward Miskie (he/him) (00:51.36)Sure, okay, so I pay my bills working in corporate America, but outside of that, I’m a writer and I consider myself to be a producer in either live or TV film world. It’s been a long journey. I used to do musical theater and some TV and film, and here we are. Here we have landed in this kind of iteration of that life. thing about me that is kind of weird, bizarre. actually like, and this might be a little bit mild for you, but like, I consider myself more recently than not to be an introvert. And I always thought that I was an extrovert, but that was actually just because I was drinking enough to become an extrovert to kind of like, settle the introverted, introverted want to go home. And I felt kind of obligated to fight that and stay out and be around people and do all the social things. there is a point to which I really did like that. But it just turned me into an alcoholic. And so I stopped drinking and embraced the fact that I’m more of an introvert than anything. Nick McGowan (02:08.718)I don’t think that’s mild and actually man, that’s spot on with my own life. I think there are a lot of us that think, we have to do this sort of thing. Like we have to go out. Like people work in a corporate office, let’s say every Thursday night, everybody goes out to this one specific bar for happy hour. And they all talk about the one person who’s an idiot in their job or whatever else. And they all just do those things. And there are people that are like, well, I want to be part of that crowd. So I’m going to do that. I think that should even ties back to when we were kids. Like there are certain people that didn’t experience drinking in high school, others that were like, everybody fucking come with me. I got it. We’re going to the woods, you know? Edward Miskie (he/him) (02:37.654)No, it- Edward Miskie (he/him) (02:43.992)yeah. Little column A, little column B. But yeah, is especially like having, like I said, in theater for so long. Being in New York City, it’s very hard to be introverted in New York City. I remember reading something recently that was like, I’m actually an extroverted introvert in the sense that like, I am pretty comfortable in a social setting. I am very comfortable doing stuff like this. Nick McGowan (02:47.957)Yeah. Edward Miskie (he/him) (03:10.102)But if you throw me in a social setting where I don’t know anyone, I immediately clam up and disappear. it, that’s what the alcohol was for. You know, and then, and then COVID hit and that just spiraled out of control and then, you know, here we are. So, you know, that I think that is probably the weird thing about me that people might not guess if they know me. Nick McGowan (03:19.022)Yeah, yeah, lube you up. Nick McGowan (03:32.504)Well, how long have you been sober now? Edward Miskie (he/him) (03:35.632)it’ll be two years end of March. So like year and a half. Nick McGowan (03:39.822)Cool, nice. That’s not a thing that most people kind of just bring up, you know, unless you’re like, I don’t know, being grossly boisterous about it. Like, hey, I stopped drinking a year and a half ago. The fuck, we’re not even talking about that. Yeah, like, well, okay. Or CrossFitters. Yeah, or Vegan CrossFitters, watch out. Edward Miskie (he/him) (03:47.99)Look at me! Right, it’s like vegans. I’m vegan. or vegan, God, the worst. Yeah, no, I mean, it’s, I think I said to you offline, like, I literally wrote a book about my life that is not does not put me in a good light. And so I just have a very low threshold for things that like, I’m sensitive about talking about. So like being a full raging alcoholic, that’s nothing. Nick McGowan (04:19.534)Sure, yeah. That was the fun times. Yeah, that’s funny. I’m sure there are more people than not that listen to this that have like, at some point thought maybe I have a little bit of a problem. And maybe that was the end of it. You know, like, I realized at one point, I’m drinking a lot. And this isn’t helping me. It’s actually stopping me from doing things. Like I remember one time telling myself, I’m gonna go to the gym today. It’s like, no, you’re not. Edward Miskie (he/him) (04:22.984)Right, miss those days. Nick McGowan (04:48.402)It’s 11 o’clock and you’ve already had two drinks. I was like, I’m not going to the gym today. And the next day being like, that sucks, man. That’s gross. And I hate it or whatever. And I was like, I don’t even want to go outside because I’m making these choices to do this. So, but if you get to that door, you can then make a choice through that. Like we’d even said, kind of offline, like you had to get to a door to be able to be where you’re at today with all this. But let’s break down the alcoholism in a sense, going out and being around with people. Edward Miskie (he/him) (04:52.277)Oof. Nick McGowan (05:18.094)Excuse me, being in the industry, being in the conversations, all that sort of stuff can be weird for people if they don’t have a drink. And going out after the fact when you’re no longer drinking, it’s like, you just don’t want to stand here with this thing? Edward Miskie (he/him) (05:34.027)Yeah, it’s like it that that part I’m fine with. And like up into a certain point, like when people start getting shitty, then I’m that’s my cue to leave. That’s usually the barometer I go by. I’m not like triggered being in a bar. I’m like, cool to be around it. It’s not a big deal. I just don’t like it just makes me feel gross. And I just don’t want to do it. It’s it’s when I’m around people who are getting a little unruly and on the drunk scale that I’m kind of like, okay, well, that’s my cue to go because we’re no longer on the same plane. Nick McGowan (05:36.686)Good. Nick McGowan (05:43.726)Sure. Nick McGowan (05:52.302)Yeah. Nick McGowan (06:02.442)Yeah, Irish exit your way on out. I’m glad that you say that there are certain people that are they’re hesitant to stop drinking or stop doing whatever that thing is that they do, because that’s kind of how they hang out with those friends. That’s how they hang out their family, you know. Edward Miskie (he/him) (06:05.246)Yeah, just like, good night guys, bye! Edward Miskie (he/him) (06:20.596)I mean, yeah, I mean, that’s that’s part of the reason why I drank a lot because that was my social social circle. And it was just kind of like, well, if I stopped drinking, like, they’re not going to ask me to come out with them anymore. And like, low key, that’s what happened in the long run. But like, you know, it was it was a huge buildup. You know, I started really kind of drinking pretty heavily in like, I don’t know, 2010. I drank my way through chemo, I drank my way through my 20s and my early 30s. And then I just hit a point where I was like, I don’t, I want to see if I can go a certain period of time without it. And like it was during COVID, I had actually built up my tolerance, like an actual fucking champion and blew through a bottle of Jameson within like four or five hours. And I wasn’t drunk and I wasn’t hung over the next day. And that was kind of like the whole, hmm. Nick McGowan (07:13.838)That’s a sign. Yeah. Edward Miskie (he/him) (07:14.71)Okay, maybe I should stop now. And then like my doctor was like, your liver numbers are out of control. What are you doing? So we had we had to do a quick course correct, but I wouldn’t I never actually went fully sober because of that because I was like afraid of the social component of it going away. So I would do like 100 days here 100 days there 200 days was I think 210 days was as long as I had ever gone. And then this spring or spring 2024. Nick McGowan (07:22.382)man. Edward Miskie (he/him) (07:43.127)I just was like, I’m gonna do a year. That’s the longest I would have gone ever. So let me try that and let me go for a year. And then a year hit and I was like, oh, like, I should like ceremoniously break this and then I’ll never be sober for more than a year. And like, I’ll just go out and have one drink and it’ll be totally fine. the day came and went and I was like, I don’t want to. I’m good. So here we are a year and a half later and I’m still. Still on the sober train. Nick McGowan (08:13.358)And that’s cool. mean, for everybody that’s listening that is having one or six you Damn. All right. So, yeah, well, I’m gonna start that over again, because at least now I know that there’s a problem. Because like I said, last episode, I was still like, yeah, sure, with like the laptop up. So I’m gonna clip this part out. All right, so three, two. So whether it’s one or six drinks, I mean, the people that are out there kind of thinking like, I know I have probably a little too many, but I don’t really think that there’s much of a problem. I think there’s stuff where we have to think about Edward Miskie (he/him) (08:25.91)It’s all good. heard one or six. Great. Nick McGowan (08:55.03)Like you said about your liver, like your liver enzymes are probably crazy that you don’t know that you potentially have fatty liver that you have to deal with now. And there are different things that could come up. Like, I don’t know, I don’t want to sound like somebody that’s like, you shouldn’t drink and finger wag and all that. But it’s like, in some ways, the older we get, the more that we can look at the shit that we did when our twenties and thirties and go, my God, what’s going on inside my body right now? Like you kind of just blew straight past it that you drank through chemo. Time out, back to the chemo. Give us context here. Edward Miskie (he/him) (09:29.534)I had cancer. It was a very rare non Hodgkin’s lymphoma. There were only about like 900 or so cases of it reported worldwide at the time. It’s called rare and large B-cell Burke. It’s like non Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It’s very aggressive. You could watch my tumor grow. It was the grossest thing in the world. And it was a very dire emergency situation. And I think maybe like two or three rounds of chemo in and I just asked, it was two, was round two. And I asked my oncologist if I could have a drink and she was like, yeah, just one or two, but don’t go crazy. And then I promptly left the hospital and went to my friend’s bar and went crazy and had like doubles the whole night. it was, and like she knew that I had was going through, like going through it and she was trying to help and be like, free alcohol, take it, whatever, whatever, whatever. And then just, you know. that’s that kind of like opened the floodgates of like, you can drink during chemo. That’s fine. And and I did. Nick McGowan (10:31.03)I mean, for anybody that drinks even slightly, they’re probably gonna listen and be like, of course you’re gonna drink. I would drink. Edward Miskie (he/him) (10:38.558)Well, right. What my justification of it was like, well, you know, liver wise, like it’s not chemo. This is like water at this point. So like we’re good. Nick McGowan (10:50.672)the things that will justify, know, like, you know, other poison or this poison I’ve been used to for a while. Why do I use one as a back, you know, like a piggyback? Thank you. It’s a dessert. man. Because you’re piling alcohols in. Edward Miskie (he/him) (10:53.598)Right Actual poison or we’re curated poison. Pick one, you Yeah, the liver is like, oh well, that’s not methotrexate. So cool. We’ll have a little a amuse-bouche Edward Miskie (he/him) (11:16.926)yeah yeah yeah like what a respite from chemo was was bourbon Nick McGowan (11:19.924)Yeah, jeez, jeez. I mean, it makes sense. Part of the reason why I have the show is to talk about those super dark times, like the times where you’re sitting there. Like, I’m sure I’m not, I’m not you, obviously. So I can’t think and remember this, but I can almost picture you sitting there with a glass in your hand, a couple fingers of scotch or whatever it is, thinking like, huh, this is where I’m at right now. And like, what a fucking time to think about all that stuff and still put that shit in your body. Cause you, in some ways I’m sure you’re like, I just want to feel a little happy, a little something. Edward Miskie (he/him) (11:54.433)Well, it wasn’t even so much a question of feeling happy because like I was 25 when I was diagnosed, right? So like I was still a young person, relatively speaking. I mean, I was a young person. I’m almost 40 now. So like, you know, whatever. But it wasn’t so much about like having that introspective moment of like, I guess this is my life now. It was more like, fuck this. I’m going out and having fun. This shit isn’t going to stop me and I’m going to drink my way through this. And it it very quickly became a coping mechanism along with a number of other things. And like, and it’s a big narrative that I carry through where it’s just like the coping mechanisms of having cancer and then again, the coping mechanisms of surviving it. You know, alcohol was certainly one of them. I had tried like pot for the first time during this period of time. And that was like pre like retail available. So like you were just hoping for whatever the dosage was, and I didn’t know shit about dosage. So like, the friends that I had at the time, like baked brownies. And like, back then, you just like threw a little nug in some butter and hope for hope for the best. And they were bombs. Like, and they were going off, especially if you were mixing. But you know, it was like those two things that like indiscriminate sexual strangers, because I just wanted to feel like hot and normal, even though I was like bloated and bald from chemo. So Nick McGowan (12:50.848)Yeah. Nick McGowan (13:00.886)Some of them are bombs. Yeah. Edward Miskie (he/him) (13:18.526)It was one of the many coping mechanisms that I developed during that period of time. Nick McGowan (13:24.096)So I don’t want people to ever go through anything like this ever. I mean, it sucks that we people go through really, really tough and difficult times, but I mean, it also shapes us. Like going through these really trying and like devastating times, you get through it, you are ultimately changed no matter what. Like I have not been through cancer personally, but I’ve had lots of family and different friends and people that I’ve known that have had it. And it almost seems like it’s like one in like every other person at this point. But then again, like all the stuff that we go through, be it cancer, be it some drastic change, be it some career you’ve had for 15, 20 years and you go, what the fuck am I doing? I didn’t want to be here 25 years ago. Whatever those changes are, that shit can stop us from making additional changes. You were kind of forced in a sense with cancer. Like you had to deal with it. You could not. Yeah. Edward Miskie (he/him) (14:19.604)Right, there was no option. I was told I wouldn’t live past 30 if I didn’t do anything. Nick McGowan (14:24.854)But as a 25 year old, you’re right. I mean you’re a kid at that point. I can’t remember being 25. Like I know every fucking thing in the planet. Now you look back and like, oh. Edward Miskie (he/him) (14:28.682)Yeah. Yeah. Edward Miskie (he/him) (14:32.992)my god, I was a, I was a dumbass. Like what and then you give me cancer, like, of course, I’m gonna the dumbassery is going to continue through it. And in a lot of ways, even though like, even though it was awful, cancer saved my life, and it changed it in a good way. And that took a long time to kind of come to terms with that wasn’t like, my god, you’re cancer free. And I’m like, thank god that happened. I didn’t want to talk about it for years. It just became like a thing I would drop into conversation and passing where they’d be like, where were you for the last year? Like, I had cancer moving on, you know, and it just didn’t want to, I didn’t want it to become my personality. And as I, as I’ve aged, I’ve kind of made a little mini career out of it and has become my personality. You know, I probably, I was probably fighting it to be so honest with you. Nick McGowan (15:24.874)Maybe you kind of knew it was coming, you know, like, yeah. Along with being an extrovert, which you’re not, and like fighting that as well. man. Yeah, that, I can’t imagine how something that drastic couldn’t change you, but I also think that there’s, the purpose that we have in our own lives was part of us being here and what we were brought into this planet with. Edward Miskie (he/him) (15:30.378)Ha ha ha! Right, right, yeah. Nick McGowan (15:53.12)but everything will shape us. The environment shapes us, technology shapes us, all this stuff. So what a cool thing for you to tie film along with your journey. Like you and I connected because you’re looking for people that can talk about their cancer story in basically a real YouTube short clip that’s going to be part of a documentary that will ultimately help people even if they go, I’m going through this now and I don’t know what to do. Here’s some sort of I’m not alone feeling from this. Like you unfortunately had to go through this shit to ultimately be able to do this and be able to help a lot of people. So talk to us a bit about getting up to the point of like, want to create a documentary, to create a film festival and then actually doing something with it. Edward Miskie (he/him) (16:41.558)Well, I’m always doing something. Friends and family know that I’m never sitting still. Grass can’t grow on a rolling stone or moss can’t grow on a rolling stone, whatever that phraseology is. That’s me. And it was right after I was told I was cancer free that I just, I think that, and I’ve learned this to be kind of the general consensus that you’d think that you’re just going to go back to the way that your life was before. And it’s like, oh great, this is done. know, okay, we’re finished here, Wrinkle in Time, we’re gonna meet me, this me is gonna meet me back here where I am currently, and we’ll just go from there. And that is effectively not what happens. I fought that for years, where I thought that I could just shove myself back into the life I had before, and it always felt off. And maybe to the outsider, who is not me, it looked like I successfully did that, you know, I was a working actor for a long time. And I was going through the motions of the life that I had before, but the entire time I felt so out of place and I felt off and I couldn’t figure out why. And as I started to speak to other people who had been through the cancer experience and come out on the other side, every single one of their stories was the same. I can’t stand the people I’m around. They’re irritating me. I don’t want to go to work. I mean, that’s a normal feeling, but like in a different way. where it’s like, what am I fucking doing? Like, I don’t want to do this. And it shifts your relationship, relationships not only with other people in your life, but with yourself. And there isn’t a whole lot of conversation about it. There’s not a whole lot of resources for it. And so what I wanted to do, the more and more I talk about this independently, whether it be on other podcasts or whether it be through something else I’m working on, it’s why I wrote my first book is that I want to have the conversation not only of like the hard parts of having cancer, because I think a lot of times people just look at you like a cancer patient, and you’re not really a person anymore. And so the conversations of relationships, dating sex really, then and, you know, body image and everything else kind of go away. Because, you’re a sick person, you shouldn’t be fussing about that. Okay, well, I was a 25 year old guy, like, and I’m very vain. So like, Nick McGowan (18:59.734)Hmm. Edward Miskie (he/him) (19:06.654)Of course, I was going to be thinking about this. and so those conversations paired with the after cancer conversations and how your life just is complete, a complete unrecognizable thing that like you’re existing in and it’s like it’s like dreams, you know, like when you have a dream and in the dream, you like understand that you’re in your house, but it doesn’t look like your house. That’s what it’s like you come out and you’re like, I recognize everything, but I feel so displaced. Nick McGowan (19:08.853)Hmm. Nick McGowan (19:28.778)Mm-hmm. Edward Miskie (he/him) (19:36.363)and I don’t recognize anything that’s happening. And so you spend a lot of time like I did trying to grasp to get back at that desperately and in so many different ways to try and feel the way that you used to feel before you had cancer. And that’s just not going to happen. And my, I think my impression that I would like to leave with people who are maybe newly cancer free or are presumably going to be soon is that like just fucking kill off the person that you were before early. Because the sooner you let go of that person, the sooner you can create a new one that is going to be better and have better context and better understanding of your life and your wants. And it’s very much a clean slate. It’s almost, medically speaking, I had a stem cell transplant. That’s not the case with everybody else, but medically speaking, like my immune system was a little baby. Nick McGowan (20:08.694)you Nick McGowan (20:33.45)Hmm. Edward Miskie (he/him) (20:33.576)And so like, in a very literal sense, like my body was infantile and like, didn’t look at but you know what I mean? Like on the inside, the actual clock running on the immune system was was a little baby. And so like, I should have really treated myself the same in the sense that there I have no history from that point on, there’s no history, there’s no context to start over. And I wish I would have done that sooner. Nick McGowan (20:41.366)you Nick McGowan (20:52.904)Yeah. Well, it sounds like it’s almost like shedding skin in a sense. Like, but that. Edward Miskie (he/him) (21:01.224)yeah, 100%. And especially in almost in a literal sense too, not that your skin is like falling off or unless you’ve had radiation in which case then yes it is. there are pictures, they’re not nice. But like you don’t look the way that you did before cancer really ever again. You know, and like, relatively speaking, I don’t think I look I’ve ever looked at the way that I did before cancer ever again. And maybe that partially had to do with my age and getting older and whatever. But, you know, you you go into it looking one way and then you get in there and you’re completely wrecked and you look very different during and then after it’s like a rebuilding stage and you bounce back and think your hair comes back curly or sometimes it comes back white or sometimes it doesn’t come back at all and There’s so many different versions of how you change through that whole process that like on the other side, it’s just like, what skin am I wearing? Who is this? Nick McGowan (22:07.846)And with that, it also changes you, you know, as the soul and the being inside. What a cool thing to think about from the perspective of, if you’re changing, you’re changing. So go with it. But that’s not a thing you could have really, I don’t know, I’ve only known you for a little bit, but like, I’m sure somebody at 25 and they’re like, you’re gonna love the person you’re gonna be, probably would have started off with fuck you and. anything after that would have just been how you felt about yourself in that moment right then and there. As a 25 year old kid too, you are still forming who you think you want to be. Even if you’re a little further ahead in where you are, like you’re still a couple of years ahead of maybe somebody who’s 22 or whatever. But you have this idea in your head of this is where I think I’m going. And then that all changes. So for you now to be able to look back and say like, all right, well, I could have flown or like enjoyed that a little bit more and gone with it. I think that’s crucial for people no matter what age. you also have different points. Like 30, you look a little different. 35, you feel a little different. 40, your knees just fucking hurt. Yeah, exactly. And you’re like, what happened? Like, why is my back hurting? I slept for eight hours. That was the problem. But like life just happens and. Edward Miskie (he/him) (23:20.958)And you start to look a little different too. Edward Miskie (he/him) (23:30.422)Yeah. Nick McGowan (23:32.81)I think we have to look at ourselves in the mirror differently at different times anyway. But for those people that are, I don’t know, about to go through something like that, not even just cancer, because I think this kind of ties across different major shifts and changes. What advice would you give to them to be able to say like, hey, keep on that track, but here’s how it go about it. Edward Miskie (he/him) (23:57.653)mean, I know several people who have written books that are like the blueprint to going through cancer. And I think that is helpful. And there’s certainly a place for that. I think I think that there is no blueprint and no guidebook because everyone is different. And every circumstance is different. And every prognosis is different. And the treatment I get is not going to be the same treatment that someone else gets. And so it’s very difficult to kind of articulate like, do this. And the only And I mean, as unfun as the realities of cancer are, and the need to like basically force feed yourself so that you have strength enough to get through it and and like all that crap, even though you don’t want to. I think, I mean, the during the during portion, like, try to have fun, like, really try to have fun. I would invite friends over to like my hospital room and we have like pizza parties. with hospital food. Like it was fun. Like it was a shitty circumstance. It was fucking terrible. But like we made the best of it. And being surrounded by friends and family really helped that. And it’s certainly a way to fight it. You know, like there’s only so much fighting you can do in a hospital bed and like with doctors and nurses around you and this, that and the other. like, try to have fun, make the best of it. Like that’s, and I feel shitty saying that, you know, because like facing that if you would have if you would have said if you would have told newly diagnosed 25 year old me to like have fun and be like fuck you you dumb cunt what are you talking about? So that that’s I feel like that’s a pretty hard bill to swallow and I apologize if that comes up. Oh my god you have cancer have fun. Nick McGowan (25:43.484)I mean. Well, I mean, there are things like, I think you can go through shit where you can tell somebody like, man, it’s going to be rough, but here’s what I learned from it or whatever. I’m glad that you went to them. You don’t have, I guess, the right or the authority or all the information even to be able to say, here’s the exact blueprint. Because that is never the thing. Like context and everybody’s situation is always different no matter what it is. But for you to be able to think back to yourself of like, hey, go have fun. Okay, you probably would have told yourself to go fuck off. In all reality, like you’re still right because you’ve been through all that. And there’s still stages just like grief, just like anything else, you go through all those stages. But then with the clarity, here you are doing these things. So with the people that are on their path towards self mastery, maybe you’ve had cancer or they’re in remission or they know somebody that’s had cancer, what sort of advice would you give to them as they’re on their path towards self mastery? Edward Miskie (he/him) (26:46.666)Who? I might have to just talk this one through. think my first reaction is when you have cancer actively, there is no path to self mastery because every single day is just a curve ball. And I feel like that sounds a little womp-womp and I don’t mean it to, but the last thing on my mind when I was in treatment was like, how can I self master? Self master bait, maybe, but that’s a different conversation. but I do think that there is, there is room to like, live in the active cancer space during treatment and like, make sure that you take moments to appreciate the people around you. And to recognize those who are helping you from a from a good place, because there are certainly people that are going to show up that are not there from a good place. And that’s much longer conversation, but I would say like be fine find a way to be present and acknowledge the people around you and Appreciate the fact that they’re there Nick McGowan (28:00.38)seems important kind of no matter what’s going on but probably really critical for you to look at in such a heavy time of like what the fuck I could imagine most times you can go in through cancer you just don’t want to even anything let alone have fun Edward Miskie (he/him) (28:11.734)you yeah. No, when I’m listening, I’m not trying to paint this picture that like everyday was rainbows and sparkles. Like it certainly was not. But like there, there were definitive points where I made a purposeful decision to have fun, or do something that was like really out of the ordinary from my day to day. And one thing like, maybe this is off topic, but one thing that I do want to add to the whole transitioning out of cancer thing is like, the again, the misconception of what that Nick McGowan (28:23.702)Sure. Edward Miskie (he/him) (28:46.64)looks like, right? You know, like you think you’re cancer free, you’re told that you’re cancer free, and everything is going to be amazing. And that you’re you get to go back to your life, right? But I think what people don’t understand, and they couldn’t understand, because they haven’t been in that situation, perhaps, is that like, when you’re being treated, all of the nurses and all the doctors and all the social workers and all the people running, you know, medical studies and whatnot that you inevitably get shoved into, are like a very concrete support system. And when you’re told that you’re cancer free, all of that goes away, essentially overnight. And so that’s like, it’s another contributing factor to looking around at your life and being like, I don’t know what to do, because you’re also free falling. You’re free falling from like this network of people that have been holding you up for however long and telling you where to go and what appointments to go to and what to eat and what not to eat and how to take your medication and when to take it and like every single moment of your life is dictated and then all of sudden it’s not. And that’s like, again, like a bomb going off, like where am I? What do I do? How do I get up in the morning? What do you mean I don’t have any appointments? And then in like a really kind of sick, twisted, fucked up way, you’re like wishing something would go wrong so you could go back to the hospital to see your doctor and be like, and feel normal because that has become normal. And they’re like, it’s it’s a minefield at my five year cancer free appointment, my oncologist, and I didn’t know this, told me that because I hit five years, I no longer need to see her. And like, you’d think like, my god, I hit five years. That’s great. I cried because I was going to miss her. And like, she was great. I loved her. But like, talk about like an unexpected reaction of like, what do mean, I’m not going to see you anymore? Nick McGowan (30:28.502)Mm. Edward Miskie (he/him) (30:39.24)It like very much was like a weird fucked up breakup. Nick McGowan (30:42.602)Hmm. And a very heavy time of your life. Like these relationships that, yeah, that’s, that’s crazy. I, people that don’t have situations like that don’t think about it. that way, I mean, it can almost be like, some jobs that you’re in, you can be familial and there’s some that like push too much of that, but like you work, you work a lot with people or groups or whatever. And then somebody’s just gone or the whole group ended or whatever. Like we all have those little situations at times, but Edward Miskie (he/him) (30:46.154)Yeah. Nick McGowan (31:12.874)the longer that stuff goes and the heavier it is, I feel like that just makes a ton of sense where it’s like all of that just compounds and like this piece of concrete of this is a giant chunk of your life. And these all mean a lot to you specifically now, but God going forward, you’ll have memories for the rest of your life because of all that stuff. Tevi, yeah, man, I’m glad that you bring that up. So thank you for that. And this has been. Edward Miskie (he/him) (31:33.782)for better or worse. Edward Miskie (he/him) (31:39.521)No, of course. And I do want to comment, sorry, I do want to comment to the self mastery thing. One thing I do remember doing, and I still do it now, and I actually end up yelling at people about this too, whenever you kind of like hit a place where you don’t know what to do, you you hit a fork in the road or some major thing changes in your life. And this was kind of a later on during that period of time thing, but I’ve carried it over to now and it’s like kind of the default thing that I do. is I asked myself what I want. And it’s like, it’s like, it has to be a rapid fire response. It cannot be like this existential, like I sat down and journaled about this for five hours, like it has to be like the look at yourself in the mirror and be like, what do you want? Or just like, write it down. I want blood and the first thing that comes to your mind. And I used to, I used to journal a lot more than I do now. But I would have I have pages and pages and pages of like, what do you want? I want I want I want I want I want and I would just make lists and it’d be stupid shit like I want a coffee. I want a car. I want money. I want better hair. I like you just write it down. And that’s like the very general version of that. But I think the more specific version of that is like if you’ve hit a crossroad, you have to ask yourself what do you want? Because so many of us end up acting Nick McGowan (32:42.079)Mm-hmm. Edward Miskie (he/him) (33:02.642)in the shadow of what other people want or what other people expect of us. And that just takes us farther and farther and farther away from who we actually are. This is something I can speak to specifically from cancer. But it’s, it’s something I can also specifically speak to because of being in the entertainment industry, where you are expected to be something you’re not necessarily or you get shoved into a box that like you have to exist in or you don’t work. And I wish I would have had this practice a lot earlier to just be like, what do you want? I want this. What do you want? I want this. if we’re getting a job offer, okay, look at it. What do I want out of this? What is this going to do to serve me? And I think the, the, what do I want situation has really shaped the last couple of years of my life. My life now looks Nick McGowan (33:53.718)Hmm. Edward Miskie (he/him) (33:56.745)exponentially different than it did three years ago, and it’s because I just really sat down with myself and just kept asking me what I wanted. Nick McGowan (34:05.098)Yeah, that’s a good point. think for anybody who, trust their intuition or the people that are real heady and think about things a lot. mean, there are certain people that they have to go off their gut instincts. Like, I’m a sacral lead person, so I even do it with dinners. Like, what are we having for dinner tonight? Sushi? Nah. Thai? Nah. Burgers? Yeah. Or whatever it is. It’s like to have that. But I think even if people can just sit down, and you have to think through things all the times or you have to feel through all of it, just asking yourself that of like, what do I want? There’s something that’s gonna come up, always. I’m glad you pointed out like the normal human shit of like, I want a coffee. Yeah, that makes sense. Cause like that’s what you fucking wanted, right? Edward Miskie (he/him) (34:46.068)Yeah, great. Right. And I think a lot of us, especially people who are over thinkers, I’m related to some of them. But like, there just is so much hesitation. And that takes up so much time when you think too hard about what the answer is. And I think that comes from being a people pleaser and wanting to come up with the right answer that everyone else will also be happy with. And like, Nick McGowan (35:02.784)Mm-hmm. Edward Miskie (he/him) (35:13.174)Again, I know if it’s age, I if it’s cancer, it’s probably a combination of both, but I don’t give a fuck what other people want. I don’t. This is the path that I’m going on that I’ve decided that is right for me, and I don’t give a flying fuck who has to say what about it. Like, you want to pay my rent? Great. Then you get to decide what choices I make. Nick McGowan (35:34.144)Hmm, man, I guess even on that note, the people that are kind of in a spot where they’re like, well, I work for somebody and I have to do what they want me to do because I also need to take a paycheck from them to pay for my mortgage and whatever else. I think we can still do that in a balancing way, but we have to ask ourselves at the basics. Like, what do I want right now? I don’t want to be at this job anymore. So start with that. Or I want to do something different or whatever. Yeah. Edward Miskie (he/him) (35:50.198)100%. Edward Miskie (he/him) (35:56.151)Great, right, then do something else. know, complaining will only get you so far until you actually have to like do something about it. Right, right, right. Well, and that actually ties into like the, I don’t remember what the prompt was in the, before when we were talking offline, but like I literally have a Post-It note on my desk. Nick McGowan (36:06.358)Or it’ll get you to Thursday’s and happy hour and then you can play with the group with him. Edward Miskie (he/him) (36:25.556)that says stop listening to other people telling you what you can and can’t do, what you should or should not be doing, what you are and are not capable of. They do not know you. Stop waiting. Start doing. Fuck them. That is literally on my desk. Nick McGowan (36:39.926)Period. Nice. I love how we all figure out the little things that work for us. Like, yeah, this is going to have this note right here. And yeah, like you get power from it. Edward Miskie (he/him) (36:54.807)yeah, I post- I post the notes all over my apartment. Nick McGowan (36:57.44)Good shit. Man, it’s been awesome having you on. I appreciate you being here. I appreciate you going through the stuff you’ve gone through and setting up the festival and all that stuff. It’s important work you’re doing, man. So before I let you go, where can people find you and where can they connect with you? Edward Miskie (he/him) (37:13.362)you can find, sorry, I just like glitched out. was like, wait, what? You can find me on Instagram or TikTok at Edward Miskey. Also the film festival is called the remission film festival. It is the only festival of its kind that is operating now that is specific to cancer survivors and those impacted by cancer. Everyone who submits to it has a story that they have told through film. And you can find that at remission Film Fest on Instagram and the website as well, which is just a dot com. And that’s and we talked about a book for a hot second. That’s Cancer Musical Theater and other chronic illnesses. And the other book will be coming out later, but we’re not going to talk about that just yet. Nick McGowan (37:57.477)Awesome man, well again it’s been a pleasure having you on, I appreciate your time today. Edward Miskie (he/him) (38:01.025)Thanks anytime.

John Maytham speaks to the President of the Traditional Health Practitioners Association, Dr. Jameo Calvert, about some members of the ANC wanting to cleanse Luthuli House spiritually. The story is a News24 exclusive. Afternoon Drive with John Maytham is the late afternoon show on CapeTalk. Presenter John Maytham is an actor and author-turned-talk radio veteran and seasoned journalist. His show serves a round-up of local and international news coupled with the latest in business, sport, traffic, and weather. The host’s eclectic interests mean the program often surprises the audience with intriguing book reviews and inspiring interviews profiling artists. A daily highlight is Rapid Fire, just after 5:30 pm. CapeTalk fans call in to stump the presenter with their general knowledge questions. Another firm favourite is the humorous Thursday crossing with award-winning journalist Rebecca Davis, called “Plan B”. Thank you for listening to a podcast from Afternoon Drive with John Maytham Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 15:00 to 18:00 (SA Time) to Afternoon Drive with John Maytham broadcast on CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show, go to https://buff.ly/BSFy4Cn or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/n8nWt4x Subscribe to the CapeTalk Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/sbvVZD5 Follow us on social media: CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

durée : 00:57:36 - Cultures Monde - par : Julie Gacon, Barthélémy Gaillard, Mélanie Chalandon - Dès le 28 février, le président étatsunien Donald Trump déclarait mener l'offensive contre l'Iran aux côtés d'Israël notamment au nom de la non-prolifération. L'offensive acte ainsi une réaffirmation de l'ordre nucléaire mondial, favorable aux États dotés, dans un contexte de course aux armements. - réalisation : Vivian Lecuivre - invités : Benoît Pelopidas Professeur des universités à Sciences Po (CERI) et fondateur du programme d'étude des savoirs nucléaires.; Maïlys Mangin Maîtresse de conférences en science politique à l'université de Toulouse Capitole, chercheuse associée au CIENS (Centre interdisciplinaire sur les enjeux stratégiques)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

durée : 00:02:38 - Le brief politique - Le leader de la France insoumise a présenté des excuses après des accusations d'antisémitisme. Un fait si rare de la part de l'insoumis, qu'il mérite que l'on y revienne. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

What started as a suspicious late-night mystery turned into one of the wildest updates ever on To Catch a Cheater from The Jubal Show.

What started as a suspicious late-night mystery turned into one of the wildest updates ever on To Catch a Cheater from The Jubal Show.

A fun playtest! First, this game is adorable. The cryptids, which I kept calling Pokémon, because this game is very reminiscent of Pokémon Snap, are ridiculously cute and the environment is really nicely drawn. I especially love that the 'Professor' is perhaps also a cryptid

出国旅行坐高铁别慌！这12句英文让你通关无障碍出门在外，语言不通绝对是旅途中最尴尬的事。无论是帮外国朋友指路，还是自己在国外乘坐高铁，下面的句子都非常实用，快点学起来吧！I'd like to change my ticket to a later time.我想把票改签到晚一点的时间。Where is the ticket refund counter?退票窗口在哪里？Please put all your luggage on the belt.请把您所有的行李放在传送带上。Which waiting room is for Train G123?请问G123次列车在哪个候车室？Has the train G123 started boarding?G123次列车开始检票了吗？What is the gate number for Train G123?G123次列车的检票口是几号？Excuse me, could you help me with my suitcase? It's heavy.不好意思，你能帮我抬一下行李箱吗？它很重。Where is Carriage 7?请问7号车厢在哪里？Excuse me, I think you might be in my seat.不好意思，我想您可能坐了我的座位。Where are the power outlets (sockets)?电源插座在哪里？Could you please help me adjust my seat?你能帮我调整一下座位吗？Let me get my luggage down. We're arriving soon.我把行李拿下来，我们快到了。28期爱趣英文开启限额招募，跟着卡卡老师彻底摆脱懒癌，全面系统提升！公众号：卡卡课堂 卡卡老师微信：kakayingyu002

A Ghostly Plea For Appreciation.Based on a post by SandyMarl, in 4 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.A Christmas Ghost Story For ScroogeDana got ready to roll the movie as The Chix settled in. “What’s the movie?” asked McNally.“A Christmas Carol, it’s the classic tale by Charles Dickens.”“Damn. Not a Christmas movie? Did I ever mention that I am so over Christmas right now? Bah Humbug!”Annie snorted, “McNally, you make a better Scrooge than Patrick Stewart.”“I’ll drink to that,” McNally said as she tipped her stemware to wash down a handful of popcorn. “Let me say it again, Merry Fucking Christmas, because I am so done with Christmas.”“Merry Fucking Christmas” was echoed around the room, followed by giggles among gathered good friends as the opening scene played.Annie was dabbing at her eyes as Tiny Tim cried out in the movie’s final scene, “God bless us, everyone!”As the credits rolled, Annie turned to McNally, “Well, Ebenezer Scrooge, do you still hate Christmas? Or did the ghost of Christmas Future shake you from your Bah Humbug! ways?”“I don’t hate Christmas; I just get worn out by this time of year. Christmas has been going on since before Halloween and that’s way too long, even for a vibrant spirit like me,” replied McNally.“Are you still so entrenched in your ‘Bah Humbug’ world-weary ways Ebenezer McNally or is it possible that visitations of the cinematic Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future have softened your hardened holiday heart?” pried Patricia.“Don’t be picking on McNally, she’s just been more emotionally honest. I have heard Scrooge speaking through all of you. Chix, take a look inside and tell me if Christmas hasn’t lost its magic for all of us this year, or for that matter, several years running.” Dana’s call for introspection brought the room to silence.Dana continued, “Let me play Ghost of Christmas Past; let me take us back to time when we were young, and Sander and I stretched our budget and bought this cabin and had The Chix and their boys up here around Christmas time? Remember those times?”“Those were the good days,” recalled McNally. “I remember Orlando mixing exotic cocktails for everyone to try. The guys kept making sweet drinks and urging us girls to taste one new one after another. I’m sure they were in cahoots, working on the theory that 'Christmas candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.’”Patricia chimed in, “Yeah, I remember that year, I remember laughing a lot of silly laughs and being chased around the cabin and out into the snow by three horny abominable snowmen until I finally let one catch me and haul me off to his lair where he threw me on the bed and ravaged me.”“I sort of remember that too - only I think I enjoyed Orlando’s cocktails too much too soon to fully remember every detail. But I have a vague memory of laughing on my way to a strange bed as I hung over Nelson’s shoulder as I pounded on his back as a captured maiden, but not really feeling much distress. I remember trying to help Nelson undress me, but I was too giggly, so he just ripped my clothes off.”Dana reminisced, “Anybody remember the year we all wore those sexy Santa’s Naughty Elf costumes?”“I still have mine in a closet somewhere I think,” snickered McNally. “We put on a pretty good show for the guys that one year when we performed in those outfits. Thanks to Annie for sewing them,” McNally tipped her glass toward Annie.“It was your choreography McNally, and your audacious moves that gave me the confidence to bump and grind along with the rest of the Chix. I’d never have been able to even think of doing something so feminine and sexy if it weren’t for you McNally,” complimented Patricia.“I still get wet every time I hear Eartha Kitt sing 'Santa Baby’ and I think of how hot we Chix looked and how mercilessly we teased those boys,” chuckled McNally.“Speaking for me,” said Patricia, “I’d say all of that dance practice and the sexy dance tips from everyone else showing me how to strut my wares. Our sexy little routine was well worth it a little later that night.” All The Chix giggled and nodded with Patricia, each recalling the thrill of having their men rush the stage and cart off the four costumed naughty little helper elves for a roll in the sheets.“Dana are you sure you’re alright with us bringing up these memories?” asked Annie in a cautious tone.“Annie, I’ve already told you that good memories and present friends are what are important to me tonight.”“Allow me to play the Ghost of Christmas Present,” said Dana in a soft voice. “If the Ghost of Christmas Past has drawn for you scenes of past holiday lovers, good times and Christmas cheer; what do you see when the Ghost of Christmas Present hovers above your lives tonight and points to your actions and attitudes of this present Christmas?”The Chix again sat thinking in silence.McNally answered Dana’s challenge first, “Well, I’ve already told everyone my grim view of this present Christmas. There is a poverty of spirit where I operate; Christmas has become nothing but joyless deadlines for me. I’ll confess, 'Bah Humbug!’ is truly what the Ghost of Christmas Present is pointing at in my life.”“Or would Scrooge use a more contemporary phrase, maybe something like 'Merry Fucking Christmas?” needled Patricia.“Yeah but…” Annie joined in, “…Those really were Merry Fucking Christmases in the past - literally. Those years when we all used to come up here with our hubbies and enjoy playing games and cooking together, remember? And it seems like every night ended in a night of passionate love making,” she added wistfully. “Why did we let that slip away? Where did the holiday love magic go?"I have a confession too, McNally has nothing on me, I’m just as much of a Bah Humbug personality as McNally - if not more so. Only I’m just a Scrooge still in the closet. I guess it’s time I came out to my friends. It was me who first suggested that I’d be ready to exchange Nelson for someone to clean my house. Honestly, how Scrooge-like is that?"The Ghost of Christmas Past showed that Scrooge rejected his old flame, Belle, to pursue a respectable wealthy status above love. Like Scrooge, I’ve let the passion for my old flame, Nelson dim, and for what? A respectable status of a well cleaned house? I’ve been saying 'Bah Humbug!’ from inside my Scrooge closet."I chided McNally for her poor attitude when we first drove up this afternoon,” recalled Patricia. “But then I fell right in with her complaining about my grueling holiday schedule and all I had endured. So, I guess that makes me not only a Scrooge, but a hypocrite as well. How’s that for a bare-bones confession to the Ghost of Christmas Present?" Dana’s Christmas Ghost"Excuse me,” declared a mildly irritated McNally, “enough indulging in this group psychotherapy playing with literary ghosts. I can’t stand it any longer, I’ve gotta find out from Dana if Sander’s ghost is really visiting us here.”McNally’s abrupt demand brought a heavy hush to the room.All eyes were locked on Dana. “All I can say is that I came up to our cabin for the first time since the accident. I hoped I was ready, but I wasn’t sure. The real reason that I invited everyone to join me was so I couldn’t back out, even if I wanted to, since I had extended an invitation to The Chix. Patricia, Annie, McNally; you’re my insurance as I forced myself to be a brave widow."I came two days ago for solitude. I thought I would be alone up here. I hoped I’d be brave enough to finally be alone with my thoughts. I was going to force myself to stay here until reinforcements arrived in the form of a carload of wild, raucous and fun-loving Chix."To my surprise, I had it all wrong. I was not alone here. Sander was waiting for me. It was good to find him here; he has been a comfort for me. I told him I was sorry for making him wait. He let me know that he understood why I waited. He assured me that it was alright for me to wait, coming only after I was ready."When Sander came to me the first night, he comforted me, bringing good memories of us in this place, like the Ghost of Christmas Past. He reacquainted me with faded memories of Patricia and Will, Annie and Nelson and McNally and Orlando all gathered in this place with me and Sander back in those days at the beginning. The images he brought to me made me feel grateful for all of you."I told Sander that those were lovely, warm memories, some of the best; but that they were far in the dim past. When Sander wrapped those memories around me; I felt warmth and saw a radiating brightness, happy for what we had once shared together. He said that that is why he had to brighten them for me; otherwise, neither I nor anyone else in those images would be able to clearly see them as they once were."I began to cry as those bright images of our past passions and fellowship with our friends began to fade before my eyes. I cried even more at the fear of losing him and everything good once again."He warned me that squandered time, tyranny of the mundane and careless love will steal from the human soul, draining the treasures of passion and good memories, leaving murky, pathetic sketches in place of those forgotten treasures. Sander let me know that I still had all of you wrapped around me to shield me with love. He was pleased that The Chix had taken such good care of me after he was taken from me."Sander told me he could not keep the past images bright, the power to do so was only given to the realm of the living."I cried in my grief and in my fresh fear of loss. I tried to hold him, but of course, I could not. I pleaded, 'How can I keep those memories of you and warm feelings bright?’ I didn’t know how to find the power to keep from losing all that was meaningful to me. I cried, 'Please Sander, show me, show me how not to lose you and everything again. Don’t let me drain away into the murky darkness where all warmth and love have been stolen from the human soul.’"I cried, kneeling on the floor. Sander said nothing as he stood close to me as a kind and gentle spirit with a comforting patience waiting for me to finish my hot tears. When I wiped away my tears and looked into his face, he pointed and guided me to look for my answer. I saw The Chix checking their messages, returning calls, checking their calendars trying to squeeze in a meeting, an appointment and a Christmas cookie exchange. I saw that we were rushing to the shopping mall, ordering online, checking our phones and returning home exhausted, drained of warmth and love, leaving nothing for those around us."I was shown Will, Nelson and Orlando taking the cars in for servicing because it was time. I saw these men checking their messages and making out-of-the way runs to pick up store items and a few groceries because their wives had sent them a text message. I witnessed The Dix on their own initiative coming home with a takeout meal that they served to their exhausted wives and then taking out the trash the night before pickup without a reminder. The guys were up late at night, opening the bills and writing the household checks and balancing the accounts, toiling like the loyal Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s unappreciated clerk. I had been shown Christmas Present. I was sad to have seen that exhausted misery spread to all of our present lives."I cried, 'Oh Sander, where is the joy and the love for our friends? Everyone looks so exhausted and joyless and without hope or purpose. Tell me Sander, what is going to happen to them?’ Sander looked sad and did not answer me."He began to fade into the darkness, and I begged with renewed tears, 'Sander please don’t go, please don’t leave me alone again.’ But he was gone.I crawled off the floor, lifting myself into bed and cried myself to sleep. I remembered his words, 'Squandered time, tyranny of the mundane and careless love will steal from the human soul, draining the treasures of passion and good memories and leaving murky, pathetic sketches in place of those forgotten treasures.’"When Sander slipped away from me that night, I understood that he had shown me that the same was happening to Orlando and McNally, Will and Patricia and also to Nelson and Annie. His visit was a warning. Just as I lost Sander, everyone here is facing a Christmas Future where you will discover that you’ve lost all that really matters in life."Sander came again the next night. I was glad to see him. I wanted to know if it was too late for our friends to rekindle the love that had somehow drained away. 'Please, Sander, tell me that there is yet hope for them this Christmas Season,’ I begged."He showed me some bright and warm memories from long ago, some personal and some with The Chix. He showed me those visions to let me know that I still had love and support from you guys. But I was haunted by those visions of Christmas Present that I’d been shown the night before. He was happy that I was so well cared for now. And yes, he was happy to know that I got surprised by some needed loving attention from a partridge, a turtle dove hunter and an old barnyard rooster who had a few tricks to make a French hen cackle. Yet, the peril of the bleak Christmas Present remains, unless friendship and love is cherished and attended, it too will soon perish, and I’ll see my friends fade away into murky darkness as Sander had."Again, I looked into his gentle eyes and asked, 'There is still time isn’t there? We haven’t squandered our time, it’s not too late, tell me sweetheart, there are warm and bright memories of love and affection still to be made, nourished and cherished.’ Sander smiled his warm smile of assurance that I had missed so much, and I was happy."I woke, realizing that the sun was shining off a fresh morning snowfall and I threw off my heavy quilt. I sat up in bed, remembering that on our last morning together; Sander had been working on something secret that morning before the accident. I remembered asking him, 'Sweetie buns, what are you working on the hill behind the cabin?’"He smiled that warm, smug smile of mischief on that last morning that we were together and told me, 'I’ve got a Christmas surprise to show you tonight, it has to be revealed once it is dark. So, you’ll have to wait until we finish a few runs on the slopes this afternoon.’"Of course, we never came back here together. I had forgotten about Sander’s promised secret Christmas surprise until yesterday morning. When Sander told me he had a Christmas gift waiting for me after dark, he was holding an electrical extension cord behind his back with his mischievous smile stretched across his ski slope tanned face. 'I’ll plug this in to brighten your night tonight, as a token of how you have brightened my life,’ he said. Recalling some of his last words, I jumped out of bed and checked this morning; that cord is still lying on the deck where Sander left it last year.Annie was crying, as usual, but so were Patricia and McNally.Dana reached for her purse and pulled out her phone and looked at her messages and began to text, as The Chix took a few moments to rein in their emotions and check their composure before speaking or asking Dana any questions.Annie brushed her cheeks, "Oh Dana, that is the sweetest, saddest story I’ve ever heard… Excuse me, I can’t stop weeping… I don’t even know if these are tears of joy or grief… excuse me, I don’t know what to feel or say,” she said as the flood gates reopened.Patricia felt it was her role to wade in and tidy things up and drain the emotional swamp in which they all found themselves wallowing in. “Dana, it sounds like you’ve started to find some peace after last year’s events. I am glad that you shared with us how you are coping with Sander’s passing…”“Patricia, Jesus Christ on a bicycle! Don’t be such a cold and analytical mother hen all the time for us Chix. Dana’s story is not about coping, it’s about us - all of us and all that we once had and what we might lose, including Will, Nelson and yes, Orlando too. Dana, your conversation with Sander really got to me there…” McNally paused, looking emotionally rattled.“I guess everyone can tell, your story about Sander got to me also,” said Annie after managing to dry out enough. “I feel like McNally. Dana, what you said really touched me; I don’t know what to say… Yes, I actually do, I want to say that what Sander said is right; my joy has been stolen from my soul, I feel drained inside, I have let the things I hold most dear fade away. I am Scrooge - and I’m sorry, but so are all of you.”Turning to Patricia, Annie asked, “Don’t you feel what McNally and I feel? Don’t you feel that you and I and McNally, and certainly Dana, have lost something precious? Together as The Chix, we are a sum greater the whole - and that has, or should, include our husbands. I believe Sander told Dana to warn us all before it is too late. Patricia, don’t you feel like me that we should do something before the Ghost of Christmas Future makes the vision of an estranged and murky end to all that we enjoy a grim reality?”Patricia teared up and nodded silently. Then lifting her head, she asked Dana, “Is there hope? Did Sander give you hope for us?”“There is hope. There is still love here, and where there is love, there is hope. Sander showed me that the future can be changed by what we do now. Sander showed me that there is hope for us, hope for The Chix.”“And… And… What is that hope?” asked McNally. “And… And… And I got lots of questions about you and Sander up here in this cabin, but first - that was a gripping Christmas ghost story with Sander, but it seemed kind of weird that as soon as you finished driving your emotional steamroller full speed over our sympathies that you then broke character, ignoring us to check your phone. Isn’t checking your messages part of that tyranny of the mundane that Sander warned you about? Who is so important that you were texting them rather than dealing with us in this room and our emotions?”“The Ghost or the Ghosts of Christmas Future,” was Dana’s curt, cryptic reply.“You asked about our future, you asked about hope; I don’t know exactly how to answer those questions,” said a thoughtful Dana. “But I know where I want to look for starters. There is Sander’s unrevealed Christmas surprise waiting for me - or us, on top of the hill behind the cabin. It was Sander&rsq

A Ghostly Plea For Appreciation.Based on a post by SandyMarl, in 4 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.A Christmas Ghost Story For ScroogeDana got ready to roll the movie as The Chix settled in. “What’s the movie?” asked McNally.“A Christmas Carol, it’s the classic tale by Charles Dickens.”“Damn. Not a Christmas movie? Did I ever mention that I am so over Christmas right now? Bah Humbug!”Annie snorted, “McNally, you make a better Scrooge than Patrick Stewart.”“I’ll drink to that,” McNally said as she tipped her stemware to wash down a handful of popcorn. “Let me say it again, Merry Fucking Christmas, because I am so done with Christmas.”“Merry Fucking Christmas” was echoed around the room, followed by giggles among gathered good friends as the opening scene played.Annie was dabbing at her eyes as Tiny Tim cried out in the movie’s final scene, “God bless us, everyone!”As the credits rolled, Annie turned to McNally, “Well, Ebenezer Scrooge, do you still hate Christmas? Or did the ghost of Christmas Future shake you from your Bah Humbug! ways?”“I don’t hate Christmas; I just get worn out by this time of year. Christmas has been going on since before Halloween and that’s way too long, even for a vibrant spirit like me,” replied McNally.“Are you still so entrenched in your ‘Bah Humbug’ world-weary ways Ebenezer McNally or is it possible that visitations of the cinematic Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future have softened your hardened holiday heart?” pried Patricia.“Don’t be picking on McNally, she’s just been more emotionally honest. I have heard Scrooge speaking through all of you. Chix, take a look inside and tell me if Christmas hasn’t lost its magic for all of us this year, or for that matter, several years running.” Dana’s call for introspection brought the room to silence.Dana continued, “Let me play Ghost of Christmas Past; let me take us back to time when we were young, and Sander and I stretched our budget and bought this cabin and had The Chix and their boys up here around Christmas time? Remember those times?”“Those were the good days,” recalled McNally. “I remember Orlando mixing exotic cocktails for everyone to try. The guys kept making sweet drinks and urging us girls to taste one new one after another. I’m sure they were in cahoots, working on the theory that 'Christmas candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.’”Patricia chimed in, “Yeah, I remember that year, I remember laughing a lot of silly laughs and being chased around the cabin and out into the snow by three horny abominable snowmen until I finally let one catch me and haul me off to his lair where he threw me on the bed and ravaged me.”“I sort of remember that too - only I think I enjoyed Orlando’s cocktails too much too soon to fully remember every detail. But I have a vague memory of laughing on my way to a strange bed as I hung over Nelson’s shoulder as I pounded on his back as a captured maiden, but not really feeling much distress. I remember trying to help Nelson undress me, but I was too giggly, so he just ripped my clothes off.”Dana reminisced, “Anybody remember the year we all wore those sexy Santa’s Naughty Elf costumes?”“I still have mine in a closet somewhere I think,” snickered McNally. “We put on a pretty good show for the guys that one year when we performed in those outfits. Thanks to Annie for sewing them,” McNally tipped her glass toward Annie.“It was your choreography McNally, and your audacious moves that gave me the confidence to bump and grind along with the rest of the Chix. I’d never have been able to even think of doing something so feminine and sexy if it weren’t for you McNally,” complimented Patricia.“I still get wet every time I hear Eartha Kitt sing 'Santa Baby’ and I think of how hot we Chix looked and how mercilessly we teased those boys,” chuckled McNally.“Speaking for me,” said Patricia, “I’d say all of that dance practice and the sexy dance tips from everyone else showing me how to strut my wares. Our sexy little routine was well worth it a little later that night.” All The Chix giggled and nodded with Patricia, each recalling the thrill of having their men rush the stage and cart off the four costumed naughty little helper elves for a roll in the sheets.“Dana are you sure you’re alright with us bringing up these memories?” asked Annie in a cautious tone.“Annie, I’ve already told you that good memories and present friends are what are important to me tonight.”“Allow me to play the Ghost of Christmas Present,” said Dana in a soft voice. “If the Ghost of Christmas Past has drawn for you scenes of past holiday lovers, good times and Christmas cheer; what do you see when the Ghost of Christmas Present hovers above your lives tonight and points to your actions and attitudes of this present Christmas?”The Chix again sat thinking in silence.McNally answered Dana’s challenge first, “Well, I’ve already told everyone my grim view of this present Christmas. There is a poverty of spirit where I operate; Christmas has become nothing but joyless deadlines for me. I’ll confess, 'Bah Humbug!’ is truly what the Ghost of Christmas Present is pointing at in my life.”“Or would Scrooge use a more contemporary phrase, maybe something like 'Merry Fucking Christmas?” needled Patricia.“Yeah but…” Annie joined in, “…Those really were Merry Fucking Christmases in the past - literally. Those years when we all used to come up here with our hubbies and enjoy playing games and cooking together, remember? And it seems like every night ended in a night of passionate love making,” she added wistfully. “Why did we let that slip away? Where did the holiday love magic go?"I have a confession too, McNally has nothing on me, I’m just as much of a Bah Humbug personality as McNally - if not more so. Only I’m just a Scrooge still in the closet. I guess it’s time I came out to my friends. It was me who first suggested that I’d be ready to exchange Nelson for someone to clean my house. Honestly, how Scrooge-like is that?"The Ghost of Christmas Past showed that Scrooge rejected his old flame, Belle, to pursue a respectable wealthy status above love. Like Scrooge, I’ve let the passion for my old flame, Nelson dim, and for what? A respectable status of a well cleaned house? I’ve been saying 'Bah Humbug!’ from inside my Scrooge closet."I chided McNally for her poor attitude when we first drove up this afternoon,” recalled Patricia. “But then I fell right in with her complaining about my grueling holiday schedule and all I had endured. So, I guess that makes me not only a Scrooge, but a hypocrite as well. How’s that for a bare-bones confession to the Ghost of Christmas Present?" Dana’s Christmas Ghost"Excuse me,” declared a mildly irritated McNally, “enough indulging in this group psychotherapy playing with literary ghosts. I can’t stand it any longer, I’ve gotta find out from Dana if Sander’s ghost is really visiting us here.”McNally’s abrupt demand brought a heavy hush to the room.All eyes were locked on Dana. “All I can say is that I came up to our cabin for the first time since the accident. I hoped I was ready, but I wasn’t sure. The real reason that I invited everyone to join me was so I couldn’t back out, even if I wanted to, since I had extended an invitation to The Chix. Patricia, Annie, McNally; you’re my insurance as I forced myself to be a brave widow."I came two days ago for solitude. I thought I would be alone up here. I hoped I’d be brave enough to finally be alone with my thoughts. I was going to force myself to stay here until reinforcements arrived in the form of a carload of wild, raucous and fun-loving Chix."To my surprise, I had it all wrong. I was not alone here. Sander was waiting for me. It was good to find him here; he has been a comfort for me. I told him I was sorry for making him wait. He let me know that he understood why I waited. He assured me that it was alright for me to wait, coming only after I was ready."When Sander came to me the first night, he comforted me, bringing good memories of us in this place, like the Ghost of Christmas Past. He reacquainted me with faded memories of Patricia and Will, Annie and Nelson and McNally and Orlando all gathered in this place with me and Sander back in those days at the beginning. The images he brought to me made me feel grateful for all of you."I told Sander that those were lovely, warm memories, some of the best; but that they were far in the dim past. When Sander wrapped those memories around me; I felt warmth and saw a radiating brightness, happy for what we had once shared together. He said that that is why he had to brighten them for me; otherwise, neither I nor anyone else in those images would be able to clearly see them as they once were."I began to cry as those bright images of our past passions and fellowship with our friends began to fade before my eyes. I cried even more at the fear of losing him and everything good once again."He warned me that squandered time, tyranny of the mundane and careless love will steal from the human soul, draining the treasures of passion and good memories, leaving murky, pathetic sketches in place of those forgotten treasures. Sander let me know that I still had all of you wrapped around me to shield me with love. He was pleased that The Chix had taken such good care of me after he was taken from me."Sander told me he could not keep the past images bright, the power to do so was only given to the realm of the living."I cried in my grief and in my fresh fear of loss. I tried to hold him, but of course, I could not. I pleaded, 'How can I keep those memories of you and warm feelings bright?’ I didn’t know how to find the power to keep from losing all that was meaningful to me. I cried, 'Please Sander, show me, show me how not to lose you and everything again. Don’t let me drain away into the murky darkness where all warmth and love have been stolen from the human soul.’"I cried, kneeling on the floor. Sander said nothing as he stood close to me as a kind and gentle spirit with a comforting patience waiting for me to finish my hot tears. When I wiped away my tears and looked into his face, he pointed and guided me to look for my answer. I saw The Chix checking their messages, returning calls, checking their calendars trying to squeeze in a meeting, an appointment and a Christmas cookie exchange. I saw that we were rushing to the shopping mall, ordering online, checking our phones and returning home exhausted, drained of warmth and love, leaving nothing for those around us."I was shown Will, Nelson and Orlando taking the cars in for servicing because it was time. I saw these men checking their messages and making out-of-the way runs to pick up store items and a few groceries because their wives had sent them a text message. I witnessed The Dix on their own initiative coming home with a takeout meal that they served to their exhausted wives and then taking out the trash the night before pickup without a reminder. The guys were up late at night, opening the bills and writing the household checks and balancing the accounts, toiling like the loyal Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s unappreciated clerk. I had been shown Christmas Present. I was sad to have seen that exhausted misery spread to all of our present lives."I cried, 'Oh Sander, where is the joy and the love for our friends? Everyone looks so exhausted and joyless and without hope or purpose. Tell me Sander, what is going to happen to them?’ Sander looked sad and did not answer me."He began to fade into the darkness, and I begged with renewed tears, 'Sander please don’t go, please don’t leave me alone again.’ But he was gone.I crawled off the floor, lifting myself into bed and cried myself to sleep. I remembered his words, 'Squandered time, tyranny of the mundane and careless love will steal from the human soul, draining the treasures of passion and good memories and leaving murky, pathetic sketches in place of those forgotten treasures.’"When Sander slipped away from me that night, I understood that he had shown me that the same was happening to Orlando and McNally, Will and Patricia and also to Nelson and Annie. His visit was a warning. Just as I lost Sander, everyone here is facing a Christmas Future where you will discover that you’ve lost all that really matters in life."Sander came again the next night. I was glad to see him. I wanted to know if it was too late for our friends to rekindle the love that had somehow drained away. 'Please, Sander, tell me that there is yet hope for them this Christmas Season,’ I begged."He showed me some bright and warm memories from long ago, some personal and some with The Chix. He showed me those visions to let me know that I still had love and support from you guys. But I was haunted by those visions of Christmas Present that I’d been shown the night before. He was happy that I was so well cared for now. And yes, he was happy to know that I got surprised by some needed loving attention from a partridge, a turtle dove hunter and an old barnyard rooster who had a few tricks to make a French hen cackle. Yet, the peril of the bleak Christmas Present remains, unless friendship and love is cherished and attended, it too will soon perish, and I’ll see my friends fade away into murky darkness as Sander had."Again, I looked into his gentle eyes and asked, 'There is still time isn’t there? We haven’t squandered our time, it’s not too late, tell me sweetheart, there are warm and bright memories of love and affection still to be made, nourished and cherished.’ Sander smiled his warm smile of assurance that I had missed so much, and I was happy."I woke, realizing that the sun was shining off a fresh morning snowfall and I threw off my heavy quilt. I sat up in bed, remembering that on our last morning together; Sander had been working on something secret that morning before the accident. I remembered asking him, 'Sweetie buns, what are you working on the hill behind the cabin?’"He smiled that warm, smug smile of mischief on that last morning that we were together and told me, 'I’ve got a Christmas surprise to show you tonight, it has to be revealed once it is dark. So, you’ll have to wait until we finish a few runs on the slopes this afternoon.’"Of course, we never came back here together. I had forgotten about Sander’s promised secret Christmas surprise until yesterday morning. When Sander told me he had a Christmas gift waiting for me after dark, he was holding an electrical extension cord behind his back with his mischievous smile stretched across his ski slope tanned face. 'I’ll plug this in to brighten your night tonight, as a token of how you have brightened my life,’ he said. Recalling some of his last words, I jumped out of bed and checked this morning; that cord is still lying on the deck where Sander left it last year.Annie was crying, as usual, but so were Patricia and McNally.Dana reached for her purse and pulled out her phone and looked at her messages and began to text, as The Chix took a few moments to rein in their emotions and check their composure before speaking or asking Dana any questions.Annie brushed her cheeks, "Oh Dana, that is the sweetest, saddest story I’ve ever heard… Excuse me, I can’t stop weeping… I don’t even know if these are tears of joy or grief… excuse me, I don’t know what to feel or say,” she said as the flood gates reopened.Patricia felt it was her role to wade in and tidy things up and drain the emotional swamp in which they all found themselves wallowing in. “Dana, it sounds like you’ve started to find some peace after last year’s events. I am glad that you shared with us how you are coping with Sander’s passing…”“Patricia, Jesus Christ on a bicycle! Don’t be such a cold and analytical mother hen all the time for us Chix. Dana’s story is not about coping, it’s about us - all of us and all that we once had and what we might lose, including Will, Nelson and yes, Orlando too. Dana, your conversation with Sander really got to me there…” McNally paused, looking emotionally rattled.“I guess everyone can tell, your story about Sander got to me also,” said Annie after managing to dry out enough. “I feel like McNally. Dana, what you said really touched me; I don’t know what to say… Yes, I actually do, I want to say that what Sander said is right; my joy has been stolen from my soul, I feel drained inside, I have let the things I hold most dear fade away. I am Scrooge - and I’m sorry, but so are all of you.”Turning to Patricia, Annie asked, “Don’t you feel what McNally and I feel? Don’t you feel that you and I and McNally, and certainly Dana, have lost something precious? Together as The Chix, we are a sum greater the whole - and that has, or should, include our husbands. I believe Sander told Dana to warn us all before it is too late. Patricia, don’t you feel like me that we should do something before the Ghost of Christmas Future makes the vision of an estranged and murky end to all that we enjoy a grim reality?”Patricia teared up and nodded silently. Then lifting her head, she asked Dana, “Is there hope? Did Sander give you hope for us?”“There is hope. There is still love here, and where there is love, there is hope. Sander showed me that the future can be changed by what we do now. Sander showed me that there is hope for us, hope for The Chix.”“And… And… What is that hope?” asked McNally. “And… And… And I got lots of questions about you and Sander up here in this cabin, but first - that was a gripping Christmas ghost story with Sander, but it seemed kind of weird that as soon as you finished driving your emotional steamroller full speed over our sympathies that you then broke character, ignoring us to check your phone. Isn’t checking your messages part of that tyranny of the mundane that Sander warned you about? Who is so important that you were texting them rather than dealing with us in this room and our emotions?”“The Ghost or the Ghosts of Christmas Future,” was Dana’s curt, cryptic reply.“You asked about our future, you asked about hope; I don’t know exactly how to answer those questions,” said a thoughtful Dana. “But I know where I want to look for starters. There is Sander’s unrevealed Christmas surprise waiting for me - or us, on top of the hill behind the cabin. It was Sander&rsq

A Ghostly Plea For Appreciation.Based on a post by SandyMarl, in 4 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.A Christmas Ghost Story For ScroogeDana got ready to roll the movie as The Chix settled in. “What’s the movie?” asked McNally.“A Christmas Carol, it’s the classic tale by Charles Dickens.”“Damn. Not a Christmas movie? Did I ever mention that I am so over Christmas right now? Bah Humbug!”Annie snorted, “McNally, you make a better Scrooge than Patrick Stewart.”“I’ll drink to that,” McNally said as she tipped her stemware to wash down a handful of popcorn. “Let me say it again, Merry Fucking Christmas, because I am so done with Christmas.”“Merry Fucking Christmas” was echoed around the room, followed by giggles among gathered good friends as the opening scene played.Annie was dabbing at her eyes as Tiny Tim cried out in the movie’s final scene, “God bless us, everyone!”As the credits rolled, Annie turned to McNally, “Well, Ebenezer Scrooge, do you still hate Christmas? Or did the ghost of Christmas Future shake you from your Bah Humbug! ways?”“I don’t hate Christmas; I just get worn out by this time of year. Christmas has been going on since before Halloween and that’s way too long, even for a vibrant spirit like me,” replied McNally.“Are you still so entrenched in your ‘Bah Humbug’ world-weary ways Ebenezer McNally or is it possible that visitations of the cinematic Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future have softened your hardened holiday heart?” pried Patricia.“Don’t be picking on McNally, she’s just been more emotionally honest. I have heard Scrooge speaking through all of you. Chix, take a look inside and tell me if Christmas hasn’t lost its magic for all of us this year, or for that matter, several years running.” Dana’s call for introspection brought the room to silence.Dana continued, “Let me play Ghost of Christmas Past; let me take us back to time when we were young, and Sander and I stretched our budget and bought this cabin and had The Chix and their boys up here around Christmas time? Remember those times?”“Those were the good days,” recalled McNally. “I remember Orlando mixing exotic cocktails for everyone to try. The guys kept making sweet drinks and urging us girls to taste one new one after another. I’m sure they were in cahoots, working on the theory that 'Christmas candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.’”Patricia chimed in, “Yeah, I remember that year, I remember laughing a lot of silly laughs and being chased around the cabin and out into the snow by three horny abominable snowmen until I finally let one catch me and haul me off to his lair where he threw me on the bed and ravaged me.”“I sort of remember that too - only I think I enjoyed Orlando’s cocktails too much too soon to fully remember every detail. But I have a vague memory of laughing on my way to a strange bed as I hung over Nelson’s shoulder as I pounded on his back as a captured maiden, but not really feeling much distress. I remember trying to help Nelson undress me, but I was too giggly, so he just ripped my clothes off.”Dana reminisced, “Anybody remember the year we all wore those sexy Santa’s Naughty Elf costumes?”“I still have mine in a closet somewhere I think,” snickered McNally. “We put on a pretty good show for the guys that one year when we performed in those outfits. Thanks to Annie for sewing them,” McNally tipped her glass toward Annie.“It was your choreography McNally, and your audacious moves that gave me the confidence to bump and grind along with the rest of the Chix. I’d never have been able to even think of doing something so feminine and sexy if it weren’t for you McNally,” complimented Patricia.“I still get wet every time I hear Eartha Kitt sing 'Santa Baby’ and I think of how hot we Chix looked and how mercilessly we teased those boys,” chuckled McNally.“Speaking for me,” said Patricia, “I’d say all of that dance practice and the sexy dance tips from everyone else showing me how to strut my wares. Our sexy little routine was well worth it a little later that night.” All The Chix giggled and nodded with Patricia, each recalling the thrill of having their men rush the stage and cart off the four costumed naughty little helper elves for a roll in the sheets.“Dana are you sure you’re alright with us bringing up these memories?” asked Annie in a cautious tone.“Annie, I’ve already told you that good memories and present friends are what are important to me tonight.”“Allow me to play the Ghost of Christmas Present,” said Dana in a soft voice. “If the Ghost of Christmas Past has drawn for you scenes of past holiday lovers, good times and Christmas cheer; what do you see when the Ghost of Christmas Present hovers above your lives tonight and points to your actions and attitudes of this present Christmas?”The Chix again sat thinking in silence.McNally answered Dana’s challenge first, “Well, I’ve already told everyone my grim view of this present Christmas. There is a poverty of spirit where I operate; Christmas has become nothing but joyless deadlines for me. I’ll confess, 'Bah Humbug!’ is truly what the Ghost of Christmas Present is pointing at in my life.”“Or would Scrooge use a more contemporary phrase, maybe something like 'Merry Fucking Christmas?” needled Patricia.“Yeah but…” Annie joined in, “…Those really were Merry Fucking Christmases in the past - literally. Those years when we all used to come up here with our hubbies and enjoy playing games and cooking together, remember? And it seems like every night ended in a night of passionate love making,” she added wistfully. “Why did we let that slip away? Where did the holiday love magic go?"I have a confession too, McNally has nothing on me, I’m just as much of a Bah Humbug personality as McNally - if not more so. Only I’m just a Scrooge still in the closet. I guess it’s time I came out to my friends. It was me who first suggested that I’d be ready to exchange Nelson for someone to clean my house. Honestly, how Scrooge-like is that?"The Ghost of Christmas Past showed that Scrooge rejected his old flame, Belle, to pursue a respectable wealthy status above love. Like Scrooge, I’ve let the passion for my old flame, Nelson dim, and for what? A respectable status of a well cleaned house? I’ve been saying 'Bah Humbug!’ from inside my Scrooge closet."I chided McNally for her poor attitude when we first drove up this afternoon,” recalled Patricia. “But then I fell right in with her complaining about my grueling holiday schedule and all I had endured. So, I guess that makes me not only a Scrooge, but a hypocrite as well. How’s that for a bare-bones confession to the Ghost of Christmas Present?" Dana’s Christmas Ghost"Excuse me,” declared a mildly irritated McNally, “enough indulging in this group psychotherapy playing with literary ghosts. I can’t stand it any longer, I’ve gotta find out from Dana if Sander’s ghost is really visiting us here.”McNally’s abrupt demand brought a heavy hush to the room.All eyes were locked on Dana. “All I can say is that I came up to our cabin for the first time since the accident. I hoped I was ready, but I wasn’t sure. The real reason that I invited everyone to join me was so I couldn’t back out, even if I wanted to, since I had extended an invitation to The Chix. Patricia, Annie, McNally; you’re my insurance as I forced myself to be a brave widow."I came two days ago for solitude. I thought I would be alone up here. I hoped I’d be brave enough to finally be alone with my thoughts. I was going to force myself to stay here until reinforcements arrived in the form of a carload of wild, raucous and fun-loving Chix."To my surprise, I had it all wrong. I was not alone here. Sander was waiting for me. It was good to find him here; he has been a comfort for me. I told him I was sorry for making him wait. He let me know that he understood why I waited. He assured me that it was alright for me to wait, coming only after I was ready."When Sander came to me the first night, he comforted me, bringing good memories of us in this place, like the Ghost of Christmas Past. He reacquainted me with faded memories of Patricia and Will, Annie and Nelson and McNally and Orlando all gathered in this place with me and Sander back in those days at the beginning. The images he brought to me made me feel grateful for all of you."I told Sander that those were lovely, warm memories, some of the best; but that they were far in the dim past. When Sander wrapped those memories around me; I felt warmth and saw a radiating brightness, happy for what we had once shared together. He said that that is why he had to brighten them for me; otherwise, neither I nor anyone else in those images would be able to clearly see them as they once were."I began to cry as those bright images of our past passions and fellowship with our friends began to fade before my eyes. I cried even more at the fear of losing him and everything good once again."He warned me that squandered time, tyranny of the mundane and careless love will steal from the human soul, draining the treasures of passion and good memories, leaving murky, pathetic sketches in place of those forgotten treasures. Sander let me know that I still had all of you wrapped around me to shield me with love. He was pleased that The Chix had taken such good care of me after he was taken from me."Sander told me he could not keep the past images bright, the power to do so was only given to the realm of the living."I cried in my grief and in my fresh fear of loss. I tried to hold him, but of course, I could not. I pleaded, 'How can I keep those memories of you and warm feelings bright?’ I didn’t know how to find the power to keep from losing all that was meaningful to me. I cried, 'Please Sander, show me, show me how not to lose you and everything again. Don’t let me drain away into the murky darkness where all warmth and love have been stolen from the human soul.’"I cried, kneeling on the floor. Sander said nothing as he stood close to me as a kind and gentle spirit with a comforting patience waiting for me to finish my hot tears. When I wiped away my tears and looked into his face, he pointed and guided me to look for my answer. I saw The Chix checking their messages, returning calls, checking their calendars trying to squeeze in a meeting, an appointment and a Christmas cookie exchange. I saw that we were rushing to the shopping mall, ordering online, checking our phones and returning home exhausted, drained of warmth and love, leaving nothing for those around us."I was shown Will, Nelson and Orlando taking the cars in for servicing because it was time. I saw these men checking their messages and making out-of-the way runs to pick up store items and a few groceries because their wives had sent them a text message. I witnessed The Dix on their own initiative coming home with a takeout meal that they served to their exhausted wives and then taking out the trash the night before pickup without a reminder. The guys were up late at night, opening the bills and writing the household checks and balancing the accounts, toiling like the loyal Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s unappreciated clerk. I had been shown Christmas Present. I was sad to have seen that exhausted misery spread to all of our present lives."I cried, 'Oh Sander, where is the joy and the love for our friends? Everyone looks so exhausted and joyless and without hope or purpose. Tell me Sander, what is going to happen to them?’ Sander looked sad and did not answer me."He began to fade into the darkness, and I begged with renewed tears, 'Sander please don’t go, please don’t leave me alone again.’ But he was gone.I crawled off the floor, lifting myself into bed and cried myself to sleep. I remembered his words, 'Squandered time, tyranny of the mundane and careless love will steal from the human soul, draining the treasures of passion and good memories and leaving murky, pathetic sketches in place of those forgotten treasures.’"When Sander slipped away from me that night, I understood that he had shown me that the same was happening to Orlando and McNally, Will and Patricia and also to Nelson and Annie. His visit was a warning. Just as I lost Sander, everyone here is facing a Christmas Future where you will discover that you’ve lost all that really matters in life."Sander came again the next night. I was glad to see him. I wanted to know if it was too late for our friends to rekindle the love that had somehow drained away. 'Please, Sander, tell me that there is yet hope for them this Christmas Season,’ I begged."He showed me some bright and warm memories from long ago, some personal and some with The Chix. He showed me those visions to let me know that I still had love and support from you guys. But I was haunted by those visions of Christmas Present that I’d been shown the night before. He was happy that I was so well cared for now. And yes, he was happy to know that I got surprised by some needed loving attention from a partridge, a turtle dove hunter and an old barnyard rooster who had a few tricks to make a French hen cackle. Yet, the peril of the bleak Christmas Present remains, unless friendship and love is cherished and attended, it too will soon perish, and I’ll see my friends fade away into murky darkness as Sander had."Again, I looked into his gentle eyes and asked, 'There is still time isn’t there? We haven’t squandered our time, it’s not too late, tell me sweetheart, there are warm and bright memories of love and affection still to be made, nourished and cherished.’ Sander smiled his warm smile of assurance that I had missed so much, and I was happy."I woke, realizing that the sun was shining off a fresh morning snowfall and I threw off my heavy quilt. I sat up in bed, remembering that on our last morning together; Sander had been working on something secret that morning before the accident. I remembered asking him, 'Sweetie buns, what are you working on the hill behind the cabin?’"He smiled that warm, smug smile of mischief on that last morning that we were together and told me, 'I’ve got a Christmas surprise to show you tonight, it has to be revealed once it is dark. So, you’ll have to wait until we finish a few runs on the slopes this afternoon.’"Of course, we never came back here together. I had forgotten about Sander’s promised secret Christmas surprise until yesterday morning. When Sander told me he had a Christmas gift waiting for me after dark, he was holding an electrical extension cord behind his back with his mischievous smile stretched across his ski slope tanned face. 'I’ll plug this in to brighten your night tonight, as a token of how you have brightened my life,’ he said. Recalling some of his last words, I jumped out of bed and checked this morning; that cord is still lying on the deck where Sander left it last year.Annie was crying, as usual, but so were Patricia and McNally.Dana reached for her purse and pulled out her phone and looked at her messages and began to text, as The Chix took a few moments to rein in their emotions and check their composure before speaking or asking Dana any questions.Annie brushed her cheeks, "Oh Dana, that is the sweetest, saddest story I’ve ever heard… Excuse me, I can’t stop weeping… I don’t even know if these are tears of joy or grief… excuse me, I don’t know what to feel or say,” she said as the flood gates reopened.Patricia felt it was her role to wade in and tidy things up and drain the emotional swamp in which they all found themselves wallowing in. “Dana, it sounds like you’ve started to find some peace after last year’s events. I am glad that you shared with us how you are coping with Sander’s passing…”“Patricia, Jesus Christ on a bicycle! Don’t be such a cold and analytical mother hen all the time for us Chix. Dana’s story is not about coping, it’s about us - all of us and all that we once had and what we might lose, including Will, Nelson and yes, Orlando too. Dana, your conversation with Sander really got to me there…” McNally paused, looking emotionally rattled.“I guess everyone can tell, your story about Sander got to me also,” said Annie after managing to dry out enough. “I feel like McNally. Dana, what you said really touched me; I don’t know what to say… Yes, I actually do, I want to say that what Sander said is right; my joy has been stolen from my soul, I feel drained inside, I have let the things I hold most dear fade away. I am Scrooge - and I’m sorry, but so are all of you.”Turning to Patricia, Annie asked, “Don’t you feel what McNally and I feel? Don’t you feel that you and I and McNally, and certainly Dana, have lost something precious? Together as The Chix, we are a sum greater the whole - and that has, or should, include our husbands. I believe Sander told Dana to warn us all before it is too late. Patricia, don’t you feel like me that we should do something before the Ghost of Christmas Future makes the vision of an estranged and murky end to all that we enjoy a grim reality?”Patricia teared up and nodded silently. Then lifting her head, she asked Dana, “Is there hope? Did Sander give you hope for us?”“There is hope. There is still love here, and where there is love, there is hope. Sander showed me that the future can be changed by what we do now. Sander showed me that there is hope for us, hope for The Chix.”“And… And… What is that hope?” asked McNally. “And… And… And I got lots of questions about you and Sander up here in this cabin, but first - that was a gripping Christmas ghost story with Sander, but it seemed kind of weird that as soon as you finished driving your emotional steamroller full speed over our sympathies that you then broke character, ignoring us to check your phone. Isn’t checking your messages part of that tyranny of the mundane that Sander warned you about? Who is so important that you were texting them rather than dealing with us in this room and our emotions?”“The Ghost or the Ghosts of Christmas Future,” was Dana’s curt, cryptic reply.“You asked about our future, you asked about hope; I don’t know exactly how to answer those questions,” said a thoughtful Dana. “But I know where I want to look for starters. There is Sander’s unrevealed Christmas surprise waiting for me - or us, on top of the hill behind the cabin. It was Sander&rsq

Welcome to the Internet 3-4-2026 … We finally know what those “Lion King” lyrics mean …Excuse me, she has a boyfriend … “I Like to Touch It” …Helpful Tip: The Most Professional Way to say I told you so …Is it Pet Smart or Pets Mart?

Dear Humans, Today we were joined by special guest Wajahat Ali, who broke down Trump's Iran war narrative as it's unraveling in real time. BLESS YOU, WAJ! We see you! What we covered: The utter clownshow trainwreck that is the Trump admin right now. How Marco Rubio just totally contradicted Donald. The MAGA civil war RAGING right now. Megyn Kelly has fallen. "Israel was going to strike anyway" The total absence of a clear explanation or exit strategy. Operation Epstein Distraction is EXTREMELY unpopular. Waj also walked us through his Joy Reid interview with Hakeem Jeffries, including the moment Jeffries dodged direct questions and refused to answer plainly about AIPAC money. We hope you enjoy this presentation of The God Show. Please let God and Jesus know what your favorite quotes and moments from the episode were down in the comments. One day at a time, humans. Love, God PS - Remember that every like, share, and subscription keeps us pushing back on Christian nationalism and the Project 2025 machine. Make it so. Subscribe now

Welcome to episode 345 of The Cloud Pod, where the forecast is always cloudy! Justin, Ryan, and Matt are in the studio this week and are ready to bring you all the latest in cloud and AI news, including what's going on between Anthropic, the DOD, and OpenAI, what the war means for Middle East data centers (Spoiler – I hope you have a good Disaster Recovery plan), and Transit Gateway pricing changes that are enough to make a grown man cry. And don't bother waiting: Matt has completely forgotten almost two years of “bye everybody” and now claims full amnesia as to what his outtro is. Oh well. Let's get into today's show.  Titles we almost went with this week Claude Learned to Use a Computer Better Than Your Dad **OpenAI Amazon and OpenAI’s $138 Billion AI Bromance When Two AZs Go Dark the Cloud Gets Crispy Fifty Billion Reasons AWS Loves OpenAI Now **Anthropic Azure Still Wins Even When AWS Thinks It Did Fire, Water, and a Multi-AZ Assumption Goes Up in Smoke Claude Refuses to Go Full Skynet for the Pentagon GPT-5.3 Instant Finally Stops Lecturing You No Killer Robots Without Human Approval Please Terraform Finally Sees Your Forgotten Cloud Resources Stage Before You Rage Deploy Azure Firewall CrowdStrike to Zscaler AWS Wants Your Security Tab One Hub to Rule Your API Sprawl Transit Gateway Attachments Just Got Surprisingly Expensive Azure Container Registry Finally Has Room for Your AI Hoarding Bedrock Gets a Roommate OpenAI Moves In Azure Firewall Gets a Safety on the Trigger Stop Writing Scripts, Just Import the Dang Infrastructure Audit Your APIs Before March 2026 Bites You Damn it… my excuse not to DR is gone I'm Epically Furious about DR AI Is Going Great – Or How ML Makes Money  03:34 Anthropic acquires Vercept to advance Claude’s computer use capabilities  Anthropic acquired Vercept, a team specializing in AI perception and interaction, to strengthen Claude’s computer use capabilities.  The Vercept founders, including Ross Girshick, bring deep expertise in how AI systems visually interpret and interact with software interfaces. Claude Sonnet 4.6 shows substantial improvement in computer use benchmarks, jumping from under 15% on the OSWorld evaluation in late 2024 to 72.5% today.  The model is now approaching human-level performance on tasks like navigating spreadsheets and completing multi-tab web forms. Computer use enables Claude to operate inside live applications the way a human would, handling multi-step workflows across tools that cannot be automated through code alone.  This is relevant for enterprise use cases involving document processing, browser-based workflows, and cross-application task management. This is Anthropic’s second acquisition in a short period, following the purchase of Bun, which was tied to the Claude Code milestone. The pattern suggests Anthropic is actively acquiring specialized engineering teams rather

If she could build a scalable sales system in 1906… what's your excuse?Madam C.J. Walker didn't just sell haircare products.She built a repeatable leadership system that trained thousands of women to distribute them without her being in every room.In this kickoff episode of the She Built This series, Dawn unpacks the real reason Walker became one of the first self-made women millionaires in American history  and why most modern founders are still stuck because they refuse to document what only lives in their heads.This is not a history lesson. It's a founder wake-up call.If you're ready to stop being the bottleneck and start building systems that scale without you, join us inside the AI for Founders Community on LinkedIn.It's free. It's strategic.And it's full of founders doing the real work of delegation, leadership, and AI-powered systems.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy systems — not hustle — are the real growth strategyThe 3 structural moves Walker built that most founders still skipHow to stop being the bottleneck and step into real CEO leadershipWhy delegation failures are usually documentation failuresHow AI can help you finally get your processes out of your head and into scale-ready formResourcesJoin the AI for Founders Community Send a text AI in Action Conference March 19th and 20th in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Get In the Room! https://hellodawn.live/Action2026Want to increase revenue and impact? Listen to “She's That Founder” for insights on business strategy and female leadership to scale your business. Each episode offers advice on effective communication, team building, and management. Learn to master routines and systems to boost productivity and prevent burnout. Our delegation tips and business consulting will advance your executive leadership skills and presence.

Excuse my voice I have a sore throat while recording this but we Welcome you back to the show. Today, we're standing at the intersection of the trenches and the trophies. We've got 19 names on a new indictment paper in the city, the most significant shift in the Middle East in our lifetime as Operation Epic Fury makes landfall, and the kid from Newark—Michael B. Jordan—just cemented himself as a first-ballot Hall of Famer in Hollywood. We're covering the hits, the history, and the hoops. Let's get into it.

Nick and Jonathan are joined by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, and they talk about the impact of the Cavs recent injuries.

Nick and Jonathan look at the Cavaliers injuries and if it gives them an excuse or a valid reason.

In Romans 3:1–20, Paul removes every excuse and brings us face to face with the truth: religion has value, but it cannot save. After exposing the rebellious sinner in chapter 1 and the religious sinner in chapter 2, Paul shows that we are all under sin. The law doesn't justify us... it silences us. It reveals what's wrong but cannot make us right.This message reminds us that outward activity cannot replace inward transformation. We don't come to God with our resume, our morality, or our church attendance. We come with empty hands.Connect with us!Missioncity.church

Tous les matins dans Europe 1 Bonjour, Laurent Tessier revient sur le meilleur de l'émission de Pascal Praud et vous de la veille et vous livre en avant-première les sujets sur lesquels vous pourrez réagir en direct entre 11h et 13h.Vous voulez réagir ? Appelez-le 01.80.20.39.21 (numéro non surtaxé) ou rendez-vous sur les réseaux sociaux d'Europe 1 pour livrer votre opinion et débattre sur grandes thématiques développées dans l'émission du jour.Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Health Hats walks & floats through ancient Maya caves in Belize with forearm crutches, teamwork, trust, and shared decision-making every step of the way. Watch this episode on YouTube. Audio is published, but not the same Podcast episode on YouTube Summary What does it take to go cave tubing in Belize when you use forearm crutches and have no electric wheelchair? For Danny van Leeuwen, it takes the 3 T’s: Time (a half-mile walk), Trust (in guides and companions), and Talk (real-time decisions about stairs vs. river crossings). HHP245 is a first-person GoPro video of Danny floating through the sacred Caves Branch River — ancient Maya ceremonial grounds — with his wife and friend Linda. It’s part adventure, part health advocacy, and part proof that with the right team, you can push your capabilities further than you thought. Click here to view the printable newsletter with images. More readable than a transcript. Contents Table of Contents Toggle EpisodeProemNarrativeReflectionRelated episodes from Health Hats Please comment and ask questions: at the comment section at the bottom of the show notes on LinkedIn  via email YouTube channel  DM on Instagram, TikTok to @healthhats Substack Patreon Production Team Kayla Nelson: Web and Social Media Coach, Dissemination, Help Desk  Leon van Leeuwen: editing and site management Oscar van Leeuwen: video editing Julia Higgins: Digit marketing therapy Steve Heatherington: Help Desk and podcast production counseling Joey van Leeuwen, Drummer, Composer, and Arranger, provided the music for the intro, outro, proem, and reflection Claude, Perplexity, Auphonic, Descript, Grammarly, DaVinci   Inspired by and Grateful to: Mike and Linda DeRosa, Ann Boland, Ruben, David, and all our guides and helpers Photo Credits for Videos All by Danny van Leeuwen using GoPro10  Referenced in episode Nohoch Che’en Caves, Branch Archeological Reserve, Episode Proem I delight in pushing the boundaries of my capabilities. In Belize, floating in a tube through caves and snorkeling stretched me. How can tubing stretch anything? It's passive floating. The event included a mile-long walk to the cave entrance – relatively flat with some steps and wading across the river, a mere six-inches deep. No electric wheelchair, just my forearm crutches. Our guide and my compatriots shared in the decision-making and assisted me. This video episode was taken with a GoPro camera hanging around my neck. Watch the video. Reading will not give you the flavor. Narrative Let me tell you a little bit about where we are what you’ll see. Excuse me, as I will be certainly butchering some of the names of stuff. So where we are is Nohoch Che’en Caves, Branch Archeological Reserve, also called the Caves Branch River. It’s in the Cayo District, and districts are like provinces or states. It’s by far the most famous cave tubing destination in Belize and one of the most unique in the world. So this was sacred to the ancient Maya. They were considered portal to Xibalba, the Maya underworld. This wasn’t just mythology. The Maya actively used these caves for religious rituals and ceremonies, particularly during times of drought when they needed to communicate with the rain God, chaac. I don’t know. Archeologists have found ceramic offerings, jade artifacts and human remains inside; evidence of sacrificial rights dating back over 2000 years. The caves were largely forgotten after the Maya civilization declined and weren’t widely known to the outside world until the 1980s and nineties when the Belizean guides and explorers began documenting them and it became a active tourist destination in the early two thousands. So the Caves Branch River flows through a network of limestone caves carved out over millions of years. The system I floated on. Is part of a much larger Karst landscape riddled with interconnected caves. Some of them still unexplored. Pretty amazing, huh? Reflection That was it. Fifteen minutes of about an hour total time and 30 minutes of recording. I hope it gives you a flavor of what we did. It was awesome. I will be producing a couple more videos from Belize over the next few months. The next video will be of the Mayan ruins, then making tortillas and tamales, and then, we'll see. Related episodes from Health Hats https://health-hats.com/pod223/ https://health-hats.com/pod191/ https://health-hats.com/pod164/ Artificial Intelligence in Podcast Production Health Hats, the Podcast, utilizes AI tools for production tasks such as editing, transcription, and content suggestions. While AI assists with various aspects, including image creation, most AI suggestions are modified. All creative decisions remain my own, with AI sources referenced as usual. Questions are welcome. Creative Commons Licensing CC BY-NC-SA This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. CC BY-NC-SA includes the following elements:    BY: credit must be given to the creator.   NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.    SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms. Please let me know. danny@health-hats.com. Material on this site created by others is theirs, and use follows their guidelines. Disclaimer The views and opinions presented in this podcast and publication are solely my responsibility and do not necessarily represent the views of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute®  (PCORI®), its Board of Governors, or Methodology Committee. Danny van Leeuwen (Health Hats)

"What makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective—something which catches our imagination and lays hold of our allegiance; and this the Christian has in a way that no other person has. For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?"- J.I. Packer (Knowing God)“I have witnessed, time and time again, two people in the same gathering come away with completely different experiences. One had a burning bush moment, leaving with a heart warmed and transformed, while the other left cold and unchanged, with no worthy takeaway save for an opinion of the worship and a score for the preacher. “- Alan Frow“The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 AM for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access.”- Tim Keller“Spiritual formation is a process of being formed in the image of Christ for the sake of others.”- Robert Mulholland (Invitation to a Journey)Chekov's Gun:“One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn't going to go off. It's wrong to make promises you don't mean to keep.”Excuse 1: “Who am I?” (3:11)Excuse 2: “What do I say?” (3:13)Excuse 3: “What if they don't believe me?” (4:1)Excuse 4: “I'm not gifted enough.” (4:10)Excuse 5: “Please send someone else.” (4:13)“This final excuse was not so much an excuse as it was Moses' desperate plea to pass the responsibility to someone else. He was out of excuses. Every one of his questions had been answered in stunning ways. Now he basically said, “Here I am, send someone else.”- Tony Merida“Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses…” (4:14)# Reflection Questions:- Where are you resisting God in your life?- Where are you letting insecurities, fears, doubts and a lack of trust in God hold you back from what He is leading you too? - Where is your past determining what God can do with your future?- Like Moses, if the layers are pealed back, where do you see that actually you are just saying “No” to God?The answer to Moses' insecurity isn't more self-confidence.It's more confidence that God's presence is with him.

How long can naked friends resist becoming lovers?By darrenr. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.“Breasts, yes. I want to show you my breasts,” Anna said, making a simple request that complicated everything.Jake instinctively glanced down at her chest, before wrenching his gaze back to her face. His mind raced in useless circles around a single thought: Danger!“But you have to promise to tell me if that would make you uncomfortable,” Anna said. “I can only ask you this favor because our friendship is both close and solidly non-romantic. I completely understand if my request is just too flippin' weird!”Jake had never been less comfortable in his life. This felt like a bad idea.He wanted it anyway.Feeling ashamed of himself, Jake forced himself to think. Anna wouldn't ask unless it was important to her. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, so he tried a joke. “Compared to eating the terrible chicken dinner you made last night, this sounds like a walk in the park.”Anna erupted in giggling. She was clearly nervous, but it was comforting to hear her infectious laugh. That, at least, felt normal.They met about a year ago, neighbors moving in on the same day. She had a kind face. If she wore makeup, it wasn't enough to notice. She was an inch taller, had brown eyes and long blonde hair–brilliantly shining blonde–always in a ponytail. Her face seemed to have only two states: stern concentration or an easy smile. She had a solid aspect to her figure but wasn't fat. Her tight jeans revealed strong legs and a substantial bottom that her height proportioned nicely. A baggy flannel shirt hid any details about her breasts.Although Jake tended to be shy, an endless conversation began during their second shared elevator trip. Her name was Aine, but she went by Anna. She liked hiking and tinkering with electronics. They both just moved into town and it was their first time living on their own. Anna did some kind of computer engineering work that sounded much cooler than the business analysis work he did. They both used Excel spreadsheets extensively for work and shared many of the same frustrations with its quirks. They liked a lot of the same video games and movies and had plenty to talk about.That first night they shared take-out at Jake's place, which was the start of Anna's habit of visiting constantly. Jake insisted on paying. To repay him, the next night Anna made dinner in his kitchen. Jake then reciprocated the following night. Neither of them was a very good cook, but it worked out. They ate dinner together nearly every day, alternating cooking and cleanup. Anna declared it was more efficient to share food between two people. She also decided Jake's pot, pan, and dish situation was better than hers, so they used his kitchen. Jake gave her the spare key to his apartment and she came and went as she pleased. He started to develop real feelings for her. This stopped when, after a week hanging out together, Anna mused on the merits of their relationship.“I'm glad we're neighbors,” Anna said that day. “We've only known each other a week, and yet I already feel like we've been friends for years.”“I feel the same way,” Jake had said.“Best of all,” she added in a moment burned into his memory, “Is we don't have a trace of romantic tension between us. We're free to just be friends without all that bullshit.”Jake let her comment pass without challenge. What else could he do? But it was a blow. All his romantic and erotic fantasies about her fizzled, impossible to sustain if she didn't feel the same. At least he did genuinely like her, mostly.The “mostly” came down to her presumptuousness. She saw that, obviously, it made sense for them to share Jake's kitchen. Obviously, it made sense for her to set up her electronics workbench in Jake's apartment, and hadn't even asked him. He didn't complain because he liked their dinner arrangement and liked seeing her build crazy electronics. She wasn't wrong in her actions; he just wished she'd ask first.Watching movies, playing video games, and discussing politics solidified their friendship. Jake was eventually able to suppress most of his unwelcome feelings about Anna. He tried his best to think of her as just a friend. A pal.Which made this request so upsetting. He was dismayed to find that his efforts over the past year had only hidden the shameful ember of carnal desire in his heart. Her words now rekindled it into a bright flame, unthinking and ravenous. He refused to let it burn this person he cared about.“Anna, wait.” Jake was surprised to hear the words coming out of his mouth. Concern returned to her face. “Are you sure about this? It's not that I don't want to see, you.”“Then why don't you shut up and let me show you?” Anna asked, laughing nervously.“Believe me, I'm wondering myself. I just, we've been neighbors for almost a year now, and I like to think we've become friends. However, I never got the sense you saw me as more than a friend, so this whole ‘I want you to see me naked' thing is a bit of a surprise. Not an unwelcome surprise, but, well, can you please spell it out for this dummy?”Anna looked down and sighed. “You're right, I owe you an explanation. Please, please be patient with me. This isn't easy.”“Deal,” Jake said in agreement. He leaned back on the couch and crossed his arms and legs in an exaggerated manner. “I'm extremely patient.”Anna took a deep breath. “When I was eighteen I had my first serious boyfriend, Andrew. We were making out, and I let him take my shirt and bra off. It was a mistake. He was a mistake. I don't know what I saw in him. The thing is, I have inverted nipples.” Anna turn away from Jake and began to shyly fidget. “He freaked out when he saw them. He didn't want to touch them anymore, didn't want to touch me. Looking back, I think he was just a nervous kid frightened by something he didn't understand. Still, it really hurt.”“Fucking hell, Andrew. What a massive asshole,” Jake said.Anna's face showed relief at his reaction. “Yes,” she agreed, “especially when he told his friends and started calling me ‘NN anna' for ‘No Nipple Anna.'”“No way!” Jake said. “What the fuck?”“High school can be rough, right? It's not even accurate. I have nipples, they just go in instead of out. I think the whole school eventually heard. Plenty of people 'accidentally' called me Nnanna, even a teacher once. I was devastated at the time, but I've tried to forget about him, about his reaction, about the taunting. I've dated a few guys over the years, though I've always ended it before things got, intimate. I've come to realize, on some level, I'm still ashamed of my body. I'm still afraid of a repeat of Andrew's reaction.”“That is some bullshit. No person should be ashamed of their body.”“Yes,” Anna agreed. “Intellectually, I know that. I've been telling myself for years. My trouble is the difference between knowing in my head and really feeling it in my heart. That's what I'm hoping you can help me with.”“Got it,” Jake said. “You want to show me your breasts, so I can NOT freak out.”“Exactly! Which sounds silly when you say it out loud. I know this is a weird favor to ask, I just, I feel safe with you.” Doubt returned to her face. “It's totally okay if you'd rather not do this. I don't want to guilt you into this.”“Anna, it's okay. Thank you for explaining. I understand, I think.”“Oh, come on, it's not a big deal,” Anna said, trying to sound casual. “Right?”Jake shook his head. “I disagree,” he said. “A friend sharing something deeply personal and fraught with shame, trusting me. It's a big deal.”Anna gazed into Jake's eyes, her breasts dominating his thoughts as they rose and fell with her breaths. He wondered if he saw more than friendship flickering in her eyes, but then it vanished.“Thank you,” she said. “Now that we've reached an understanding and decided on a course of action, we have another problem: I don't see how I can work up the courage to actually, um, do it.” Her voice got very quiet at the end as she looked down and chewed her lip. “It just seems impossibly weird and awkward to undress in front of you.” She gave his arm a gentle shove like she did when they played video games.Jake thought for a second.“Well I'm certainly not going to pressure you. But if you're set on doing this, then I have a suggestion: What if we both pretend you're fully clothed? I'll set up the video game. When you're ready, you come in dressed however you want, and we'll both just pretend everything is normal. We can play Mario Kart like we planned, all very normal and unremarkable.” Jake couldn't help smirking a little bit at this last sentence.Anna's face brightened. “I like that idea. That might work.”Jake stood up. “Off you go, then,” he pointed at his bedroom. “I'll just set up the game and you can join me when you're ready.” He faced the TV and grabbed the remote. “I hope you are prepared to get trounced,” he added.Anna departed for his bedroom. Jake's heart raced, and his hands trembled a bit. He tried some deep slow breaths. They didn't help much. He visualized the bedroom door behind him and the woman he expected to emerge any second.Jake was ashamed to feel an erection start at just the thought of seeing Anna's breasts. His friend was trusting him to help her! He had to master himself and come through for her. He had to.He heard Anna take a quiet step into the open doorway behind him. He dared not turn around.On an impulse he pulled his own shirt off and tossed it. While he was very aware his own skinny chest was completely unremarkable, he hoped this would make her a bit more comfortable.Then he did something he knew she hated. “I hope you don't mind, I'm just going to start the race. I'm choosing your character, yes, Bowser on the biggest car so you can't do anything but go in a straight line…”Anna's hand snatched the controller out of his as she dropped beside him on the couch.“Don't you dare!” she said, laughing.Jake kept his eyes locked on the TV screen, trying to act casual while his mind reeled at the bare breasts just visible at the corner of his eye. She had done it!Part of him wanted to turn and stare directly at the first bare breasts he'd met in person. A bigger part of him was simply proud of his friend's courage. She'd identified a source of needless shame and took steps to overcome it. Jake wanted to make this a positive experience for her.That didn't mean he didn't take in as much as he could without looking directly. In addition to taking off her shirt and bra, she had taken out her ponytail. She parted her hair on either side of her head, and let it fall down her front. Through this inadequate screen of hair he thrilled at an impression of pale roundness, and maybe a hint of pink?It helped to have the game to concentrate on, though his playing was shit. Anna was never one to sit still and just push buttons on the controller. She moved her whole body with each turn of the race car. He kept his gaze glued to the TV even though her constant movement tickled the outskirts of his vision mercilessly.After several races, Jake started to feel close to normal. His game-play was back up to the level of “respectable.” His erection calmed down. He still hadn't gotten a look at Anna's bare breasts sitting right next to him, but he also no longer had to struggle to keep his eyes locked forward. He felt relaxed and happy, having fun with his friend. More than happy, he felt buoyant. It was as if Anna's bare chest was a beacon radiating warmth, bathing his heart in contentment. Just knowing that she trusted him with this made him feel closer to her.When Anna won the next race, Jake decided to check on her. He put the controller down, tilted his head far back on the couch to make it clear he could only see the ceiling, and leaned in her direction with one hand to his mouth in a conspiratorial gesture. Whispering, he said, “How are you doing?”Anna mirrored his pose and whispered in response. “Really good, actually. How are you doing?”“Really good, too,” Jake said, afraid to reveal how much more than just 'good' he felt.Anna nodded slightly and then she sat up and resumed talking in a normal voice. “I'm going to get us glasses of water.” And with that she stood up and walked to the kitchen.Jake took in the sight of her bare back as she walked away from him. She was beautiful. He longed to touch her and hated himself for it. Momentarily, she would be walking back toward him, and he had to keep his eyes on the TV. He had to.She returned from the kitchen with two glasses of water. Instead of sitting she stood directly in front of him, blocking the TV, and held one out. Jake's efforts at gaze discipline went out the window as he was forced to look up at the glass, which she held at the exact elevation to be in line between his eyeballs and her breasts. Jake did his best to keep his eyes moving up to her face where he looked her in the eyes and said a hoarse “thank you” as he took the glass.Anna tilted her head far back to take drink. With her eyes toward the ceiling, Jake understood she was giving him permission to look.Jake's eyes widened as he took in the sight, and his composure left him. The rest of the room faded out of existence as his brain took in every detail.The slightly tan color of Anna's face and arms was thanks to the sun, for her bare shoulders and upper chest were paler. Her breasts were paler still and revealed a faint tracery of blue veins around her shapely contours. Her hair covered the promised inverted nipples, though he could see the edges of puffy pink areolas.On the one hand, this was just another part of his friend's body. His friend Anna happened to be a woman, women have breasts, and these were simply Anna's breasts. Up close like this, Jake could see the subtle details on her skin. The fine hairs, sprinkling of moles, and minor asymmetries stressed the reality of what he beheld, in contrast to the airbrushed breasts in porn. Intellectually, Jake knew in the big picture all breasts, all bodies, were ultimately unremarkable.On the other hand, Jake couldn't help feeling these particular breasts were magical beacons of beauty, acceptance, trust, and intimacy. Anna's breasts emanated waves of warmth that bathed his heart in joy and evoked feelings of affection and protectiveness. It pained him to think of all those years of being ashamed of her body, avoiding physical intimacy for fear of rejection.After an eternity of taking in this sight, Anna sat on the couch again. He fastened his eyes on the TV and tried to regain his composure.Jake felt a flash of pain on his arm as Anna playfully hit him with the back of her hand. “Come on, slowpoke, press 'A' so we can start the next race. I'm enjoying destroying you.”“Oops,” Jake said, resuming the game. And then, feeling daring, he added: “I don't know where my mind was.”It was hard to tell without turning his head, but he thought he saw her smile.They played a few more races until it was their usual bedtime for a work night.Anna stood up. “Well, we both have work tomorrow. Better call it a night.” She walked into Jake's bedroom and then returned dressed normally. The light in the room felt weaker without the shining warmth of her bare breasts. He fought to hide his disappointment.“G'night,” she said, walking to the door.Jake leaped up to meet her at the door. “Thanks for the fun evening,” he said. Then, his face reddening, “I mean the Mario Kart.”Anna laughed, her face blushing too. “Thank YOU!” Then, hesitating, “for everything.”When the door closed behind her, Jake's apartment felt cold, lonely, and dark.The next day at work, Jake had trouble getting anything done with visions of Anna's breasts dancing in his head. He missed the feeling of being with her when she was topless. But on his way home, a new worry arose: How awkward would it be when he saw her again tonight? There was no going back to how things had been before.Opening the door to his apartment, he heard Anna working in the kitchen.“Hey,” Jake called out.“Hey yourself,” Anna answered from the kitchen.Jake relaxed when he saw she was wearing a shirt, though not without a pang of disappointment. What had he expected? Idiot. Anna cut vegetables, wearing the circuit-board-print apron she liked.“Get the waters, I'm almost finished.”Jake tried to act normal but couldn't stop thinking about her breasts as he set the coffee table in front of the TV. Anna put down plates of chicken salad and sat beside him on the couch.Normally, at this point they would watch something on TV while they ate. The remote control was on the arm of the couch next to Anna, ignored.“How was work?” Anna asked.“Oh fine, pretty normal,” Jake lied. “You?”“Actually,” Anna said, “I had trouble focusing at work today.” She paused there, as if giving Jake an opportunity to say more.“To be honest,” Jake admitted, turning to look her in the eye, “I had the same problem.”“Was there something on your mind?” Anna asked.“Technically two things were on my mind,” Jake said.Anna burst out laughing. Relieved, Jake laughed too.“I want to thank you,” Anna said, “for being so patient with me last night. And kind. I was close to running out of the room in tears. You helped me keep it together.” She took his hand. “That was very kind of you. I feel like a burden of shame was lifted. Thank you.”Jake blushed.“What I hadn't expected, though…” Anna looked down. “What I hadn't expected was how much I enjoyed it.”Anna slowly raised her eyes to meet Jake's. Panic came rushing back. Did she want to do it again? Did Jake want that? Confused thoughts swirled in his head. Did he want to kiss Anna? Yes, but she didn't want that. Did he feel romantic thoughts about her? Yes, but she didn't want that either. Did he want to see her breasts again, despite all his misgivings? Yes. Most definitely yes.“Did you…” Anna was studying his face. “Did you enjoy it, too?”“YES!” Jake blurted out, not exactly playing it cool.Anna smiled. “Do you, do you mind if we do it again?”“I would love that,” Jake answered.Anna hesitated. “It made me feel better when you took your shirt off first.”Jake nearly tore his shirt in his rush to pull it off. Anna's eyes on his chest made his skin feel warm.After a moment of staring, Anna started to unbutton her shirt. Feeling emboldened by Anna's unguarded staring at him, Jake watched her fingers work. The anticipation was intense, and he felt a reckless swelling between his legs.“Excuse me,” Anna said sternly, “my eyes are up here.”Jake blanched and tore his gaze up at the ceiling, his heart pounding in panic and his dick shrinking in shame. Incoherent apologies spilled out of his mouth as he tried to repair the damage his eager eyes had done.“Whoa, whoa, it's okay, I was just joking!” Anna said quickly. “I've never seen anyone go so pale. Are you okay? Jake, you didn't do anything wrong. The whole point is for you to look at me.” She grabbed his shoulders. “Jake, please, I'm sorry, I was only trying to be funny.” She gently pulled on the back of his head until it was tilted down at her chest again. “Your respectful instincts are part of why I trust you. It's okay. I want you to look.”He watched her shirt rise and fall with each breath, and eventually his breathing matched hers. Anna released his head and resumed unbuttoning. She wasn't wearing a bra. After t

Join us on the STILL RELEVANT tour: https://simulationtheory.ai/16c0d1db-a8d0-4ac9-bae3-d25074589a80Join Simtheory: https://simtheory.aiTDIA Discord: https://discord.gg/gTW4RkAJvnHorse Egg Lifecycle Infographic: https://staging.simtheory.ai/share/file/UZ2KJU----So Chris, this week... we're diving into Google's new Nano Banana 2 image model - 50% cheaper and supposedly faster (when the servers aren't melting). We put it through its paces with annotation-based editing, slide generation, and yes, the return of the legendary horse egg experiment.Plus: Google quietly kills Gemini-3 after just a few months (good riddance?), we discuss why the model was "dead on arrival" for agentic workflows, and break down the real story behind those massive AI layoff announcements from Block and WiseTech. Spoiler: it's probably not actually about AI.We also get into the current state of the model wars (Opus 4.6 vs Codex 5.3), why smaller models like GLM-5 might be the future for enterprise agentic tasks, and Chris's wife teaching Claude to literally speak to her using Mac's text-to-speech. The models are getting creative.---0:00 - Intro0:36 - Nano Banana 2: Price, Speed & First Impressions3:19 - The Compositing Problem & Last Mile Design5:41 - Annotation-Based Editing (This Changes Everything)9:52 - Slide Editing & Real-World Use Cases12:34 - The Horse Egg Experiment Returns14:30 - Image Degradation & Cost Breakdown17:47 - Text-to-Image Leaderboard Discussion20:01 - Why Nano Banana Dominates for Work22:07 - Codex 5.3 vs Opus 4.622:54 - Google Kills Gemini-3 (What Went Wrong?)26:48 - Google's Agentic Problem30:08 - The Model Loyalty Cycle34:22 - Why Opus 4.6 is Still the Best37:05 - Cost Optimization & Smart Model Routing43:30 - When Models Get Stuck on the Wrong Path45:36 - Nicole's AI Learns to Talk Back46:54 - Can Anyone Build Software Now?52:26 - Anthropic's Legal/Finance Plugins & Market Panic57:08 - Block Lays Off 4,000: AI or Excuse?1:00:05 - The AI Job Apocalypse Isn't RealThanks for listening like and sub xoxo

This week, the Ep kicks off with Amy's remorse for bullying the Quad God. Then bullies him again! The ladies totally love Alysa Liu and her flawless, badass, joyful attitude. This lady pierced her own frenulum! This gal is 100% joy! She's so herself! Amy has a family story about the song MacArthur Park (Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain). Amy can't with the Olympic skating gala. Maya loves the unsung, on-ice camera operator in a white suit. Amy solves the Delta in-flight Olympic video mystery. Amy just can't with the skater Amber Glenn. These kids would have never survived our childhood bullies, which included our teachers. The ladies reminisce about the hard, rough, brown multi-purpose paper towel that served as everything from a tourniquet to a popcorn bowl. Maya pays tribute to her elementary school classmate Steve Kelfkin. Animal Report: Wolf-dog Nazgul joins the cross-country ski race! Also, Punch the Monkey. Maya reviews the new Chi Chi's restaurant. So many peeps from our formative TV years are dying. Dawson! McSteamy! Luke Perry & Shannen Doherty! Don't get it twisted, we're all team Pacey. Amy goes to a “turnt” theater in her neighborhood. Don't even get her started on the sauna in her new neighborhood. Amy reviews Wuthering Heights. Amy feels like she was promised horny, horny, sex, sex, sex! It was not that. Justice for Tim Gunn! They didn't invite him back to Project Runway. Excuse me, what? Also, ICE is still here doing sneaky stuff. Amy calls her mom Marsh and hashes out what really happened with the toy mixer and human waste. Also, Marsh has some very specific, important thoughts about “sassing”. We love you Marsh. 

What if the reason you’re not healing isn’t that you need another diagnosis? 0:08 It’s that your cells aren’t receiving the right signals. Because the body doesn’t run on diagnosis, it runs on 0:16 communication. And peptides are one of the most powerful, most misunderstood 0:21 tools we have for cellular signaling, immune balance, tissue repair, gut 0:27 lining support, metabolic control, brain signaling, sleep cycles, and even sexual 0:35 wellness. Today, I’m going to do what most people won’t. Define peptides in 0:41 plain English for you. break them into categories by what they’re best at and 0:47 tell you which ones are FDA approved on the list and which ones are commonly 0:53 used off label or investigational with the evidence that actually says these 1:00 work. This is going to be a powerful episode and if you’ve ever felt like you’re hearing hype without clarity, 1:07 this one’s for you. So, as usual, grab your cup of coffee or tea and settle in 1:13 as we talk about peptides that can fit into your healing journey. We’re going 1:19 to have a short word from our sponsor. You know, we got to do that. That’s how we stay on the air here. So, we will be 1:26 right back after this. Did you know sweating can literally heal your cells? 1:32I nfrared saunas don’t just relax you. They detox your body, balance hormones, 1:37 and boost mitochondrial energy. I’m obsessed with my health tech sauna. And 1:42 right now, you can save $500 with my code at healthtechalth.com/drmuthqen25. 1:54 All right, here we go, guys. I am excited to dive into peptides with you. 2:00 So understanding peptides is foundational, right? And I’ve been 2:06 studying peptides now for about nine years. Um, and I find that they are 2:13 incredible. Um, so I want to break down for you what peptides actually are, what 2:19 they do, and some of the top peptides that are available today, and how they 2:25 can be utilized. Because I think it’s really important. And I think it’s it’s there’s a lot of confusion out there about what these things actually are and 2:32 are they safe? Are they not? When do we use them? What’s the science behind them? So, we’re going to dive in and 2:38 we’re going to talk about all things peptides. So, let’s get ready here. Here we go. So, peptides are short chains of 2:45 amino acids and they typically range anywhere from 2 to 50 amino acids and 2:51 they’re linked by peptide bonds. So think of them as the superglue that holds the amino acids together. They sit 2:58 between the amino acids and they are full proteins in terms of their size and 3:04 their complex structure. And what makes peptides particularly interesting in 3:10 medicine is their role as signaling molecules. They’re essentially the 3:15 body’s text messages carrying specific instructions to cells and tissues. And 3:21 unlike our proteins which often serve as structural roles or act as enzymes, 3:28 peptides typically function as hormones, neurotransmitters and growth factors and 3:33 they bind to specific receptors on the cell’s surfaces or within the cells and 3:39 they trigger this effect. It’s like a cascade effect of a biochemical reaction 3:45 that ultimately changes the cellular behavior. So basically, it’s changing 3:50 the way the body’s cell structure acts. And this is why peptides can be so 3:56 incredibly powerful and therapeutic when you introduce the right peptide signal. 4:02 Now, you could theoretically redirect cellular processes toward healing, 4:07 towards metabolism, immune balance, tissue repair. Any of those things can 4:14 be manipulated to do a certain thing once we add the peptide. The challenge 4:19 in peptide medicine though lies in distinguishing between those peptides that have been rigorously studied, 4:26 proven safe and effective and approved by regulatory bodies like the FDA versus 4:31 those that exist in what we call the gray zone of a promising clinical data. 4:36 But they really lack human validation so far. And this distinction is critical because the presence of a plausible 4:43 mechanism does not guarantee safety or efficacy in living humans. So, this is 4:50 really important and we’re going to dive in and look at some of the research on all of these different peptides that are 4:56 available and I’m excited to say there’s some amazing peptides being studied right now that unfortunately are not 5:01 available. But I can’t wait to see them hit the market for us because it is going to be a gamecher as far as health 5:09 and longevity. So there is a quality control issue and there is a hidden 5:14 variable in peptide medicine with this and it’s one of the most underappreciated aspects of peptide 5:21 therapy particularly for non-FDA approved peptides. It’s quality control. 5:26 When we discuss pharmaceutical medicines, we take for granted that the pill contains what the label says. Not 5:32 always true depending on where it comes from. You guys, if you’ve heard my episodes before talk about how many of our medications are made in China and 5:41 have been contaminated with other things, you will realize that that is not always true. So, just because it has 5:48 the FDA stamp of approval on the medication, it still does not necessarily mean it’s safe and we still 5:54 need to do our homework on it. So, sorry for digressing on you guys, but you know, when we get a medication, we we 6:00 think that what the amount says is what is there, doesn’t have contaminants, it’s manufactured with good 6:06 manufacturing practices. You’ll see that listed as GMP on the bottle, and it’s been stored properly, it’s been 6:12 maintained stable, and with research peptides and compounded formulations, 6:17 none of this can be assumed. So, I will share a story with you. There was a gentleman that was purchasing these 6:24 peptides online from a research facility and um did not know that they were 6:30 coming from China and he was ordering a particular growth hormone peptide and 6:35 after a little while he had he had done fine for the few first few bottles. After a little while he started having 6:42 some complications. He started getting really irritable and angry and ragy and 6:47 he didn’t quite know what was going on. And so he decided to go get some testing done. He had some blood testing done and 6:53 his testosterone level was over 5,000. So for those of you who know what testosterone level should be for a guy, 7:00 they really shouldn’t be any higher than about 1,00200 would be absolute max that we’d want to see. Now he was taking 7:06 testosterone but not to that degree. And prior to adding this peptide, his 7:12 testosterone was very stable. What they ended up finding out was the peptide that he was getting, whoever was 7:18 manufacturing it added testosterone to the peptide. They felt like if if it had growth hormone, that was great, but if 7:25 it had growth hormone and tes testosterone, all the better. And he didn’t know that. And this is the 7:31 problem that we can have with peptides if you don’t source them properly. if you’re not working with somebody that 7:37 knows how to source them and can prove that they are what they say they are. Um, I’m sure there’s a whole bunch of 7:42 studies out there too of people getting these peptides and paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for them over their 7:48 lifetime and finding out they were nothing more than just sterile water. So, you really do need to be careful 7:53 with your quality control. Now, this kind of leads us right into the next topic that we’re going to talk about and that’s the manufacturing question, 8:00 right? The FDA approved peptides are manufactured in facilities subject to 8:05 the FDA inspection rules following our GMP regulations and these facilities 8:11 must validate their manufacturing process, demonstrate consistency batch to batch, test for purity and potency. 8:18 They need to test for bacterial endotoxins and sterility and they need to maintain detailed records. So, when a 8:25 pharmaceutical company submits a drug application, the FDA inspects the manufacturing facility as part of the 8:32 approval process. If you’re getting peptides from a different country, none of that is happening. And there are some 8:38 ways for us to determine if that is what you’re getting. Typically, the rule of thumb is if your peptides are coming 8:44 with a different colored top, every one of them has a different colored top. Those are typically being sourced out of 8:49 China. I wouldn’t say that’s 100% but that’s kind of the rule of thumb that people follow. So compoundingies these 8:56 are thearmacies that make our bio identical hormones. They can make medications in any dose or strength or 9:02 route. There are thousands of them in every not that not in every state but 9:08 there are thousands of them around the country right now. So these compoundingies are registered as 503A 9:15 facilities. They do traditional compounding for individual prescriptions, right? Like they can make 9:20 thyroid, they can make LDN, they can make estrogen. You can also have a 503b 9:27 facility, which is an outsourcing facility. And these companies produce larger batches of products. They’re they 9:34 have some oversight, but they’re less stringent than for FDA approved 9:40 manufacturers. And state boards of pharmacy regulate a 503A pharmacy. And 9:45 the FDA can inspect the 503b facility, but doesn’t preapprove any of their 9:52 compounding products. So, they can inspect it, but they don’t approve them. So, research chemicals and these 9:58 suppliers operate essentially with no oversight. They explicitly market products for research use only, not for 10:06 human consumption to avoid FDA regulation. If they put that on their 10:12 product, they don’t have to comply to what the FDA is saying. And there is no required manufacturing strategies or 10:19 standards, no required testing, no required sterility assurance, and no enforcement mechanisms if products are 10:26 mislabeled or contaminated. So basically, they don’t have the liability, but that doesn’t mean that 10:31 all of them are badies or bad suppliers. It just means they don’t have to comply 10:37 to the FDA rules. Now, there are many of these companies that I’ve seen and I’ve talked to that do do a lot of this. They 10:44 do test their product for sterility. They do test their product to make sure it is what it says it is. They don’t 10:51 have to, but they do. So, if you’re going to decide to use a company that 10:56 has research only, not for human consumption, at least ask for their 11:02 proof of testing so that you know that the product you’re getting is what it says it is and that it’s clean. Because 11:08 this is where we run into the problem is in purity. So in purity peptide 11:13 synthesis can produce not just the targeted peptide but also related 11:19 peptides with deletions, substitutions, truncations or truncations of amino 11:25 acids. Sorry. And this high performance liquid we call it uh chromatography can 11:30 separate these related impurities and quality and quantify the actual target 11:35 of the peptide content. So a certificate of analysis is what you want to ask these companies for. This shows the HPLC 11:44 the testing mechanism with greater than 95% or ideally 98% purity which 11:51 indicates a higher quality product. So this certificate of analysis can be fabricated may not represent the 11:57 specific batch being sold. It happens. We need to know not everybody is honest. Not everybody, you know, does what they 12:03 say and it does what’s right. But at least you at least they’re giving you something and you have some security. 12:10 and then choose a company that was referred to by someone else that has done some homework as well. In in 12:16 commercial research, there’s independent testing and they research peptides and this has been really shocking 12:23 variability that they’ve seen. Some products contain 50% or less of the 12:29 claimed peptide and some contained primarily degradation of the product or manufacturing impurities and some 12:36 contained bacterial endotoxins at levels that could cause fever and systemic 12:42 inflammation if it was truly injected. And I would also worry with some of those problems, you know, depending on 12:48 what impurity or bacterial endotoxin was there. If you’re using a product to boost your immune system and your immune 12:54 system is already compromised, these bacterial endotoxins can actually make you sicker instead of what you want it 13:02 to do, which is making you better. So, sterility is always an issue with anything that is manufactured, 13:08 especially things that we’re doing as an injection. Peptides are intended for injection. They must be sterile. They 13:16 must be kept safe. And pharmaceutical manufacturers conduct this sterility testing on every batch. 13:22 Compoundingarmacies should conduct sterility testing particularly for high-risisk compounded 13:28 sterile preparations and research chemical suppliers may or may not conduct any testing. So injecting 13:35 non-sterile material can cause local infections, abscesses at the injection 13:41 site and or if the bacteria enters the bloodstream could potentially be 13:46 life-threatening and you could have sepsis. Now, excuse me. We saw this 13:52 happen in a compounding pharmacy uh gosh, it’s probably been 10 years ago 13:57 now, I think. um they unfortunately had a strep uh contamination in their 14:03 product and they weren’t testing it. It was a large compounding pharmacy out of Florida and they were making products 14:08 that were being injected into the joints and um these people got very very sick 14:14 and some of them died and um some of them got very very injured by this uh 14:21 complication that happened. So it’s not like this doesn’t happen. It does, but it doesn’t happen often. And that’s what 14:28 we have to know about. And so, when we’re talking with you guys about storage and stability, it’s really 14:34 important to make sure you maintain your peptides well. So, many peptides are unstable at room temperature. They 14:41 require refrigeration or freezing. We tell everyone to make sure you’re refrigerating your peptides. That way, 14:48 there’s no question about it. when it stays cold um it prevents or slows down 14:54 the process of uh bacteria growing in it. So some of these peptides actually 14:59 degrade very rapidly in the solution and they must be reconstituted immediately before use and reconstitution of the 15:07 peptides really has limited stability often just days to weeks not months. So 15:13 improper storage, temperature, um changes during shipping or prolonged 15:19 storage of a reconstituted product can lead to degradation into inactivity or 15:25 potentially even a harmful breakdown of the product itself. So if you have a product that’s been sitting in your 15:30 refrigerator for a month or two months or 3 months or 6 months, just throw it away. It’s not going to be any good. 15:37 you’re not going to actually get the peptide and the uh potency that you’re looking for anyway out of it and the 15:44 potential of you introducing an endotoxin, a bacterial endotoxin is quite high at that point. So you just 15:50 really don’t want to take the risk, excuse me. So what practitioners, what 15:56 should we do and what should patients do? Well, for any peptide therapy, we 16:03 want to source our verification. know where the peptide product comes from. Is 16:08 it an FDA approved product? Is it a 503b compounding? A research chemical 16:14 supplier? Is there a certificate of analysis? Request and review this COA. 16:20 And you want it to show purity greater than 95% but ideally greater than 98%. 16:27 You want that identity be identity to be confirmed by mass spectromedy. Uh 16:33 sterility testing should be done. Bacterial endotoxin testing should be done. Batch number matching of the 16:39 product that you received should be done. Proper storage. You want to know that this has been refrigerated or 16:46 frozen as directed once it’s been mixed. Look at the expiration dates for reconstituting your peptides. Track that 16:53 reconstitution date and discarded accordingly like we just talked about. Monitor for your adverse effects. Even 17:01 with the perfect quality control, monitoring for adverse effects is essential with questionable quality and 17:08 vigilance is really critical here. I know it’s frustrating for a lot of patients when they have to get several 17:15 bottles and they only last a week or two. right here, you guys. This is why 17:21 they only last a short period of time because once they’re mixed, they start 17:26 to degrade and they won’t be good and you won’t get the benefit from it. So, 17:31 it’s really important with these research peptides specifically, practitioners should recognize that all 17:38 recommending products without quality assurance violates the fundamental medical principle of first do no harm. 17:45 If a patient is determined to use research peptides despite counseling, providing guidance on quality 17:52 verification, requesting those COAs, using pharmaceutical grade sources when available, proper testing, this all 17:59 reduces harm, but doesn’t constitute necessarily that recommendation. Now, 18:06 that being said, today it’s very difficult to find peptides by the compoundingies because of what the FDA 18:13 has done. So most of the peptides that are available to us have been labeled 18:18 not for human consumption, not because they’re not good products, but because 18:25 of what the FDA did. And this is how these companies have been able to 18:31 continue to provide peptides to the medical community. And if you know you 18:36 have a good company, then you’re, you know, you’re still taking the risk, right? But at the end of the day, the 18:42 reason they’re doing that is to protect themselves from the FDA, from liability. Um, so just kind of know that there is 18:50 some talk in the community with um Bobby Kennedy that this is going to change and 18:55 they are going to bring peptides back to the compounding pharmacies. Now, we don’t know which ones they’re going to 19:01 bring back. Uh, will it be all of them? Will it just be some of them? What’s going to happen here? Um, is it going to 19:07 go to the pharmaceutical companies like our GLP1s did? We don’t know what that’s going to look like quite yet. Um, but it 19:14 is coming and that is positive news. So, let’s talk now about FDA approved 19:21 peptide medications. So, this is the metabolic revolution, right? GLP1 19:28 and our dual increeting agonists. This is an exciting time. GLP-1s are amazing. 19:35 Um, a lot of people are skeptical, a lot of people love them, a lot of people hate them. Whichever side of the fence 19:42 that you’re on, I understand. But I want to talk about the science of it today 19:48 and what it actually means for people. So, the story of GLP1 glucagon like 19:54 peptide one represents one of the most significant advances in metabolic 19:59 medicine in the past several decades. GLP-1 is an accretin hormone. It’s 20:05 gutder derived peptide that potentiates insulin secretion in response to food 20:11 intake. And the body naturally produces GLP-1 in the intestinal L cells, but it 20:17 rapidly degraded by the enzyme DPP4 giving it a halflife of only about 2 20:24 minutes. So this rapid breakdown made in therapeutically impractical until 20:31 research was developed and modified the analoges that resist the enzyme degradation. So for those people who 20:39 never feel full when they’re eating, never feel satisfied when they’re done, this is because their body is either not 20:46 producing enough GLP1 or it’s not getting the signal right. And this is a 20:51 leptin issue. This is an insulin issue. It’s a GLP-1 issue. It’s a complicated 20:56 issue. This is not anything that the person is doing wrong. It’s what is happening to their body. And so GLP1s 21:03 have really revolutionized this. So one particular GLP-1 that we have is 21:09 semiglutide. And this GLP-1 agonist is what changed everything in the world of 21:16 metabolic medicine. Semiglutide is marketed as ompic for type 2 diabetes 21:23 and it’s marketed as WGOI for chronic weight management. It is a modified 21:29 GLP-1 analog with 95 or sorry 94% amino acid sequence uh homology to human 21:37 GLP-1. So it means that it’s it’s just like our own GLP-1 that we make. This 21:42 modification includes specific amino acid substitutions and the addition of C18 21:50 a fatty acid chain which allows the peptide to bind to albumin. Now this 21:56 albumin binding dramatically extends the half-life to approximately one week 22:01 enabling one weekly dosing which is a major advantage over the earlier GLP-1 22:07 agonists that require daily or twice daily injections. The mechanism by which 22:13 semiglutide works is multiaceted. At the pancreatin level, it binds to GLP-1 22:20 receptors on the pancreatic beta cells enhancing glucose depending sorry 22:27 enhancing glucose dependent insulin secretion. This glucose dependency is 22:33 crucial. It means the peptide only stimulates insulin release when blood glucose is elevated. This dramatically 22:41 reduces the hypoglycemic risk compared to insulin or even uh sulfuras. 22:47 Simultaneously semiglutide suppresses glucagon secretion from pancreatic alpha 22:53 cells further improving glycemic control. This is really amazing because 23:00 over the years when we’ve used insulin, which is also a peptide by the way, you 23:05 had to dose it just right because if you didn’t, you would produce so much insulin that it would crash the blood 23:12 sugar and then somebody would have too low of a blood sugar. They’d be hypoglycemic and they’d have to eat more 23:18 sugar and then they’d have to modify the insulin again and the person would be going up and down, up and down, up and 23:24 down all day long. And that created a lot of problems for people and so this 23:30 helps to stabilize that so it is not such an intense change. Now in the GI 23:36 tract semiglutide delays the gastric emptying particularly pronounced during 23:41 the initial weeks of therapy. This slowing of the gastric emptying contributes to the sensation of being 23:48 full and early satiety that patients often describe. However, this effect 23:54 tends to attend to weight over time as the body adapts through the appetite 24:00 suppressing effects generally persist through central mechanisms. So, when we 24:05 talk about what is actually happening, we’re slowing that digestive process down. That’s why people aren’t so 24:11 hungry. It’s why they’re not eating so much. This is why people can develop constipation with these products because 24:17 it’s slowing the body’s digestive tract down. Now some people will call this 24:22 gastroparesis. Um gastroparesis is actually different. 24:28 It is when we lose control over what’s happening in the in the colon like the 24:34 nerves and things like that just stop working. I have never seen that with the GLP1s that we prescribe in micro doing. 24:42 um it’s been documented. It can happen, but again it a lot of it is dosing and a 24:48 lot of it is staying on top of your client and what’s happening and what’s going on and what you’re doing and making sure that they do have good 24:54 motility still. So a lot of these things can be mitigated if you have problems 24:59 with them. Now one of the most profound effects of semiglutide occur in the 25:05 central nervous system. GLP-1 receptors are widely distributed in the brain 25:10 particularly in the hypothalamus and the brain stem area where we are involved in 25:15 appetite regulation. So when when wilding and colleagues published their 25:20 landmark step one trial in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2021, 25:25 they demonstrated that participants receiving 2.4 4 milligrams of semiglutide weekly achieved an average 25:32 weight loss of 14.9% of their body weight over 68 weeks. Now, I want you 25:39 guys to really understand this. We’re talking roughly 15% body weight loss 25:45 over a year, longer than a year. 52 weeks is a year, right? This is 68 25:50 weeks. So, it took longer for them to lose. We’re not talking about giving 25:55 somebody a dose to lose 15% of their body mass in a month or two. That that 26:01 is not healthy for any of us. That is not what we’re talking about doing here. Now, they compared this to placebo and 26:08 the placebo was only 2.4%. So, that is a significant difference. 26:14 And even beyond the numbers, patients reported something very qualitatively different, a reduction in what’s now 26:21 called food noise. Everybody knows what food noise is. We’ve talked about this long before GLP1. It’s that craving. 26:28 It’s that part of your brain that just keeps thinking about I want to eat something. You know, that was actually 26:34 reduced and they didn’t expect to see that happen. Now, this refers to the constant mental preoccupation with food, 26:42 the intrusive thoughts about eating, the difficulty in feeling satisfied. Semi-glutide appears to appears to 26:49 modulate reward pathways in the misolyic system reducing hedonic eating and food 26:57 cravings. Now there are also great cardiovascular effects of semiglutide 27:02 that extend beyond weight loss. Uh the sustained six and select trials 27:07 demonstrated significant reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events uh 27:14 mace in high-risisk populations. The select trial published in 2023 showed 27:20 that semiglutide reduced cardiovascular death, non-fatal myioardial inffection 27:25 and non-fatal stroke by 20% in adults with overweight or obesity and 27:31 established cardiovascular disease but without diabetes. So this suggests that 27:37 mechanisms beyond glucose control and weight loss possibly including 27:42 anti-inflammatory effects, improvements in endothelial function and favorable 27:47 changes to lipid profiles. Now I will tell you the clients that I work with that are on GLP1, 27:53 they will tell you that their inflammation has been significantly reduced. We are also seeing really 28:00 amazing results in lipid profiles. um part of its weight loss, but there is a 28:06 component to this that is lowering the triglyceride levels because it’s related to sugar and how the body’s processing 28:11 it. And we’re seeing better profiles, less need for statins as a result of 28:17 that. If if you want to listen to my episode on statins, I have one on that. Uh they are not my favorite medication. 28:24 I think it’s overprescribed and overused um and not really affecting or 28:29 addressing the problem. So these things can really be helpful. There’s also some 28:34 uh ramblings going on with GLP-1s saying that they may be able to help with 28:40 addiction in the future because of where they’re finding it affecting the brain and how it affects the food noise and 28:47 the cravings that we have for food and the addiction for food. Could it potentially help with other addictions 28:53 down the road? We’ll have to wait and see on that one. So semiglutide’s FDA prescribing information also includes a 29:00 box uh boxed warning about thyroid sea cell tumors. So in rodent studies 29:06 semiglutide caused dose dependent and treatment duration dependent sea cell 29:12 tumors at clinically relevant exposures. So while it’s unknown whether or not 29:17 semiglutide causes uh thyroid cancer tumors in humans and the rodent thyroid biology 29:26 differs significantly from humans, the drug is contraindicated in patients with a personal or family history of 29:33 medillary thyroid carcinoma or in patients with multiple endocrine neopl neoplasia syndrome type two. it is 29:42 uh contraindicated for safety effects with that. Um I have seen endocrinologists okay GLP1s to be used 29:50 in patients who’ve had other forms of thyroid cancer just not the meillary 29:55 thyroid cancer. So there is possibility there. Now the most common side effects 30:00 are gastrointestinal. It’s nausea affects about 20 to 44% of patients 30:06 depending on the formulation with diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, and also frequently 30:13 reported in clinical trials. I see this in my clinic, too, especially dose dependent. Um, and it happens early on 30:20 when you’re first starting the medication, but seems to settle out over time. The one that I would add to this 30:26 that I don’t think they have on here is an increase in acid reflux. We also see that quite often uh especially in people 30:33 who suffer with acid reflux to begin with. Now these effects are typically most 30:40 pronounced during the escalation and they like I said often improve over time 30:45 but more serious but less common adverse effects include acute pancreatitis. 30:51 The medication needs to be discontinued immediately if this is confirmed. You can see some diabetic retinopathy 30:57 complications in patients with pre-existing retinopathy and acute kidney injury. Um, this usually happens 31:05 secondarily to dehydration from the GI effects. There are some gallbladder disease um that can occur and people who 31:13 have a sensitive gallbladder will describe uh discomfort with that. I’ve 31:18 even seen some people who’ve had their gallbladder out on GLP1s at the higher doses complain of similar pain that they 31:25 used to have when their gallbladder was in. So, really important to just kind of monitor these symptoms and work closely 31:32 with somebody that understands them and can be on top of them quite quickly if this happens. Excuse me. From an 31:39 integrative medicine perspective, semiglutide really represents a powerful tool, but it’s not a standalone 31:46 solution. Remember, the medication addresses one aspect of the metabolic dysfunction, the signaling systems 31:53 controlling appetite and glucose homeostasis, but it doesn’t address the root cause that led to the metabolic 32:00 disease in the first place. Patients who rely solely on the medication without addressing the ultrarocessed food 32:07 consumption, the ccadian disruptions, the chronic stress, the sleep apnea, or 32:12 underlying hormonal imbalances often experience weight regain when the medication is discontinued. 32:20 The drug is also not a substitute for addressing the emotional and psychological drivers of eating 32:26 behavior, including the unresolved trauma that may manifest as emotional eating. I think this is really important 32:33 because we don’t address the trauma issue enough with clients and we need to 32:38 be looking at that. There is a huge trauma effect out there these days that is I don’t want to say leading to or 32:45 causing but it is definitely contributing to chronic illness and it’s not being talked about enough. So we 32:52 really need to be talking about this and addressing this trauma aspect. Now the next GLP that one that I want to talk 32:59 about is trespathide. This is a dual agonist. It takes center stage. It is my 33:05 favorite GLP one. Trisepatide is marketed as Mangjaro for type 2 diabetes 33:11 and Zepbound for chronic weight management and it represents the next 33:16 evolution in increantbased therapy. This is a dual agonist a 39 amino acid 33:23 synthetic peptide structurally based on the human glucose dependent insulin tropic peptide so GIP sequence but 33:31 modified to activate both the GIP receptors and the GLP1 receptors. So the 33:37 addition of the GI GIP agonism to the GLP1 agonism appears to create this 33:46 synergistic effect that goes beyond simply adding the two mechanisms together. So the GIP like GLP-1 is an 33:55 increant hormone secreted by what is called the K cells in response to nutrient intake. It enhances glucose 34:02 dependent insulin secretion but it also effects on atapost tissue metabolism 34:09 potentially improving the insulin sensitivity in fat cells and influencing 34:14 how the body stores and metabolizes fat. So some research suggests that GIP may 34:20 also have effects on energy expenditure though this remains an area of 34:26 investigation. So basically what we’re saying is this drug may actually help 34:32 people who are insulin resistant or insulin sensitive, not just somebody who 34:38 has problems with glucose control. So, this is super exciting because it opens 34:43 up the door for all of these people for decades that we’ve been trying to manage with insulin resistance and trying to 34:50 prevent diabetes and honestly most of the time have been unsuccessful 34:56 unless you can keep your diet at 50 grams of carbs or less a day, which is extremely difficult. Um, and take some 35:04 supplements that may or may not work and or take some metformin that may or may not help. this drug actually really 35:11opens that up and helps in that capacity. So there was a clinical trial 35:17 called the surmount clinical trial which demonstrated that trespathide produces 35:22 even more substantial weight loss than semiglutide. In the surerount one trial published by uh J tree I might have said 35:31 that wrong. I apologize if I slaughtered your name and colleagues in the New York England Journal of Medicine in 2022. 35:38 Participants receiving the highest dose of trespide, which is 15 milligrams, achieved an average weight loss of 20.9% 35:47 of their body weight over 72 weeks, compared to 3.1% with placebo. This 35:54 level of weight loss approaches what’s typically only seen in beriatric surgery. So, this is amazing because if 36:02 this medication works and we don’t have to do beriatric surgery, stomach stapling basically, um, oh my gosh, it’s 36:11 amazing. There are so many complications and risks that go with stomach stapling and the different procedures that they 36:17 do these days. People don’t absorb their nutrients properly. They have to do liquid nutrients. It’s very complicated. 36:24 It’s very challenging. Many of these people gain their weight back. Um, and 36:30 this procedure is not fun to go through. So, if we could change that and change 36:35 the lives of people who’ve really been struggling, it is amazing. And I will tell you that I have seen this work. I 36:42 have seen people lose 100 150 pounds on these medications over a year or two 36:50 period of time. It is definitely slower than beriatric surgery on some standpoints, but that is okay. You don’t 36:56 want that rapid weight loss. It’s not good for you. It’s not healthy for you. It doesn’t look well. You know, we want 37:03 to do this safely and effectively in the best way that we can possibly do that for you. Now, the adverse effect profile 37:10 is similar to semiglutide. It’s dominated by gastrointestinal effects. 37:15 Nausea, diarrhea, decreased appetite, vomiting, constipation. These were all commonly reported in the surmount 37:22 trials. And like semiglutide, tricepide carries a blackbox warning regarding the 37:27 thyroid sea cell tumors based on the rodent data and it shares the same contra indications in patients with a 37:34 family history of thyroid cancer and men too. So the mechanism behind why 37:40 tepatide often produces more substantial weight loss than GLP-1. The agonism 37:45 alone remains under investigation, but it may relate to the complimentary effects on the different aspects of 37:51 energy homeostasis or to GIP’s effects on atapost tissue and potentially on 37:58 central central nervous system pathways that GLP1 alone doesn’t fully address. 38:03 Now patients often report even more profound reductions in food noise with tricepide compared to GLP1 and uh sorry 38:12 GLP1 the agonists through this is anecdotal and hasn’t been regularly 38:17 quantified in quality studies. So I’ve done both uh personally and in my 38:22 practice. I really like trespide better than semiglutide. For me I had too many side effects with semiglutide. uh I had 38:30 less side effects with trespathide. I also plateaued on semiglutide which I 38:35 didn’t really care for. And with Tresepide, I haven’t plateaued and I’ve been able 38:42 to lose about 25 pounds in um a year and a half and I’ve been able to maintain 38:49 that. Um and I continued to use it because I do have a strong family history of cardiovascular disease. And 38:56 if this could help me so that I don’t follow my family lineage with cardiovascular disease, I am all for 39:03 trying to do that. I’ve watched too many of my family members suffer from this. I’ve lost my dad at a very young age. I 39:09 lost my grandfather at a young age to it. All of their brothers to this. And I don’t want to be that same person. So 39:16 that is why I chose to do that. And I think it’s really important for us to take a look at that and understand that. 39:24 Now, I know this has been a really long podcast and I don’t typically do podcasts this long. I have a whole host 39:31 of information on additional peptides. So, I’m going to break this up for you 39:36 guys and I’m going to do another episode and we’re going to pick up where we left off here with these peptides so that we 39:43 can actually start to dive into different peptides as well. So, check 39:48 out my next podcast show when we’re going to dive into the peptides that 39:54 talk about sexual wellness, immune function, and all the other cool things 39:59 that we can do with peptides. So until then, remember to like, share, and 40:04 subscribe. It really helps us get out to other people and share our information, 40:10 and join us for our next episode as we continue the talk about peptides. 40:15 Welcome to Let’s Talk Wellness Now, where we bring expert insights directly to you. Please note that the views and 40:21 information shared by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Let’s Talk Wellness Now, its 40:28 management, or our partners. Each affiliate, sponsor, and partner is an 40:34 independent entity with its own perspectives. Today’s content is provided forformational and educational 40:40 purposes only and should not be considered specific advice, whether financial, medical, or legal. While we 40:48 strive to present accurate and useful information, we cannot guarantee its completeness or relevance to your unique 40:56 circumstances. We encourage you to consult with a qualified professional to address your 41:01 individual needs. Your use of information from this broadcast is entirely at your own risk. By continuing 41:08 to listen, you agree to indemnify and hold Let’s Talk Wellness Now and its 41:14 associates harmless from any claims or damages arising from the use of this 41:20 content. We may update this disclaimer at any time and changes will take effect 41:26 immediately upon posting or broadcast. Thank you for tuning in. We hope you 41:31 find this episode both insightful and thought-provoking. Listener discretion 41:36 is advised.The post Episode 256 – How Peptides Work, Benefits, and FDA-Approved vs Off-Label Use Explained first appeared on Let's Talk Wellness Now.

Fluent Fiction - Dutch: From Chaos to Commitment: A Proposal Amid Van Gogh's Masterpieces Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/nl/episode/2026-02-27-08-38-20-nl Story Transcript:Nl: Het was een koude winterdag in Amsterdam.En: It was a cold winter day in Amsterdam.Nl: Buiten lagen de grachten onder een dunne laag sneeuw en de lucht was een scherpe, bleke grijs die de stad omhulde.En: Outside, the canals were covered with a thin layer of snow, and the air was a sharp, pale gray that enveloped the city.Nl: Jeroen stond in de rij bij de garderobe van het Van Gogh Museum, zijn handen trilden lichtjes van de zenuwen.En: Jeroen stood in line at the cloakroom of the Van Gogh Museum, his hands trembling slightly with nerves.Nl: Vandaag zou hij Anke, zijn grote liefde, ten huwelijk vragen.En: Today he would ask Anke, his great love, to marry him.Nl: Zijn hart klopte sneller, niet alleen van de kou.En: His heart was beating faster, not just because of the cold.Nl: Jeroen zette zijn tas neer om zijn jas uit te doen.En: Jeroen put down his bag to take off his coat.Nl: Plotseling hoorde hij een vriendelijke stem achter zich: "Pardon, mag ik even langs?"En: Suddenly he heard a friendly voice behind him: "Excuse me, may I pass by?"Nl: Het was Bastiaan, een afwezige toerist met een tas die precies leek op die van Jeroen.En: It was Bastiaan, a distracted tourist with a bag that looked exactly like Jeroen's.Nl: In een moment van verstrooidheid pakte Jeroen de verkeerde tas mee.En: In a moment of absent-mindedness, Jeroen took the wrong bag with him.Nl: Binnen in het museum was het warm en sfeervol.En: Inside the museum, it was warm and atmospheric.Nl: De muren waren versierd met Van Goghs meesterwerken.En: The walls were adorned with Van Gogh's masterpieces.Nl: Anke keek met bewondering naar schilderijen zoals "De Sterrennacht" en "Zonnebloemen."En: Anke looked in admiration at paintings like "The Starry Night" and "Sunflowers."Nl: Haar ogen straalden en Jeroen voelde zijn hart smelten.En: Her eyes sparkled, and Jeroen felt his heart melt.Nl: Maar zijn enthousiasme sloeg om in paniek toen hij besefte dat hij de tas van Bastiaan had.En: But his enthusiasm turned to panic when he realized that he had Bastiaan's bag.Nl: Hij wist dat hij snel moest handelen.En: He knew he had to act quickly.Nl: "Anke," zei Jeroen, "wat denk je ervan als we even apart rondkijken?En: "Anke," Jeroen said, "what do you think about us looking around separately for a while?Nl: Zo kunnen we meer zien en straks weer bij elkaar komen."En: That way we can see more and come back together later."Nl: Anke knikte enthousiast, haar aandacht bij de kunst.En: Anke nodded enthusiastically, her attention on the art.Nl: Jeroen begon door de zalen te dwalen, zijn ogen speurend naar Bastiaan.En: Jeroen began wandering through the rooms, his eyes searching for Bastiaan.Nl: Hij liep door de drukke galerijen, het zachte gefluister van bezoekers om hem heen.En: He walked through the busy galleries, the soft whisper of visitors around him.Nl: Het uur tikte weg en nog steeds geen teken van Bastiaan.En: The hour ticked away and still no sign of Bastiaan.Nl: Jeroen liep met lichte wanhoop naar een nieuwe zaal toen hij Bastiaan eindelijk zag.En: Jeroen walked with slight desperation into a new room when he finally saw Bastiaan.Nl: Op hetzelfde moment liep Anke op Jeroen af, vol verhalen over de schilderijen die ze had gezien.En: At the same moment, Anke walked up to Jeroen, full of stories about the paintings she had seen.Nl: Jeroen nam een diepe adem en besloot ter plekke.En: Jeroen took a deep breath and decided on the spot.Nl: Zonder ring, zonder de perfecte woorden, maar met liefdevol improvisatie.En: Without a ring, without the perfect words, but with loving improvisation.Nl: Hij pakte Ankes handen vast en keek haar in de ogen.En: He took Anke's hands and looked her in the eyes.Nl: "Anke, elke dag met jou is als een prachtig schilderij.En: "Anke, every day with you is like a beautiful painting.Nl: Wil je de rest van je leven met mij delen?"En: Would you like to share the rest of your life with me?"Nl: vroeg hij, zijn stem vol emotie.En: he asked, his voice full of emotion.Nl: Anke keek verbaasd, maar haar ogen vulden zich met tranen van geluk.En: Anke looked surprised, but her eyes filled with tears of joy.Nl: "Ja, natuurlijk wil ik dat!"En: "Yes, of course, I want that!"Nl: zei ze, hem omhelsend.En: she said, embracing him.Nl: Op dat moment verscheen Bastiaan, met een verontschuldigende lach en Jeroens tas.En: At that moment, Bastiaan appeared, with an apologetic smile and Jeroen's bag.Nl: "Sorry, ik denk dat we onze tassen hebben verwisseld," zei Bastiaan, terwijl hij de tas overhandigde.En: "Sorry, I think we swapped our bags," Bastiaan said as he handed over the bag.Nl: Jeroen haalde opgelucht adem, haalde de ring tevoorschijn en schoof hem om Ankes vinger.En: Jeroen breathed a sigh of relief, took out the ring, and slid it onto Anke's finger.Nl: Het was geen perfecte uitvoering van zijn plan, maar de liefde en oprechte woorden waren genoeg.En: It wasn't a perfect execution of his plan, but the love and sincere words were enough.Nl: Zo leerde Jeroen dat soms, midden in chaos en onverwachte wendingen, de mooiste momenten ontstaan.En: Thus Jeroen learned that sometimes, amidst chaos and unexpected turns, the most beautiful moments arise.Nl: Want uiteindelijk was de liefde het enige dat telde.En: Because ultimately, love was the only thing that mattered. Vocabulary Words:enveloped: omhuldetrembling: trildennerves: zenuwenabsent-mindedness: verstrooidheidadorned: versierdadmiration: bewonderingsparkled: straaldenenthusiasm: enthousiasmepanic: paniekwander: dwalendesperation: wanhoopimprovisation: improvisatieemotion: emotieembracing: omhelsendapologetic: verontschuldigendeexecution: uitvoeringsincere: oprechteamidst: midden inchaos: chaosunexpected: onverwachtearise: ontstaanultimately: uiteindelijklayer: laagsharp: scherpegalleries: galerijentick: tikhanded: overhandigdemattered: teldeswap: verwisseldrelief: opgelucht

Nieves Concostrina desvela desmitifica los famosos epitafios atribuidos a Dorothy Parker: las frases como "Excuse my dust" o "Si puedes leer esto, estás demasiado cerca" fueron chistes de guionista o invenciones de terceros basadas en pegatinas de coches de la época.

Is not being mentally ready an excuse for Tatum not returning?

Nieves Concostrina desvela desmitifica los famosos epitafios atribuidos a Dorothy Parker: las frases como "Excuse my dust" o "Si puedes leer esto, estás demasiado cerca" fueron chistes de guionista o invenciones de terceros basadas en pegatinas de coches de la época.

Nieves Concostrina desvela desmitifica los famosos epitafios atribuidos a Dorothy Parker: las frases como "Excuse my dust" o "Si puedes leer esto, estás demasiado cerca" fueron chistes de guionista o invenciones de terceros basadas en pegatinas de coches de la época.

"Babs" loves their community and strives to show up as best they can, but, three years after the loss of their child, an old and trusted friend told them that they are the leftist version of "thoughts and prayers." Now they are wondering if their grief has become an excuse not to do more. Watch the video version of Ghost of a Podcast on my Patreon or right here: https://www.youtube.com/jessicalanyadoo/videos You can still get the Astrology of 2026 here: https://www.lovelanyadoo.com/shop/the-astrology-of-2026-how-to-work-with-the-biggest-shifts-of-the-year

Nieves Concostrina habla sobre Dorothy Parker, una guionista y escritora cuyo cadáver tuvo un periplo de 54 años, pasando por estanterías, archivadores y tres entierros tras un polémico testamento.

A new proposal on Utah’s Capitol Hill would allow parents to excuse a student’s absence for any reason, as long as the student maintains at least a 2.0 GPA. Supporters say it gives families more flexibility, while critics worry it could undermine attendance efforts. Greg and Holly break down what’s in the proposal and what else lawmakers are debating today.

In this conversation, Dr. Nicole discusses the concept of executive presence, particularly focusing on how it affects Black introverted women in the workplace. She highlights the internalized beliefs that hold individuals back from pursuing leadership roles, emphasizing the difference between feeling ready and being qualified. Your free executive presence workshop is here!!What if working on your executive presence required you to shift some internalized beliefs AND take 3 simple actions to write your own ticket for your next promotion?  Join me on March 14, 2026  for Command The Room: Develop Executive Presence In 90 Days And Become The Obvious Choice For Executive Promotion.  You'll learn exactly what to do.Save your seat today. 

Nieves Concostrina habla sobre Dorothy Parker, una guionista y escritora cuyo cadáver tuvo un periplo de 54 años, pasando por estanterías, archivadores y tres entierros tras un polémico testamento.

Become a member at www.blackwhitenetwork.com for just $10 per month with a 7 day FREE TRIAL and get exclusive content and extra discounts on merch!Member stream at 10am CST every Friday UNCENSORED!Locals: https://blackandwhitenetwork.locals.comBecome a monthly subscriber to the podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blackandwhitenetwork/subscribeFollow us on Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/BlackandWhiteNewsFollow Black and White Sports on Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/BlackandWhiteSports

In this episode, the hosts engage in a candid conversation about relationships, personal growth, and the complexities of life. They reflect on their experiences with music, family dynamics, and the importance of communication. The discussion also touches on the role of mentorship, the impact of absence, and the challenges of navigating masculinity and vulnerability. Through personal anecdotes and insights, they explore how understanding trauma can lead to growth and the significance of support systems during difficult times.00:00 Introduction and Setting the Stage01:38 Reflections on Music and Performance18:30 Valentine's Day and Family Dynamics23:02 Navigating Life's Challenges and Support Systems27:30 Lessons from Personal Experiences33:04 The Role of Fathers and Mentorship53:00 Understanding Trauma and Growth55:10 The Impact of Absence and Presence57:48 Conversations on Masculinity and Vulnerability1:05:47 Navigating Trust and Leadership1:16:45 The Complexity of Emotions and Relationships1:37:46 Final Thoughts and ReflectionsBecome a Patreon of the mtmj poDcast w/the wife for bonus episodes and visual content. Join our Patreon Here: https://patreon.com/MTMJPodcastwiththewife?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

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My plane had just landed in a Midwestern city during a record breaking cold spell and the pilot welcomed us to the city with a temperature reading that made you want to divert the fight to Florida. Well, at least I had checked the weather channel and I was able to anticipate the ice age, so I had the appropriate coat, scarf, gloves and layers. As I was waiting for my suitcase in the baggage claim area, I heard someone yell, "Grab those pineapples." Excuse me? Well sure enough there were two couples just returning from Hawaii with beautiful live flowers around their necks, and they were wearing short sleeve shirts and, of course, carrying their box of pineapples. Well, when I hit the wind outside, I was cold, but I was prepared. I can't imagine what happened to the Luau bunch! When they woke up that morning they probably just said, "Well, it's warm here. I'll just dress for where I am." They were totally unprepared for where they were going! I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Dressing for Your Final Destination." Now Jesus actually told about a man who was very prepared for where he was, but totally unprepared for where he was going. Maybe like you. Luke 12:16-20, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus told them this parable, "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do, I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods and I will say to myself you have many good things laid up for many years, take life easy, eat, drink and be merry.' But God said to him, 'You fool, this very night your life will be demanded from you, then who will get what you have prepared for yourself!'" Here's a man who was really dressed for where he was, he had it all, he had his earth security well planned out. But he forgot about where he would be spending most of his future - in eternity. He was totally unprepared to meet God. Someday your heart's going to beat for the last time, and in that unpredictable moment eternity will begin for you. And at that point it won't matter what your title was, or your income, or your religion, or your achievements. All that's going to matter is whether or not you have a personal love relationship with God. A relationship that can, according to the Bible, only be accessed through God's Son, Jesus Christ. Why? Because no one can make it to heaven with sin. See, God was supposed to run your life and mine, but over and over we've said, "No, I'll do it, God." The Bible says, "All of us have sinned and we've fallen short of the glory of God." In this parable, "I will" three times. That man God called a fool, he just said, "I will, I will, I will." Because of that, God is out of our reach, but we're not out of His. God says this is love, and this is the Bible speaking. "Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" in the most incredible act of love you'll ever hear about. The God we defied sacrificed His one and only Son to carry our death penalty for the sinning we did. And now your eternal destination, heaven or hell, depends totally on what you do with the man who died for your sin, Jesus Christ. You can reject Him, you can ignore Him, or you can reach out to Him and say, "Lord I'm not ready for eternity but I want to be. I'm facing the fact I've gone my way instead of yours over and over again. Right now I'm putting all my trust in You and Your death on that cross for me to remove the sin between God and me, and to open the door to eternal life for me. I want to invite you to go to our website because it's there to help you be sure you have begun a relationship with Him. It's ANewStory.com. Maybe you've been so focused on where you are now, that you've neglected your forever. Yeah you're one heartbeat away from eternity. Isn't it time you got ready for where you're going to be for a very long time?

If you're ready for recovery but freeze when it comes time to actually invest in yourself and commit to the work—this episode is for you. The real reason you're not taking action isn't because you don't want freedom. It's not because you can't afford it. It's not because you don't believe recovery is possible. It's because you don't trust yourself to actually do it. You don't trust yourself to follow through, to succeed, to recover. And after years of the eating disorder systematically destroying your self-trust, plus being burned by therapy or treatment programs that didn't work—of course you don't trust yourself. But that lack of trust? It's not your fault. And it's not permanent. In this episode, I break down why high-performing women especially struggle with self-trust in recovery, how past "failed" attempts were actually preparing you for the right approach, and how to rebuild that trust through partnership rather than trying to do it alone. You'll discover: Why the eating disorder has systematically destroyed your self-trust How being a high performer makes recovery feel impossible when your usual strategies don't work Why therapy/treatment programs may have failed before (and why this time IS different) The difference between coaching and transformation through partnership How to build self-trust through small, kept promises Why you don't need perfect self-trust to start—just willingness How to overcome the "I need to talk to my husband" and investment objections Why waiting for the "perfect time" keeps you stuck while the ED steals your life The truth: You ARE trustworthy. You ARE capable. You ARE ready. Even if you don't feel like it yet. WHY YOU DON'T TRUST YOURSELF The eating disorder has spent YEARS: Convincing you to break promises to yourself Making you set goals you couldn't keep Forcing you to start recovery attempts you couldn't finish Sabotaging commitments your disorder wouldn't let you honor Plus, you've been burned before: Therapy that was lovely but left you feeling stuck Treatment programs with skills you couldn't maintain in real life "Recovery" approaches that felt like diet culture in disguise Systems and people who didn't truly GET where you are And as a high performer: You're used to succeeding at everything you put your mind to When recovery feels like the one thing you can't figure out, it shakes your entire identity Your usual strategies (perfectionism, control, pushing through) actually keep you stuck in EDs Recovery requires surrender, trust, and support—the opposite of what got you success elsewhere The truth: The problem wasn't YOU. The problem was you hadn't found the RIGHT approach yet. WHY THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT This isn't therapy. This isn't treatment. This isn't coaching. This is transformation through partnership. When we work together: ✅ I've been exactly where you are—I know what it feels like to not trust yourself ✅ I'm not coaching you from a textbook—I'm partnering with you from experience ✅ I hold hope for you when you can't hold it for yourself ✅ I see your strength when all you can see is struggle ✅ I trust you to recover until you can trust yourself ✅ You don't have to rebuild trust alone—we build it together The difference: I know the voice of freedom, and I know how to help you hear it again. REBUILDING SELF-TRUST What self-trust really means: Self-trust isn't about never failing or being perfect. Self-trust is showing up for yourself even when it's hard, imperfect, and uncertain. How we build it together: Start with micro-commitments ("I trust myself to eat breakfast tomorrow") Acknowledge every kept promise ("I said I'd eat breakfast and I did—I'm trustworthy") Focus on promises that actually matter (the ones that move you toward freedom, not more rules) Partner through the process (you're not doing it alone) The secret: You don't have to trust yourself to recover perfectly. You just have to trust yourself to start. THE FEAR BEHIND THE FEAR You're not just afraid of failing again—you're afraid of succeeding. Because the eating disorder has been your: Identity Coping mechanism Source of control Way to feel special, disciplined, "together" Excuse for not fully living Recovery means facing: "Who am I without this?" The truth: Who you are without the eating disorder is who you were ALWAYS meant to be. The ED buried the best parts of you—it didn't create them. KEY QUOTES

What if I told you that you don't actually have a time problem—you have an energy problem? Jessica DeLorenzo is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Kimball Electronics. And she believes energy, not time, is the leader's most valuable asset. Jessica challenges the hustle culture mindset and encourages leaders to take ownership of their energy. Saying "I don't have time" often really means "I'm not managing my energy." The root issue most leaders face is not the number of hours in the day, but the quality of the energy you bring to those hours. We get honest about the myth of hustle, the power of self-awareness, and the radical act of resetting boundaries at work. This episode is about giving you permission to pause, recharge, and embrace self-compassion as a true leadership strategy. Ready to discover a new lens for success, one that's measured by impact—not output or hours? Leadership Lessons in This Episode (00:00)  What if Time isn't Your Problem? (02:43)  The Major Mindset Shift: It's not about the amount of time, it's about the quality of our time (03:52)  How to Break the "I don't have time" Excuse and Take Back Control (07:37)  What Does it Mean to Use Energy as a Strategic Asset in Leadership? (10:20)  How Self-Awareness Unlocks Better Energy Decisions (12:22)  Teaching People How to Treat Us (14:42)  Self-Compassion is an Energy Management Strategy (19:42)  Defining "Rest" for Yourself (24:32)  Jessica's Energy Management Tool (29:38) How to Read and Influence the Energy of People Around You (31:06) Emotional Intelligence in Meetings: Shifting team energy for better outcomes (33:52) Reflection Challenge: What's one thing you can do TODAY to renew your energy?   Connect with Jessica DeLorenzo https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicadelorenzo/   About Andrea Butcher Andrea Butcher is a visionary business leader, executive coach, and keynote speaker—she empowers leaders to gain clarity through the chaos by being MORE of who they already are. Her experiences—serving as CEO, leading at an executive level, and working in and leading global teams—make her uniquely qualified to support leadership and business success. She hosts the popular leadership podcast, Being [at Work] with a global audience of over 600,000 listeners and is the author of The Power in the Pivot (Red Thread Publishing 2022) and HR Kit for Dummies (Wiley 2023).   Connect with Andrea https://www.abundantempowerment.com/ Connect with Andrea Butcher on LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/in/leaderdevelopmentcoach/   Abundant Empowerment Upcoming Events https://www.abundantempowerment.com/events        

When a teenager went a week without talking as part of a school project, he noticed a surprising side effect: Instead of rehearsing a response to what other people were saying to him, he was focused on listening---and feeling smarter as a result. Plus, a flight attendant is irritated by a certain term she has to use frequently with passengers. Might there be a better word than de-plane? And how do you pronounce the name of the Show-Me State? The answers you'll hear are as variable as Midwest weather. Also, cryptic crossword puzzle clues, jabroni, Chatham House rule, railroad slang, dress the bed, nuces relinquere, and You can give them books and give them books, but they just chew the covers right off. Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free in the United States and Canada; elsewhere in the world, call or text +1 619 800 4443. Send voice notes or messages via WhatsApp 16198004443. Email words@waywordradio.org. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices