Podcasts about Gee

STANDARS SEMANAL.-771.Gee,Baby,Ain´t I Good to You.-VINILOS MITICOS DEL JAZZ.-JOHN COLTRANE - Blue Train.-JAZZACTUALIDAD.-.ANA PEREIRA-BAILA LA LLUVIA Blue Train es un álbum de estudio delsaxofonista y compositor de jazz John Coltrane . Fue lanzado a través de Blue Note Records en enero de 1958. [ 1 ] Es la única sesión de Coltrane como líder para Blue Note. [ 8 ] La grabación tuvo lugar en el estudio de Rudy Van Gelder el 15 de septiembre de 1957. Coltrane compuso cuatro de los cinco temas del disco. Su interpretación exhibe elementos tempranos del estilo característico por el que posteriormente se hizo conocido. Blue Train obtuvo la certificación de oro en ventas de la Asociación de la Industria Discográfica de Estados Unidos (RIAA) en 2001.El álbum se grabó durante la residencia de Coltrane en el Five Spot como miembro del cuarteto Thelonious Monk . El equipo incluye a los compañeros de banda de Coltrane en Miles Davis , Paul Chambers al bajo y Philly Joe Jones a la batería, quienes ya habían trabajado con el pianista Kenny Drew . Tanto el trompetista Lee Morgan como el trombonista Curtis Fuller eran músicos de jazz prometedores, y ambos fueron miembros de Jazz Messengers de Art Blakey en su momento. A diferencia de su anterior sello, Blue Note pagó a los músicos para que ensayaran la música durante un par de días antes de la sesión de grabación. La forma de tocar de Coltrane muestra la evolución hacia lo que se convertiría en su estilo característico. Sus solos son más armónicos o verticales y sus líneas son arpegiadas. Su ritmo a menudo se desmarcaba del tiempo o lo superaba, en lugar de tocar sobre él o por detrás. [ 9 ] Durante una entrevista en 1960, Coltrane describió Blue Train como su álbum favorito hasta ese momento. [ 13 ] El siguiente gran álbum de John Coltrane, Giant Steps , grabado en 1959, abriría nuevos caminos melódicos y armónicos en el jazz, mientras que Blue Train se apega al estilo hard bop de la época. El musicólogo Lewis Porter también ha demostrado una relación armónica entre «Lazy Bird» de Coltrane y « Lady Bird » de Tadd Dameron . [ 14 ] [ 15 ] Mientras estaba en el podcast "Traneumentary" de Joe Vella, Michael Cuscuna , el productor de reediciones de Blue Note , comentó: Estamos escuchando "Blue Train", que para mí es una de las piezas más hermosas de uno de los discos más hermosos que Coltrane grabó en los cincuenta. Es su primera declaración de madurez real, y escribió todos los temas de este álbum menos uno, algo muy poco común en los cincuenta, y cada uno es una joya, en particular el tema principal, "Blue Train". Y aunque es bastante fácil tocar blues, este tiene una cualidad suspendida y evocadora. Ana Pereira presenta su primer trabajo discográfico "Baila la lluvia" (Sedajazz Records), una reinterpretación del bolero desde una perspectiva personal y contemporánea. Acompañada por Isaac Martín (bajo y dirección musical), Daniel Orts (piano) y Tico Porcar (batería), fusiona este género con el jazz y otras músicas, aportando una visión fresca y actual de un género que se convierte así en atemporal. Su voz delicada, elegante y expresiva, y los arreglos sofisticados interpretados por el genial trío que la acompaña, consiguen que el directo sea toda una experiencia íntima y envolvente que transporta al público a través del tiempo en una conexión pasado-presente con la música como compañera de viaje.

Send us a textOkay, so here's the story: A group of ragged animals come to life when their kid has her back turned. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know this one. The toys come to life and run away, only to almost get blown to bits my the kid next door. This sounds like it's going to be a real toy story… in an antiquated way.              Here now is the story of how this patchwork show came to Saturday Morning.              Where did the characters come from?              Does this show carry on the memory of a lost little girl?              What are the character's connection to “Grease 2”?     All these questions, and more, will be answered in this look at THE ADVENTURES OF RAGGEDY ANN AND ANDY! Thanks for ‘tooning in.  Share With Us: SatMornPod@hotmail.comBluesky: @SatMornPodYouTube Us: tinyurl.com/yyhpwjeo (Don't waste your time)   Featured Music:“Nostalgic Happy Music” by AudioJungle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtxSUR6MQhw&t=2s “Happy Life” by Fredji - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzQiRABVARk Various Music by Oneul - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by302C2YhxY “I Feel You” by Kevin MacLeod” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw8E3jjbUCE “Nostalgic” by OrangeHead - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wExcRoNNzAc “Breakfast Club” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Spi22l3m5I “Horizons” by Atch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-u53MADIag “80's Hijack” by Gee - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndVqzJ9Lk6M&t=26s “Synthmania” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6r20TKnA6M “United” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArjGQFCcHxA “Cool Blue” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp5cxZWP-wc   #ABC #NBC #CBS #The80s #80s #cartoons #cartoon #animation #SaturdayMorning #1980 #1981 #1982 #1983 #1984 #1985 #1986 #1987 #1988 #1989 #Filmation #HannaBarbera #DePatieFreleng #RubySpears #Disney #RaggedyAnn 

Life in the Peloton is proudly brought to you by MAAP Guys, the Giro is almost upon us! This weekend, the 3 week beast that I raced twice in my career kicks off over in Albania of all places. The start list is absolutely stacked, with the likes of Roglič, Ayuso, Bernal, and heaps more huge riders going toe to toe to try to take home one of the most iconic jerseys in cycling; the Maglia Rosa.  One rider who's going to throw his hat into the ring and have a crack at this year's GC is the young Canadian talent Derek Gee - and I'm stoked to have him on this month's pod to talk all things Giro, preview the race, and answer a few questions sent in by you guys!  Derek's been a pro on the road for just 3 years, After spending his early years racing on the track, he burst onto the scene at the 2023 Giro d'Italia where he finished 2nd on 4 stages and spent more time in the breakaway than he did in the peloton! I think I managed to make it into the breakaway at a grandy once in my whole career - it's bloody hard - but Derek made it look easy, and absolutely ripped that race to pieces. Although he didn't come home with a stage win, he sure made a name for himself and put himself up there as one of the most exciting racers to keep an eye on. The year after, he made his debut at the big one; the Tour de France! Going into that race, Derek was looking to repeat his exploits from the ‘23 Giro and poach a few stages, and it was great to hear how this focus shifted to GC over the course of the race, leading to him finishing in the top 10 overall; an absolutely huge ride, that really proved he can do it all!  Derek's a cool guy. Born in Ottawa, I loved hearing about how inspired he was by the Canadian World Tour races the GP's Quebec and Montreal, and how that led him down the path of professional racing, eventually coming over to Europe and joining Israel Premier Tech - the team he'll be riding for until at least 2028!  After chatting a bit about his career, and how he's feeling ahead of the 2025 Giro that kicks off this weekend, we preview this year's race and take a bit of a look at how Derek's going to approach it. He's been at the front of races for long enough now to be heading to the start as one of the favourites; so he's definitely feeling the pressure!  It's been a while, but I wanted to bring you - the listeners - in on this interview, so we wrapped up by answering some of the questions you all sent in over the last week. Does Derek see other ex track stars like G and Wiggo as inspiration? What interval session does he use to get race ready? What's his favourite Celine Dion Song? I ask Derek all these questions, and more, and he's got some cracking answers.  I loved chatting to Derek. As well as being a mega talent, he's a really chilled out, humble guy and no doubt one of the most exciting racers in the pelo. I can't wait to see him race the Giro - the most beautiful of all the Grand Tours - and reckon he's a real Maglia Rosa contender. The Giro? More like the Gee-ro……..right? Enjoy this ep, guys. Sit back, relax, grab yourself a limoncello and some gelato, and get excited for the Giro with me and Derek.  Cheers! Mitch   ----more---- This episode is supported by Shokz Shokz are the leaders in open-ear headphones — perfect for cycling, running, or just staying aware while you listen. I've been using the new OpenRun Pro 2s, and the sound and fit are unreal. Head to shokz.cc/LITP-2505 and use the code LITP for a special listener discount! This episode is also brought to you by our good friends at Epic Ride Weather Epic Ride Weather gives you super accurate, personalised forecasts based on your route, speed, and timing. Know when to ride, what to wear, and where the wind's coming from. Get 25% off at epicrideweather.com/LITP or by scanning the QR code below.

After the false start of Episode 28, which is best summed up as a cruel and extended jape on our weary fanbase, the Puro Pourri Podcast boys are back to actually (genuinely, we promise this time) begin to dissect the storied careers of the Funks in Japan. We kick off by going back to the 1970s and comparing Dory and Terry's efforts in NWA title matches in that decade. Who will thrill us and who will bore us to tears? Gee, I fucking wonder. MATCHES: Jack Brisco (c) vs. Dory Funk Jr. (Two out of Three Falls Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship) (AJPW New Year NWA Champion Series 1974, Day 5) (AJPW, 27 January 1974) Terry Funk (c) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (Two out of Three Falls Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship) (AJPW New Year NWA Champion Series 1976, Day 17) (AJPW, 11 June 1976)

Gee & Ursula round up the last 3 days of the Trump administration // Light rail transforming Redmond // SCENARIOS!

What a CreepSeason 29, Episode 4William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst was a newspaper publisher, media mogul, and politician. He all but created yellow journalism (also known as tabloid journalism), focusing on sensationalism over facts to sell more newspapers. He made the blueprint for sensationalized, politicized, and profit-driven media. He owned 28 major newspapers, 18 magazines, radio stations, and film companies. Hearst was one of the first media moguls to become a public figure. Now we have Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch, and others who are part of the news and control it. In other words, we probably wouldn't have Fox News without Hearst. Gee, thanks, you creep. Sources for this episodeBBCBritannica “Citizen Hearst” on PBSHearst.comHearstCastle.orgNew York TimesPBSWikipediaBe sure to follow us on social media. But don't follow us too closely … don't be a creep about it! Subscribe to us on Apple PodcastsFacebook: Join the private groupBlueSky Instagram @WhatACreepPodcastVisit our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/whatacreepEmail: WhatACreepPodcast@gmail.com We've got merch here! https://whatacreeppodcast.threadless.com/#Our website is www.whatacreeppodcast.com Our logo was created by Claudia Gomez-Rodriguez. Follow her on Instagram @ClaudInCloud

Senator Marko Liias on new Washington budget // Mariners' Rick Rizzs // Luke Ducey: Saturday is National Naked Gardening Day // CBS Military Analyst Jeff McCausland: Mike Waltz shakeup // Gee Scott: Charlie forces Gee to review noisemakers // ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum on student loan payments // Weekend Events Feature with Paul Holden

Had no idea I was recording but here's what I got after like 6 minutes of my stomach gurgling and some extremely uncomfortable shallow breathing. Somebody should tell her. Can you walk my dog Before we fuck? My girl's not home. Wanna walk my dog. My neighbor is cheating on his girl but that's not my business. YOU LET HER WALK OUR DOG!!!? BEFORE: V.O. That's not my neighbor… [an evil blonde girl with blue eyes smiles maliciously as she exits the building walking a small black dog] …But that's their dog. LATER THAT NIGHT. V.O. I heard them fucking through the paper thin walls of the apartment. That is definitely not my neighbor. …somebody should tell her. YOU LET HER WALK OUR DOG?! That is not my business. Gee, God, I thought you'd never show up. [ensues Horrible guitar playing with acrylic nails] Self You never employ these two fingers. Also Self Cause they don't work. Try medicating that. They would try! (No thanks, I'll do it myself.) Dumb twat. I don't want to call people that… Thats's just what I am. Yo. Somebody tell her! Somebody tell her! …that's not my business. Maybe she already know. Cabinet slamming is a nasty business! YOU LET THAT BITCH WALK OUR DOOOOOG?! Yo, fuck that dog. Ugly ass chihuahua. [ensues more bad guitar playing with acrylic nails.] [basic ass surf music and some suspicious ass licks] [atrocious traffic noise] Jack went down the rabbit hole Jill came back and asked for more Then she saw that Jack was gone [over all] After all she all, She carried on After all, she carried on After all she carried on After all she carried on. Heheheh. [ghetto people yelling in the street like animals] Jack flew down the wishing well… [car honking that always honks whenever I try to make music and start succeeding (but never actually leaves the lot.)] What happened first? Uh. Jack went down the rabbit hole. Yeah. And then? Auh— [nothing], Jill didn't follow him. She just carried on. Jack flew down the wishing well. [the traffic pics up; the ghetto people start acting a fool. Yes. My windows are closed. My focus is broken by the noise.] Crème filling! Nothing but— crème filling! Oh! I want a croissant. A wonderful croissant with butter And Crème filling. A wonderful croissant With butter! And crème filling especially when— —rare! Especially when! Crème filling. Crème filling. A croissant. What kind of croissant. A delicious croissant. With— butter! —and A — special— No— Delicious— With— Butter And Crème filling. A— Delicious croissant With butter And Crème Filling Where are we from? Obviously this place is hell. Why am I here Why am I here Why am I here A… Fabulous croissant. [mind you, I've still no idea I'm recording. ] V.O. actually, I was assuming I wasn't. Monologue/ talk with God [The noise picks up and I get up to record the evidence that my right to peace and quiet enjoyment of my property have been violated severely— then I realize I've been recording the whole time.[ Oh shit. (Well, there's your answer.) I didn't know I was recording. Well, thats's how this all started. And I guess, how it ends. It's true, I started the series by accident when in my homeless despair, my talking to God out loud began being recorded by my iPhone just turning itself on and recording at random. In this instance, I had probably started the recording for the motorcycles and forgotten about it, but having been sick for days from the motorcycles and noise to no avail, I had begun to exhibit symptoms of extreme stress much akin to the homelessness in which the series started; erratic behaviors such as speaking freely out loud without the intention of being heard— and yet being heard anyway. I wasn't happy in New York, and I still felt homeless. The insanity might have been trademark New York, but it wasn't trademark me. I counted my blessings and all of my change; I knew I would have to leave for my own health, but I didn't know how—and returning to the streets was not an option. I was done playing the victim, and done complaining— my stomach churning with indigestion and my head gnawing with the congestion of a two year long head cold. Something needed to change, and rapidly— New York was turning against my mind, and my mind was turning against my body. This was no game— it was somebody's business. But to me, it was personal. This was my mind and my body being tampered with, and my soul remained at large. Something else entirely was begging to take over; whatever was attempting to destroy me had to be destroyed. Immidiately. This happy accident had to have been the end of the series— the show would come down soon and everything I had written with it. My life and my safety were at stake. I had nothing to risk, but also nothing to lose. I think they call that a lose cannon. {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project ™] Copyright © The Festival Project, Inc. ™ | Copyright The Complex Collective © 2019-2025 ™ All Rights Reserved. -Ū.

Had no idea I was recording but here's what I got after like 6 minutes of my stomach gurgling and some extremely uncomfortable shallow breathing. Somebody should tell her. Can you walk my dog Before we fuck? My girl's not home. Wanna walk my dog. My neighbor is cheating on his girl but that's not my business. YOU LET HER WALK OUR DOG!!!? BEFORE: V.O. That's not my neighbor… [an evil blonde girl with blue eyes smiles maliciously as she exits the building walking a small black dog] …But that's their dog. LATER THAT NIGHT. V.O. I heard them fucking through the paper thin walls of the apartment. That is definitely not my neighbor. …somebody should tell her. YOU LET HER WALK OUR DOG?! That is not my business. Gee, God, I thought you'd never show up. [ensues Horrible guitar playing with acrylic nails] Self You never employ these two fingers. Also Self Cause they don't work. Try medicating that. They would try! (No thanks, I'll do it myself.) Dumb twat. I don't want to call people that… Thats's just what I am. Yo. Somebody tell her! Somebody tell her! …that's not my business. Maybe she already know. Cabinet slamming is a nasty business! YOU LET THAT BITCH WALK OUR DOOOOOG?! Yo, fuck that dog. Ugly ass chihuahua. [ensues more bad guitar playing with acrylic nails.] [basic ass surf music and some suspicious ass licks] [atrocious traffic noise] Jack went down the rabbit hole Jill came back and asked for more Then she saw that Jack was gone [over all] After all she all, She carried on After all, she carried on After all she carried on After all she carried on. Heheheh. [ghetto people yelling in the street like animals] Jack flew down the wishing well… [car honking that always honks whenever I try to make music and start succeeding (but never actually leaves the lot.)] What happened first? Uh. Jack went down the rabbit hole. Yeah. And then? Auh— [nothing], Jill didn't follow him. She just carried on. Jack flew down the wishing well. [the traffic pics up; the ghetto people start acting a fool. Yes. My windows are closed. My focus is broken by the noise.] Crème filling! Nothing but— crème filling! Oh! I want a croissant. A wonderful croissant with butter And Crème filling. A wonderful croissant With butter! And crème filling especially when— —rare! Especially when! Crème filling. Crème filling. A croissant. What kind of croissant. A delicious croissant. With— butter! —and A — special— No— Delicious— With— Butter And Crème filling. A— Delicious croissant With butter And Crème Filling Where are we from? Obviously this place is hell. Why am I here Why am I here Why am I here A… Fabulous croissant. [mind you, I've still no idea I'm recording. ] V.O. actually, I was assuming I wasn't. Monologue/ talk with God [The noise picks up and I get up to record the evidence that my right to peace and quiet enjoyment of my property have been violated severely— then I realize I've been recording the whole time.[ Oh shit. (Well, there's your answer.) I didn't know I was recording. Well, thats's how this all started. And I guess, how it ends. It's true, I started the series by accident when in my homeless despair, my talking to God out loud began being recorded by my iPhone just turning itself on and recording at random. In this instance, I had probably started the recording for the motorcycles and forgotten about it, but having been sick for days from the motorcycles and noise to no avail, I had begun to exhibit symptoms of extreme stress much akin to the homelessness in which the series started; erratic behaviors such as speaking freely out loud without the intention of being heard— and yet being heard anyway. I wasn't happy in New York, and I still felt homeless. The insanity might have been trademark New York, but it wasn't trademark me. I counted my blessings and all of my change; I knew I would have to leave for my own health, but I didn't know how—and returning to the streets was not an option. I was done playing the victim, and done complaining— my stomach churning with indigestion and my head gnawing with the congestion of a two year long head cold. Something needed to change, and rapidly— New York was turning against my mind, and my mind was turning against my body. This was no game— it was somebody's business. But to me, it was personal. This was my mind and my body being tampered with, and my soul remained at large. Something else entirely was begging to take over; whatever was attempting to destroy me had to be destroyed. Immidiately. This happy accident had to have been the end of the series— the show would come down soon and everything I had written with it. My life and my safety were at stake. I had nothing to risk, but also nothing to lose. I think they call that a lose cannon. {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project ™] Copyright © The Festival Project, Inc. ™ | Copyright The Complex Collective © 2019-2025 ™ All Rights Reserved. -Ū.

Had no idea I was recording but here's what I got after like 6 minutes of my stomach gurgling and some extremely uncomfortable shallow breathing. Somebody should tell her. Can you walk my dog Before we fuck? My girl's not home. Wanna walk my dog. My neighbor is cheating on his girl but that's not my business. YOU LET HER WALK OUR DOG!!!? BEFORE: V.O. That's not my neighbor… [an evil blonde girl with blue eyes smiles maliciously as she exits the building walking a small black dog] …But that's their dog. LATER THAT NIGHT. V.O. I heard them fucking through the paper thin walls of the apartment. That is definitely not my neighbor. …somebody should tell her. YOU LET HER WALK OUR DOG?! That is not my business. Gee, God, I thought you'd never show up. [ensues Horrible guitar playing with acrylic nails] Self You never employ these two fingers. Also Self Cause they don't work. Try medicating that. They would try! (No thanks, I'll do it myself.) Dumb twat. I don't want to call people that… Thats's just what I am. Yo. Somebody tell her! Somebody tell her! …that's not my business. Maybe she already know. Cabinet slamming is a nasty business! YOU LET THAT BITCH WALK OUR DOOOOOG?! Yo, fuck that dog. Ugly ass chihuahua. [ensues more bad guitar playing with acrylic nails.] [basic ass surf music and some suspicious ass licks] [atrocious traffic noise] Jack went down the rabbit hole Jill came back and asked for more Then she saw that Jack was gone [over all] After all she all, She carried on After all, she carried on After all she carried on After all she carried on. Heheheh. [ghetto people yelling in the street like animals] Jack flew down the wishing well… [car honking that always honks whenever I try to make music and start succeeding (but never actually leaves the lot.)] What happened first? Uh. Jack went down the rabbit hole. Yeah. And then? Auh— [nothing], Jill didn't follow him. She just carried on. Jack flew down the wishing well. [the traffic pics up; the ghetto people start acting a fool. Yes. My windows are closed. My focus is broken by the noise.] Crème filling! Nothing but— crème filling! Oh! I want a croissant. A wonderful croissant with butter And Crème filling. A wonderful croissant With butter! And crème filling especially when— —rare! Especially when! Crème filling. Crème filling. A croissant. What kind of croissant. A delicious croissant. With— butter! —and A — special— No— Delicious— With— Butter And Crème filling. A— Delicious croissant With butter And Crème Filling Where are we from? Obviously this place is hell. Why am I here Why am I here Why am I here A… Fabulous croissant. [mind you, I've still no idea I'm recording. ] V.O. actually, I was assuming I wasn't. Monologue/ talk with God [The noise picks up and I get up to record the evidence that my right to peace and quiet enjoyment of my property have been violated severely— then I realize I've been recording the whole time.[ Oh shit. (Well, there's your answer.) I didn't know I was recording. Well, thats's how this all started. And I guess, how it ends. It's true, I started the series by accident when in my homeless despair, my talking to God out loud began being recorded by my iPhone just turning itself on and recording at random. In this instance, I had probably started the recording for the motorcycles and forgotten about it, but having been sick for days from the motorcycles and noise to no avail, I had begun to exhibit symptoms of extreme stress much akin to the homelessness in which the series started; erratic behaviors such as speaking freely out loud without the intention of being heard— and yet being heard anyway. I wasn't happy in New York, and I still felt homeless. The insanity might have been trademark New York, but it wasn't trademark me. I counted my blessings and all of my change; I knew I would have to leave for my own health, but I didn't know how—and returning to the streets was not an option. I was done playing the victim, and done complaining— my stomach churning with indigestion and my head gnawing with the congestion of a two year long head cold. Something needed to change, and rapidly— New York was turning against my mind, and my mind was turning against my body. This was no game— it was somebody's business. But to me, it was personal. This was my mind and my body being tampered with, and my soul remained at large. Something else entirely was begging to take over; whatever was attempting to destroy me had to be destroyed. Immidiately. This happy accident had to have been the end of the series— the show would come down soon and everything I had written with it. My life and my safety were at stake. I had nothing to risk, but also nothing to lose. I think they call that a lose cannon. {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project ™] Copyright © The Festival Project, Inc. ™ | Copyright The Complex Collective © 2019-2025 ™ All Rights Reserved. -Ū.

President Trump cruised to victory in the 2024 election largely because voters said they trusted him more on the economy. But 100 days into his second term, that trust has evaporated. Consumer confidence in April plummeted to levels not seen since around the start of the pandemic. And amid rumors that Amazon would add the cost of tariffs to each item on its website, the White House went into full-court press mode to knock them down. Gee.. we wonder why? Stephanie Ruhle, host of MSNBC's ‘The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle' and a senior business analyst for NBC News, helps us make sense of Trump's economic lurching.And in headlines: Canada's Liberal Party rides national hatred of Trump to an election victory, the president celebrates his first 100 days in office by celebrating himself in Michigan, and the Justice Department sees a mass exodus of civil rights attorneys.Show Notes:Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

URSULA'S TOP STORIES: Tariffs impacts are coming // Port of Seattle eerily quiet // SPD increases // SPD lawsuit // TPD fails to investigate ICE detention center abuses // WE NEED TO TALK. . . Gee is now a bear expert

fWotD Episode 2916: Portland spy ring Welcome to Featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.The featured article for Tuesday, 29 April 2025, is Portland spy ring.The Portland spy ring was an espionage group active in the UK between 1953 and 1961. It comprised five people who obtained classified research documents from the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment (AUWE) on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, and passed them to the Soviet Union.Two of the group's members, Harry Houghton and Ethel Gee, were British. They worked at the AUWE and had access to the areas where the research was stored. After they obtained the information it was passed to their handler, Konon Molody—who was acting under the name Gordon Lonsdale. He was a KGB agent acting in the UK under a Canadian passport. Lonsdale would pass the documents in microdot format to Lona and Morris Cohen, two American communists who had moved to the UK using New Zealand passports in the names Helen and Peter Kroger. The Krogers would get the information to Moscow, often by using the cover of an antiquarian book dealer.The ring was exposed in 1960 following a tip-off from the Polish spy Michael Goleniewski about a mole in the Admiralty. The information he supplied was enough to identify Houghton. Surveillance by MI5—the UK's domestic counter-intelligence service—established the connection between Houghton and Gee, and then between them and Lonsdale and finally the Krogers. All five were arrested in January 1961 and put on trial that March. Sentences for the group ranged from fifteen years (for Houghton and Gee) to twenty years (for the Krogers) to twenty-five years (for Lonsdale).Lonsdale was released in 1964 in a spy swap for the British businessman Greville Wynne. The Krogers were exchanged in October 1969 as part of a swap with Gerald Brooke, a British national held on largely falsified claims. The last to be freed were Houghton and Gee, who were given early release in May 1970.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:22 UTC on Tuesday, 29 April 2025.For the full current version of the article, see Portland spy ring on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Aria.

Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! Éxitos Originales de la Banda Sonora de American Graffiti es el álbum oficial de la película American Graffiti de 1973. Fue certificado triple platino en Estados Unidos, donde alcanzó el puesto número 10 en la lista Billboard 200 . Incluidas en la película, pero no en la banda sonora, están " Ge " de los Crows , " Louie Louie " de Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids y la interpretación a capela de Harrison Ford en el personaje de " Some Enchanted Evening " (aunque el motivo de la exclusión de las dos últimas es porque esas secuencias no se agregaron a la película hasta el relanzamiento de 1978, estaban ausentes en la versión original lanzada en 1973) Una segunda recopilación, titulada More American Graffiti (MCA 8007) (que no debe confundirse con la secuela cinematográfica de 1979 del mismo nombre ), fue publicada por MCA a principios de 1975 con la aprobación de George Lucas. incluye más éxitos de rock y doo-wop de finales de los 50 y principios de los 60 (solo uno de ellos, «Gee» de The Crows, apareció en la película), junto con diálogos adicionales de Wolfman Jack. Una tercera y última recopilación de clásicos, titulada American Graffiti Vol. III (MCA 8008), también fue publicada por MCA a principios de 1976. Los tres álbumes se lanzaron como conjuntos de dos discos o como cintas de doble duración y actualmente están totalmente agotados. 01. "Rock Around the Clock" - Bill Haley & the Comets 1954/1955 02. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" - Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers 1956 03. "Runaway" - Del Shannon 1961 04. "That'll Be the Day" - Buddy Holly & The Crickets 1957 05. "The Stroll" - The Diamonds 1957 06. "See You in September" - The Tempos 1959 07. "(He's) The Great Imposter" - The Fleetwoods 1961 08. "At the Hop" - Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids 1973 08. "She's So Fine" - Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids 1973 09. "16 Candles" - The Crests 1958 10. "Fannie Mae" - Buster Brown 1959 11. "Almost Grown" - Chuck Berry 1959 12. "Little Darlin" - The Diamonds 1957 13. "Barbara Ann" - The Regents 1961 14. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" - The Platters 1958 15. "Peppermint Twist – Part 1" Joey Dee and the Starlighters 1961 16. "The Book of Love" - The Monotones 1958 17. "Maybe Baby" - Buddy Holly 1957 18. "Ya Ya" - Lee Dorsey 1961 19. "The Great Pretender" - The Platters 1955 20. "Party Doll" - Buddy Knox 1957 21. "Ain't That a Shame" - Fats Domino 1955 22. "You're Sixteen" - Johnny Burnette 1960 23. "Love Potion No. 9" - The Clovers 1959 24. "Chantilly Lace" - The Big Bopper 1958 25. "Johnny B. Goode" - Chuck Berry 1958 26. "Come Go with Me" - The Del-Vikings 1956 27. "Since I Don't Have You" - The Skyliners 1958 28. "Get a Job" - The Silhouettes 1958 29. "Do You Want to Dance" - Bobby Freeman 1958 30. "To the Aisle" - The Five Satins 1957 31. "I Only Have Eyes for You" - The Flamingos 1959 32. "A Thousand Miles Away" - The Heartbeats 1957 33. "All Summer Long" - The Beach Boys 1964 34. "Teen Angel" - Mark Dinning 1959 35. "Crying in the Chapel" - Sonny Till & the Orioles 1953 36 ."Only You (And You Alone)" - The Platters 1955 37. "Goodnight, Well it's Time to Go" - The Spaniels 1954😎Escucha este episodio completo y accede a todo el contenido exclusivo de EDITORIAL GCO. Descubre antes que nadie los nuevos episodios, y participa en la comunidad exclusiva de oyentes en https://go.ivoox.com/sq/2313218

URSULA'S TOP STORIES: $78 billion budget // Horrific vehicle attack in Vancouver // What happened in the NFL Draft? // Irish woman living legally in the US being held in Tacoma // Three U.S. citizens, ages 2, 4 and 7 deported // Gee busts the biggest draft story lie

Join Gee and Ray for this double feature romantasy! From the first ideas of Dawn of the Arcana, to the rich world of The King's Beast, why do all these interesting ingredients keep resulting in lack-lustre recipes? This month we explore why execution is far more important that premise for audience satisfaction.Follow RRtL on ⁠BlueSky⁠!Follow Ray on her channel ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Whimsical Pictures⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠And if you can't get enough of me, Gee, be sure to follow me on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky

Send us a textOkay, so here's the story: A community of imaginary creatures band together to teach lessons of sharing, caring and interdependency. No, not “The Smurfs”. No, not “Care Bears”. Boy, the 80s were full of this trope.              Here now is the story of how this Fraggle-tastic show came to Saturday Morning.              Is it possible to dance your cares away?  Even if you have a white man's overbite?              What killed this show since the original series was so successful?              Did this show in fact save the world?     All these questions, and more, will be answered in this look at FRAGGLE ROCK: The Animated Series! Thanks for ‘tooning in.  Share With Us: SatMornPod@hotmail.comBluesky: @SatMornPodYouTube Us: tinyurl.com/yyhpwjeo (Don't waste your time)   Featured Music:“Nostalgic Happy Music” by AudioJungle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtxSUR6MQhw&t=2s “Happy Life” by Fredji - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzQiRABVARk Various Music by Oneul - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by302C2YhxY “I Feel You” by Kevin MacLeod” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw8E3jjbUCE “Nostalgic” by OrangeHead - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wExcRoNNzAc “Breakfast Club” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Spi22l3m5I “Horizons” by Atch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-u53MADIag “80's Hijack” by Gee - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndVqzJ9Lk6M&t=26s “Synthmania” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6r20TKnA6M “United” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArjGQFCcHxA “Cool Blue” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp5cxZWP-wc   #ABC #NBC #CBS #The80s #80s #cartoons #cartoon #animation #SaturdayMorning #1980 #1981 #1982 #1983 #1984 #1985 #1986 #1987 #1988 #1989 #Filmation #HannaBarbera #DePatieFreleng #RubySpears #Disney #FraggleRock 

Eric and Greg welcome Paulie Gee and Mrs. Gee to talk about how they met, getting started in the New York City restaurant scene, pizza, and God. Buy their book wherever you get books, but preferably from a small, independent bookstore. Follow Paulie Gee: instagram.com/PaulieGeeFollow Mrs. Gee: instagram.com/maryanngee1Follow Eric:Twitter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ x.com/TalkingSchmidt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/TalkingSchmidt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.tiktok.com/@tiktalkingschmidt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bluesky:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://bsky.app/profile/talkingschmidt.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Greg:Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠x.com/GregBurmeister⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ instagram.com/GregHello⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@talkingschmidt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bonus Content for $5 a month: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/TalkingSchmidt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email us at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TalkingSchmidt69@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thank you for listening! Please give us a review wherever you listen to podcasts, unless it's a negative review - then please don't. We're very fragile.

URSULA'S TOP STORIES: Mayor proposes doubling Seattle education levy // Denny Blaine residents sue Seattle over nude beach // Corporate sponsors ditch Seattle Pride // Gee previews the NFL Draft // WE NEED TO TALK. . . How new weight loss drugs are impacting relationships

TAYLOR SWIFT is replaced by KATY PERRY as captain of the WHITE BITCHUS. OHH. That's what happened. Because let's be honest, what is scarier than either of them? Answer: their even whiter fan bases. THE SWIFTIES form a small militia and revolt the decision to overturn the organization and reinstate TAYLOR TWIFT to her former position, which she has made clear; she does not want. Her fans, the swifties, however, do not seem to actually care genuinely about Taylor, her opinions, or outlook on things and not remarkably or surprisingly at all, just kind of have their own agenda and previously instilled beliefs— The Katy Perry fandom, though slightly more aged and less willing to participate in an all out war, begin to stage a defensive coup in order to protect their chosen leader. I liked Miley best as captain. NOBODY WANTS THIS JOB, I likes It. Fuck this. No. Are you kidding me. No. Look, I'm sorry! Nobody else wants to do it. Gee, I wonder why! How about lady Gaga? She's not eligible! (My mom helped write this joke.) JIMMY KIMMEL [an escalating crescendo] AssaaaaagggggggggGggggghhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGHHHHH !!!!!! I wanna run through marina del ray I want a house in the Palisades But I Knew that 5 years ago I knew that five years ago I want a shack out in Malibu Just to surf the ocean blū But I Knew that five years ago I knew that five years ago Before it all burned I hope we all learned our lessons Surf God has a sense of humor But I was the butt of the joke I want a Condo in Santa Monica Invite my friends over for Barbie volleyball Throw my whole world in the fire pit But I knew that five years ago I knew that five years ago When you realize The world is your instrument But it still hasn't earned you a cent You're still in the hole Warning back what you spent By the microinscremwnts The city people are you as excrement But you just laugh and you sample them Play them like instruments back Perhaps flattery begs them to listen Suddenly you're visible Museam world— Exhibitions Entertainers Comedians Mice and men Interesting remienxe Should I even be in this language Or should I make it more intimate With melodies? I hit play on a classic And my peloton becomes the office I'm suddenly at work, God Petulance for relevance spanning generations Thank you! Still it takes enough to get it in to you As out of you Can't help t but agree to that Eyeliner! I like it thick around the freckles faces And light ashy eyelashes Over moonlike eyes You know I like it Long hair! Headliner! Why am I inside you? Better yet— Why have I died? Eyeliner, headliner I like it thick around moonlight eyes I like it Old timer, headliner— I like it thick around eyes like Zion Eyeliner, I like it Ashes You're the worst; There are circle k's and 7/11s How was my run on Broadway? Who's the pope now? I hope you choke now There are subway central's And sauces and really hard bosses to fight But I don't want to I'm in south central And I'm still with you From always to oblivion I've been moving for at least an hour But I have no power here Drop a house on me In the hills, if you will And if the winds change, There's still New York What a page turner I live at Rockefeller Plaza There's an apartment above my office There's a notebook For every love I've ever known In the oak There's a something caliber gun in my slumber I clutch with the crutches I took from the hospitals Can't hop the turnsltyle now Can't hop the turnstyle now Hahaha Who art thou, Art monster Who are you now that I care too much to notice The problem was The doves only flew up or a moment before landing on my shoulder That was awkward They were supposed to fly away TV HOST HEY!!!! HEY!!!! HEYYYYYYYY! But which host is it? All of them. All of us are running for our lives All of us are running after Carson, and Paar All of us are stars, But on polaroids not often captured Gone and then away into disaster That's the effect of the Cannon Canon cameras? James Canon?! Laugh harder cause you have to! Laugh stronger cause the studio is frozen, And you want to go home now! It wasn't as fun as you throught And the set is much smaller in real life Now clap and hold for applause Big smiles Big smiles Extra points if you run miles before you show up- Now that's a shiny after thought; Not your average robot Or prototypical tourist! No! A nonconformist and Kimmel can't sing for shit, So he can just hum this verse. (Sorry, I peaked— No homo) Now, I dissect Holiday, I was sure I inspired the Broadway show But who doesn't inspire a rock opera I conspire to conspire, unpire, emporer I studies Agamemnon I wasn't really sure but the frog in my throat said Go on, go on— So I just cried and sucked in my stomach harder I don't want a— SETH MEYERS I don't want a tuna sandwhich! Just take the tuna sandwhich. Yeah, buddy ! I DONT WANT A TUNA FUCKING SANDWHICH DO I LOOK LIKE I EAT TUNA TO YOU? Um. Woah, I sense hostility. We can't see you— And we don't know who you are, anyway. Apparently “someone we know” Tsh. Psh. ITS HOT IN THIS BOX. Ooh, hotbox. That sounds like a plan. Dispensary delivery? The move. YO, Dissection numero dos; I think I know how to make those sounds I think I have that reverb I need herb Or probably a new location With no probes It's only temporary The peloton office But I want a home Me and my family aren't from here Oh, look, more purple — we just show up to rock And then go somewhere farther Forgive me father for I have— No. What? No. No. What— why? Just— no. Not you. Not today. But—I have sinned! Of course you have! But father— No. What—? Keep it to yourself. But. Excuse me. —- {Enter the Mtiverse} {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2019-2025 | THE COMPLEX COLLECTIVE. © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -Ū. [REDACTED]

TAYLOR SWIFT is replaced by KATY PERRY as captain of the WHITE BITCHUS. OHH. That's what happened. Because let's be honest, what is scarier than either of them? Answer: their even whiter fan bases. THE SWIFTIES form a small militia and revolt the decision to overturn the organization and reinstate TAYLOR TWIFT to her former position, which she has made clear; she does not want. Her fans, the swifties, however, do not seem to actually care genuinely about Taylor, her opinions, or outlook on things and not remarkably or surprisingly at all, just kind of have their own agenda and previously instilled beliefs— The Katy Perry fandom, though slightly more aged and less willing to participate in an all out war, begin to stage a defensive coup in order to protect their chosen leader. I liked Miley best as captain. NOBODY WANTS THIS JOB, I likes It. Fuck this. No. Are you kidding me. No. Look, I'm sorry! Nobody else wants to do it. Gee, I wonder why! How about lady Gaga? She's not eligible! (My mom helped write this joke.) JIMMY KIMMEL [an escalating crescendo] AssaaaaagggggggggGggggghhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGHHHHH !!!!!! I wanna run through marina del ray I want a house in the Palisades But I Knew that 5 years ago I knew that five years ago I want a shack out in Malibu Just to surf the ocean blū But I Knew that five years ago I knew that five years ago Before it all burned I hope we all learned our lessons Surf God has a sense of humor But I was the butt of the joke I want a Condo in Santa Monica Invite my friends over for Barbie volleyball Throw my whole world in the fire pit But I knew that five years ago I knew that five years ago When you realize The world is your instrument But it still hasn't earned you a cent You're still in the hole Warning back what you spent By the microinscremwnts The city people are you as excrement But you just laugh and you sample them Play them like instruments back Perhaps flattery begs them to listen Suddenly you're visible Museam world— Exhibitions Entertainers Comedians Mice and men Interesting remienxe Should I even be in this language Or should I make it more intimate With melodies? I hit play on a classic And my peloton becomes the office I'm suddenly at work, God Petulance for relevance spanning generations Thank you! Still it takes enough to get it in to you As out of you Can't help t but agree to that Eyeliner! I like it thick around the freckles faces And light ashy eyelashes Over moonlike eyes You know I like it Long hair! Headliner! Why am I inside you? Better yet— Why have I died? Eyeliner, headliner I like it thick around moonlight eyes I like it Old timer, headliner— I like it thick around eyes like Zion Eyeliner, I like it Ashes You're the worst; There are circle k's and 7/11s How was my run on Broadway? Who's the pope now? I hope you choke now There are subway central's And sauces and really hard bosses to fight But I don't want to I'm in south central And I'm still with you From always to oblivion I've been moving for at least an hour But I have no power here Drop a house on me In the hills, if you will And if the winds change, There's still New York What a page turner I live at Rockefeller Plaza There's an apartment above my office There's a notebook For every love I've ever known In the oak There's a something caliber gun in my slumber I clutch with the crutches I took from the hospitals Can't hop the turnsltyle now Can't hop the turnstyle now Hahaha Who art thou, Art monster Who are you now that I care too much to notice The problem was The doves only flew up or a moment before landing on my shoulder That was awkward They were supposed to fly away TV HOST HEY!!!! HEY!!!! HEYYYYYYYY! But which host is it? All of them. All of us are running for our lives All of us are running after Carson, and Paar All of us are stars, But on polaroids not often captured Gone and then away into disaster That's the effect of the Cannon Canon cameras? James Canon?! Laugh harder cause you have to! Laugh stronger cause the studio is frozen, And you want to go home now! It wasn't as fun as you throught And the set is much smaller in real life Now clap and hold for applause Big smiles Big smiles Extra points if you run miles before you show up- Now that's a shiny after thought; Not your average robot Or prototypical tourist! No! A nonconformist and Kimmel can't sing for shit, So he can just hum this verse. (Sorry, I peaked— No homo) Now, I dissect Holiday, I was sure I inspired the Broadway show But who doesn't inspire a rock opera I conspire to conspire, unpire, emporer I studies Agamemnon I wasn't really sure but the frog in my throat said Go on, go on— So I just cried and sucked in my stomach harder I don't want a— SETH MEYERS I don't want a tuna sandwhich! Just take the tuna sandwhich. Yeah, buddy ! I DONT WANT A TUNA FUCKING SANDWHICH DO I LOOK LIKE I EAT TUNA TO YOU? Um. Woah, I sense hostility. We can't see you— And we don't know who you are, anyway. Apparently “someone we know” Tsh. Psh. ITS HOT IN THIS BOX. Ooh, hotbox. That sounds like a plan. Dispensary delivery? The move. YO, Dissection numero dos; I think I know how to make those sounds I think I have that reverb I need herb Or probably a new location With no probes It's only temporary The peloton office But I want a home Me and my family aren't from here Oh, look, more purple — we just show up to rock And then go somewhere farther Forgive me father for I have— No. What? No. No. What— why? Just— no. Not you. Not today. But—I have sinned! Of course you have! But father— No. What—? Keep it to yourself. But. Excuse me. —- {Enter the Mtiverse} {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2019-2025 | THE COMPLEX COLLECTIVE. © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -Ū. [REDACTED]

TAYLOR SWIFT is replaced by KATY PERRY as captain of the WHITE BITCHUS. OHH. That's what happened. Because let's be honest, what is scarier than either of them? Answer: their even whiter fan bases. THE SWIFTIES form a small militia and revolt the decision to overturn the organization and reinstate TAYLOR TWIFT to her former position, which she has made clear; she does not want. Her fans, the swifties, however, do not seem to actually care genuinely about Taylor, her opinions, or outlook on things and not remarkably or surprisingly at all, just kind of have their own agenda and previously instilled beliefs— The Katy Perry fandom, though slightly more aged and less willing to participate in an all out war, begin to stage a defensive coup in order to protect their chosen leader. I liked Miley best as captain. NOBODY WANTS THIS JOB, I likes It. Fuck this. No. Are you kidding me. No. Look, I'm sorry! Nobody else wants to do it. Gee, I wonder why! How about lady Gaga? She's not eligible! (My mom helped write this joke.) JIMMY KIMMEL [an escalating crescendo] AssaaaaagggggggggGggggghhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGHHHHH !!!!!! I wanna run through marina del ray I want a house in the Palisades But I Knew that 5 years ago I knew that five years ago I want a shack out in Malibu Just to surf the ocean blū But I Knew that five years ago I knew that five years ago Before it all burned I hope we all learned our lessons Surf God has a sense of humor But I was the butt of the joke I want a Condo in Santa Monica Invite my friends over for Barbie volleyball Throw my whole world in the fire pit But I knew that five years ago I knew that five years ago When you realize The world is your instrument But it still hasn't earned you a cent You're still in the hole Warning back what you spent By the microinscremwnts The city people are you as excrement But you just laugh and you sample them Play them like instruments back Perhaps flattery begs them to listen Suddenly you're visible Museam world— Exhibitions Entertainers Comedians Mice and men Interesting remienxe Should I even be in this language Or should I make it more intimate With melodies? I hit play on a classic And my peloton becomes the office I'm suddenly at work, God Petulance for relevance spanning generations Thank you! Still it takes enough to get it in to you As out of you Can't help t but agree to that Eyeliner! I like it thick around the freckles faces And light ashy eyelashes Over moonlike eyes You know I like it Long hair! Headliner! Why am I inside you? Better yet— Why have I died? Eyeliner, headliner I like it thick around moonlight eyes I like it Old timer, headliner— I like it thick around eyes like Zion Eyeliner, I like it Ashes You're the worst; There are circle k's and 7/11s How was my run on Broadway? Who's the pope now? I hope you choke now There are subway central's And sauces and really hard bosses to fight But I don't want to I'm in south central And I'm still with you From always to oblivion I've been moving for at least an hour But I have no power here Drop a house on me In the hills, if you will And if the winds change, There's still New York What a page turner I live at Rockefeller Plaza There's an apartment above my office There's a notebook For every love I've ever known In the oak There's a something caliber gun in my slumber I clutch with the crutches I took from the hospitals Can't hop the turnsltyle now Can't hop the turnstyle now Hahaha Who art thou, Art monster Who are you now that I care too much to notice The problem was The doves only flew up or a moment before landing on my shoulder That was awkward They were supposed to fly away TV HOST HEY!!!! HEY!!!! HEYYYYYYYY! But which host is it? All of them. All of us are running for our lives All of us are running after Carson, and Paar All of us are stars, But on polaroids not often captured Gone and then away into disaster That's the effect of the Cannon Canon cameras? James Canon?! Laugh harder cause you have to! Laugh stronger cause the studio is frozen, And you want to go home now! It wasn't as fun as you throught And the set is much smaller in real life Now clap and hold for applause Big smiles Big smiles Extra points if you run miles before you show up- Now that's a shiny after thought; Not your average robot Or prototypical tourist! No! A nonconformist and Kimmel can't sing for shit, So he can just hum this verse. (Sorry, I peaked— No homo) Now, I dissect Holiday, I was sure I inspired the Broadway show But who doesn't inspire a rock opera I conspire to conspire, unpire, emporer I studies Agamemnon I wasn't really sure but the frog in my throat said Go on, go on— So I just cried and sucked in my stomach harder I don't want a— SETH MEYERS I don't want a tuna sandwhich! Just take the tuna sandwhich. Yeah, buddy ! I DONT WANT A TUNA FUCKING SANDWHICH DO I LOOK LIKE I EAT TUNA TO YOU? Um. Woah, I sense hostility. We can't see you— And we don't know who you are, anyway. Apparently “someone we know” Tsh. Psh. ITS HOT IN THIS BOX. Ooh, hotbox. That sounds like a plan. Dispensary delivery? The move. YO, Dissection numero dos; I think I know how to make those sounds I think I have that reverb I need herb Or probably a new location With no probes It's only temporary The peloton office But I want a home Me and my family aren't from here Oh, look, more purple — we just show up to rock And then go somewhere farther Forgive me father for I have— No. What? No. No. What— why? Just— no. Not you. Not today. But—I have sinned! Of course you have! But father— No. What—? Keep it to yourself. But. Excuse me. —- {Enter the Mtiverse} {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project.™] COPYRIGHT © THE FESTIVAL PROJECT 2019-2025 | THE COMPLEX COLLECTIVE. © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © -Ū. [REDACTED]

URSULA'S TOP STORIES: Redmond, Garfield and Spanaway Shootings / Luke Duecy on the shocking details behind the murder of a woman from Tenino / Student loan referrals. // GUEST: Seahawks VP - Mario Bailey, WA State has a brand new sanctioned high school sport, for the first time since 1999. // WE NEED TO TALK. . . Gee goes to the movies for the first time in forever to see the new Michael B. Jordan film.

Again, students at Seattle's Garfield High School are mourning the shooting death of a classmate. During a recent segment on “The Gee and Ursula Show, co-host Ursula Reutin emphasized the need for stricter gun laws regarding juveniles.

Listen to ASCO's Journal of Clinical Oncology Art of Oncology article, "Writing a Medical Memoir: Lessons From a Long, Steep Road” by David Marks, consultant at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. The article is followed by an interview with Marks and host Dr. Mikkael Sekeres. Marks shares his challenging journey of writing a memoir describing his patients and career. Transcript Narrator: Writing a Medical Memoir: Lessons From a Long, Steep Road, by David Marks, PhD, MBBS, FRACP, FRCPath  The purpose of this essay is to take hematologist/oncologist readers of the Journal on my challenging journey of trying to write a memoir describing my patients and career. This piece is not just for those who might wish to write a book, it also can be generalized to other creative writing such as short stories or other narrative pieces intended for publication. My experience is that many of my colleagues have considered doing this but do not know where to start and that many embarking on this journey lack the self-confidence most writers require. I also describe other issues that unexpectably arose, particularly my struggle to get the book to its intended target audience, and of writing about myself in such a personal way. In my book of semifiction, I tell the stories of my patients with leukemia, but also describe what it is like to be a physician looking after young patients with curable but life-threatening diseases. I recount my medical career and working in the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS), a very different health system to the one I experienced when I worked in Philadelphia during the early 1990s. Telling the stories of my patients with leukemia (and my story) was my main motivation but I also wanted to challenge my creative writing skills in a longer format. As a young person, I wrote essays and some poetry. As a hemato-oncologist, the major outputs of my writing have been over 300 scientific papers and a 230-page PhD thesis. The discipline required to write papers does help with writing a nonfiction book, and as with writing scientific papers, the first step is having a novel idea. I admired the work of Siddhartha Mukherjee (“The Emperor of all Maladies”) and Mikkael Sekeres (“When Blood Breaks Down”), but I wanted to write about my patients and their effect upon me from a more personal perspective. I obtained written consent from the patients I wrote about; nearly all of them were happy for me to use their first name; they trusted me to tell their stories. All of the patients' stories have a substantial basis in fact. I also wrote about colleagues and other people I encountered professionally, but those parts were semifiction. Names, places, times, and details of events were changed to preserve anonymity. For example, one subchapter titled “A tale of two managers” comprises events that relate to a number of interactions with NHS medical managers over 30 years. The managers I wrote about represent a combination of many people, but it would not have been possible to write this while still working at my hospital. I had wanted to write a book for years but like most transplanters never had the sustained free time to jot down more than a few ideas. In the second UK lockdown of 2020 when we were only allowed to go out to work and for an hour of exercise, we all had more time on our hands. A columnist in the Guardian said that people should have a “lockdown achievement”; this would be mine. This is how I went about it. I knew enough about writing to know that I could not just go and write a book. I considered a university writing degree, but they were all online: There was not the nourishment of meeting and interacting with fellow writers. I joined two virtual writing groups and got some private sessions with the group's leader. We had to write something every week, submitted on time, and open for discussion. In one writing group, there was a no negative criticism rule, which I found frustrating, as I knew my writing was not good enough and that I needed to improve. I had no shortage of ideas, stories to tell, and patients and anecdotes to write about. I have a pretty good memory for key conversations with patients but learned that I did not have to slavishly stick to what was said. I also wrote about myself: my emotions and the obstacles I encountered. To understand how I guided my patients' journeys, my readers would need to understand me and my background. I carried a notebook around and constantly wrote down ideas, interesting events, and phrases. Every chapter underwent several drafts and even then much was totally discarded. I was disciplined and tried to write something every day, realizing that if I did not make progress, I might give up. Most days the words flowed; refining and editing what I wrote was the difficult part. Very different to Graham Greene in Antibes. He would go to his local café, write 200-400 words, then stop work for the day and have his first glass of wine with lunch before an afternoon siesta. How would I tell the story? My story was chronological (in the main), but I felt no need for the patient stories to be strictly in time order. The stories had titles and I did not avoid spoilers. “Too late” is the story of a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia who died before she could receive specialist medical attention. This had a devastating effect on the GP who saw her that morning. So, there were plenty of patient stories to tell, but I needed to learn the craft of writing. Visual description of scenes, plots, and giving hints of what is to come—I had to learn all these techniques. Everything I wrote was looked at at least once by my mentor and beta readers, but I also submitted my work for professional review by an experienced editor at Cornerstones. This person saw merit in my work but said that the stories about myself would only interest readers if I was “somebody like David Attenborough.” Other readers said the stories about me were the most interesting parts. So far, I have focused on the mechanics and logistics of writing, but there is more to it than that. My oncology colleague Sam Guglani, who has successfully published in the medical area, was very useful. I asked him how his second book was progressing. “Not very well.” “Why?” “It takes a lot of time and I'm not very confident.” Sam writes such lovely prose; Histories was positively reviewed yet even he still has self-doubt. Hematologists/oncologists, transplanters, and chimeric antigen receptor T cell physicians are often confident people. Most of the time we know what to do clinically, and when we give medical advice, we are secure in our knowledge. This is because we have undergone prolonged training in the areas we practice in and possess the scientific basis for our decisions. This is not the case when doctors take on creative writing. Few of us have training; it is out of our comfort zone. Nearly all new writers are insecure, in a constant state of worry that our outpourings are not “good enough,” that “nobody will like it.” Even high-quality memoirs may be hard to get published. I did not enter this thinking I would fail, and I have received feedback that I “can write.” But when you look at people who can really write, who have already been published, and earn a living from writing, you think that you will never be as good. Does this matter for a medical memoir? Yes, it does. I came to realize to improve it is important to surround yourself with people who read a lot and preferably with some who are well-regarded published writers. These people should offer unrestrained feedback, and you should take note. However, I learned you do not need to do everything they say—it is not like responding to the reviewers of scientific papers—your book should retain your individual stamp and cover what you think is important. I found there are risks in writing a memoir. Private matters become public knowledge to your family and friends. In a hospital you have lots of work relationships, not all of which are perfect. It can be a tense environment; you often have to keep quiet. Writing about them in a book, even if colleagues and events are disguised or anonymized, runs the risk of colleagues recognizing themselves and not being happy with how they are portrayed. Writing a book's first draft is hard; getting it to its final draft even harder but perhaps not harder than writing a major paper for JCO or Blood. (For me writing the discussion section of a paper was the most difficult task). However, finding an agent is perhaps the hardest of all. Every agent has their own laborious submission system. About a third of agents do not respond at all; they may not even read your book. Another third may send you a response (after up to 3 months) saying that the book is “not for me.” Three agents told me that their own experiences with cancer made it impossible for them to read the book while others said it was a worthwhile project but it was not their area of interest. That encouraged me. It required resilience to get Life Blood published. I did not have the skills to self-publish, but I found a publisher that would accept the book, provided I contributed to the costs of publishing. This was not easy either because my book did not have as much final editing as a conventional publisher provides. Getting the book to its target audience was another major challenge. A number of hematologic journals agreed to consider reviews of the book, and my colleagues were generous in offering to review it. However, I wanted my book to be read by people with cancer and their families: nearly all of us at some point in our lives. A digital marketing consultant helped me publicize the book on social media and construct a user-friendly Web site. I hope this reflection offers some encouragement for budding authors who are hematologists/oncologists. However, as all writers reading this will know, writing is a lonely pursuit; it is something you do on your own for long periods and you cannot be sure your work will ever see the light of day. One of the main ingredients is persistence; this is probably the main difference between people who finish books and those who do not. Of course there may be benefits to physicians from writing per se, even if it is never published, although most hematologists/oncologists I know are quite goal oriented. Was it all worthwhile? Yes, I think so. Writing about my career stirred up lots of memories and has been quite cathartic. Physicians often feel they have insufficient time to reflect on their practice. It made me reflect on my achievements and what I could have done better. Could I have worked harder for my patients (rarely) or thought of therapeutic interventions earlier (sometimes)? What about my professional relationships? In my efforts to do the best for my patients, was I sometimes too impatient (yes)? I hope the book inspires young people contemplating a career in hematology/oncology but also gives them a realistic idea of the commitment it requires; even relatively successful doctors encounter adversity. To all my hematologic/oncologic and transplant colleagues worldwide, if you think you have a book in you, find the time and the intellectual space, start writing but also get help. In telling the story of your patients you honor them; it is a very satisfying thing to do but there are risks. I have had lots of feedback from friends and colleagues, the great majority of it positive, but when my book was published, I prepared myself for more critical reviews. I learned a lot from writing Life Blood; at the end, I was a stronger, more secure writer and hematologist/oncologist, more confident that the story of my patients and career was worth telling and relevant to a wider audience. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Hello, and welcome to JCO's Cancer Stories: The Art of Oncology, which features essays and personal reflections from authors exploring their experience in the oncology field. I'm your host, Dr. Mikkael Sekeres. I'm Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Hematology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami. And what a pleasure it is today to be joined by Professor David Marks, a consultant at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust in the UK. In this episode, we will be discussing his Art of Oncology article, "Writing a Medical Memoir: Lessons from a Long, Steep Road." Our guest's disclosures will be linked in the transcript. David, welcome to our podcast, and thanks so much for joining us. Professor David Marks: Thank you very much for inviting me. It's a real honor. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: David, I really enjoyed your piece. We've never had a "how to write a memoir" sort of piece in Art of Oncology, so it was a great opportunity. And, you know, I think 30 years ago, it was extraordinarily rare to have a doctor who also was a writer. It's become more common, and as we've grown, still among our elite core of doctor-writers, we've also birthed some folks who actually write in long form—actual books, like you did. Professor David Marks: I'd sort of become aware that I wasn't the only person doing this, that there were lots of people who liked creative writing, but they had difficulties sort of turning that into a product. This was the reason for sort of writing this. I'm hardly an expert; I've only written one book, but I sort of hope that my experiences might encourage others. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: I think it's a terrific idea. And before we get started about the book, I, of course, know you because you and I run in some of the same academic circles, but I wonder if you could tell our listeners a little bit about yourself. Professor David Marks: So, I'm Australian. That's where I did my internal medical and hematology training in Melbourne. And then I did a PhD to do with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the University of Melbourne. I then moved to London for three years to do some specialist training in bone marrow transplantation and some lab work, before spending three years in Philadelphia, where I did transplant, leukemia, and some more lab work. And then, mainly for family reasons, moved back to the UK to take up a post in Bristol. I have retired from patient-facing practice now, although I still give medical advice, and I'm doing some consulting for a CAR T-cell company based in LA. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Great. And can I ask you, what drew you to focus on treating people with leukemia and doing research in that area? Professor David Marks: I think leukemia is just such a compelling disease. From really the first patient I ever looked after, there was a person who is both life-threateningly ill, has had their life turned upside down. Yet, there is—increasingly now—there's an opportunity to cure them or, at the very least, prolong their life significantly. And also, its sort of proximity to scientific research—that was the attraction for me. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: There is something compelling about cancer stories in general. I think we talk about the privilege of doing what we do, and I think part of that is being invited into people's lives at probably one of the most dramatic moments of those lives. We're, of course, unwelcome visitors; nobody wants a diagnosis of cancer and having to have that initial conversation with an oncologist. But I wonder if, as doctors and as writers, we feel compelled to share that story and really celebrate what our patients are going through. Professor David Marks: So, that absolutely is one of my main motivations. I thought- there aren't, to my mind, all that many books out there that sort of try and tell things from both the patient with leukemia's point of view and the doctors looking after them. And I thought that their stories should be told. It's such a dramatic and frightening time, but I think the struggles that people go through in dealing with this—I think this is something I sort of felt people should have the opportunity to learn about. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Yeah, we're really honoring our patients, aren't we? Professor David Marks: Absolutely. When you think of the patients you've looked after, their courage, their steadfastness in dealing with things, of just battling on when they're not well and they're scared of things like dying—you've just got to admire that. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Yeah, yeah. David, you have a tremendous number of academic publications and have been transformative in how we treat people who have acute lymphoblastic leukemia. How did you first get into writing narrative medicine? Professor David Marks: Although I have written quite a lot scientifically, although that is incredibly different to creative writing, some of the same sort of care that one needs with a scientific paper, you do need for creative writing. I always liked English at school, and, you know, even as a teenager, I wrote some, you know, some poetry; it frankly wasn't very good, but I had a go. I came to a point where I wanted to write about my patients and a bit about my career. I had trouble finding the time; I had trouble finding the sort of intellectual space. But then COVID and lockdown occurred, and, you know, all of us had a lot more time; you know, we weren't even allowed to leave the house apart from working. So, at that point, I started writing. Prior to that, though, I had sort of kept a notebook, a quite big notebook, about stories I wanted to tell and events in my career and life that I wanted to tell. So there was something of a starting point there to go from. But when I first started writing, I realized that I just didn't know enough about writing. I needed to learn the craft of writing, and so I also joined a couple of writing groups. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: That's—I find that absolutely fascinating. I think there are a lot of people who want to write, and there are some who have the confidence to go ahead and start writing, right? Whether they know the craft or not. And there are others who pause and say, "Wait a second, I've done a lot of reading, I've done a lot of academic writing, but I'm not sure I know how to do this in a creative way." So, what was your first step? Professor David Marks: I had sort of notes on these stories I wanted to write, and I did just try and write the sort of two- to five-page story, but I then sort of realized that it was just—it just wasn't very good. And I needed to learn really all the basic things that writers need, like developing a plot, like giving hints of what's to come, using visual description. Those things are obviously completely different to scientific writing, and I—it was a bit like going back to school, really. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: And how did you even find writing groups that were at the right level for someone who was starting on this journey? Professor David Marks: So, I got a recommendation of a sort of local group in Bristol and a very established sort of mentor who has actually mentored me, Alison Powell. But it is difficult because some people on the group had written and published a couple of books; they were way ahead of me. And some people were just really starting out. But there were enough people at my level to give me sort of useful criticism and feedback. But yes, finding the right writing group where there's a free interchange of ideas—that is difficult. And, of course, my—what I was writing about was pretty much different to what everybody else was writing about. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: So, you joined a writing group that wasn't specific to people in healthcare? Professor David Marks: There was something at my hospital; it was a quite informal group that I joined, and that had a whole number of healthcare professionals, but that didn't keep going. So, I joined a group that was really a mixture of people writing memoirs and also some people writing fiction. And I actually found a lot of the things that people writing fiction write, I needed to learn. A lot of those skills still apply to a sort of non-fictional or semi-fiction book. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: You write in your Art of Oncology piece—I think a very insightful portion of it—where you're identifying people who can give you feedback about your writing, and you're looking for honest feedback. Because there are a lot of people where you might show them a piece and they say, "Gee, this is David Marks, I better say something nice. I mean, it's David Marks after all.” Right? So, you don't want that sort of obsequiousness when you're handing over a piece of writing because you need truth to be told if it's compelling or if it's not compelling. How did you identify the people who could give you that honest feedback, but also people you trust? Because there are also people who might read a piece and might be jealous and say, "Gee, David's already going on this journey, and I wish I had done this years ago," and they might not give you the right kind of feedback. Professor David Marks: Yeah, I mean, one of the writing groups I joined, there was a sort of "no criticism, no negative criticism" rule, and I did not find that to be useful because I knew my writing, frankly, wasn't good enough. So, funnily enough, my wife—she's very lucky—she has this reading group that she's had for 25 years, and these are—they're all women of her age, and they are just big, big readers. And those were my principal beta readers. And I sort of know them, and they knew that I wanted direction about, you know, what was working and what was not working. And so they were fairly honest. If they liked something, they said it. And if there was a chapter they just didn't think worked, they told me. And I was really very grateful for that. The other thing I did at a sort of critical moment in the book, when I just thought I was not on track, is I sent it to a professional editor at Cornerstones. And that person I'd never met, so they had no—you know, they didn't need to sort of please me. And that review was very helpful. I didn't agree with all of it, but it was incredibly useful. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: That's fascinating. So, I've submitted pieces in venues where people can post comments, and I always force myself to read the comments. And sometimes that hurts a little bit when you get some comments back and think, "Oh my word, I didn't mean that." Sometimes those comments illuminate things that you never intended for people to take away from the piece. And sometimes you get comments where people really like one aspect, and you didn't even know that would resonate with them. So, any comments you can think of that you got back where you thought, "Oh my word, I never intended that," or the opposite, where the comments were actually quite complimentary and you didn't anticipate it? Professor David Marks: I was reviewed by an independent reviewer for The Lancet Haematology. And you've read my book, so you sort of know that looking after people with leukemia, you do encounter quite a lot of people who die. And she sort of, almost as a criticism, said, "Professor David Marks seems to have encountered an extraordinary number of people who've died." And I thought—almost as a sort of criticism—and I thought, "I'm sort of sorry, but that's the area we occupy, unfortunately." There's lots of success, but there is, you know, sometimes we don't succeed. So I found that—I found that hard to read. But when you open yourself up as a writer, when you talk about your personal things, you've got to develop a bit of a thick skin. And I really haven't ego about my writing. I sort of still feel it's very much in its formative stages, so I'm quite open to criticism. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: And were there comments that you got that were—you were pleasantly surprised that people liked one aspect of the book, and you didn't know it would really hit with them that way? Professor David Marks: I think they particularly liked the patient stories. There's one thing in the book about a young woman who has this amazing experience of being rescued by CAR T-cell therapy. This young lady's still alive. And that very much sort of captured the imagination of the readers. They really identified her and wanted to sort of know about her and, you know, was she still okay and so on. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: I remember there was a piece I wrote, and included a patient, and it was an entree to write about a medical topic, and my editor got back to me and said, "What happened to the patient?" Right? People get invested in this. We've done this our entire careers for, for decades for some people who've been in the field for that long, and you forget that it's still a diagnosis, a disease that most people don't encounter in their lives, and they get invested in the patients we describe and are rooting for them and hope that they do okay. Professor David Marks: Yeah, I found people got very involved with the patients, and I've had actually several sort of inquiries; they want to know if the patients are still okay. And I think that I can definitely understand that from a sort of human level. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: So, you wrote a memoir. How long did it take you? Professor David Marks: I suppose from the time I really started writing properly, I'd say about two and a half years. So, quite a long time. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Two and a half years. That can be daunting to some people. What advice would you give them if they're thinking about going down this path? Professor David Marks: I think it's a very rewarding thing to do. It is hard work, as you and I know, and it's sort of extra work. The only way to find out if you can do it is to try to do it. And try and find some time to do it, but get help. You know, seek the company of other people who are more experienced writers and sort of find a mentor. Somehow, you've got to, I guess, believe in yourself, really, and trust yourself that what you're writing about is worthwhile. And yeah, I don't know that I have specific advice for people about that aspect of things. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: Well, I think that's a great place actually to end: to tell people to believe in themselves and trust in themselves. And I want to encourage everyone listening to this podcast to please check out Professor David Marks' book, Lifeblood: Tales of Leukemia Patients and Their Doctor. It's a terrific read. David, thank you so much for joining us today. Professor David Marks: Thanks very much, Mikkael. It's been a pleasure. Dr. Mikkael Sekeres: It's been delightful from my perspective. Until next time, thank you for listening to JCO's Cancer Stories: The Art of Oncology. Don't forget to give us a rating or review, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. You can find all of ASCO's shows at asco.org/podcasts. Until next time, thank you, everyone.   The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement.   Show Notes: Like, share and subscribe so you never miss an episode and leave a rating or review. ADD URLhttps://ascopubs.org/journal/jco/cancer-stories-podcast Guest Bio: Professor David Marks is a consultant at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust in the UK.   Additional Reading: Life Blood: Stories of Leukaemia Patients and Their Doctor, by David Marks

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{Hot Little Number} All right. Ah…, you know what? I don't feel like making a mix tape . My mix tapes have been lackluster lately. What up? I'm recording daily for the show right now. I don't have a plan or anything like that. I'm just, uh, what am I doing? Oh. I am, uh, I have to take some time. *weird surfer laugh* between right now and the next song on this album and whatever else I'm doing. I'm also, um I'm like weird. I'm I'm reclaiming my time. Um, my sleep schedule is changing again. I think I'm just like a rolling… I'm like a I'm like the floater. Hello, what's going on? I don't think I've opened with hello for a while, but it's been random. It's been touch and go. I had a little voice today that was like ”do not leave your house.” And I was like, “first of all, I don't have a house. This is an apartment building.” But then I was like, well, I was waiting on this Amazon package God bless Amazon or, you know, one ever bless it. Just bless it, bless the thing, cause you never know what's gonna happen. You know, though they happen monopoly on all the needs. why would I buy this for six dollars if I could get it for two? it's it is the necessary evil right? I—Yeah. Everything's a necessary evil. I just figured it out, like this body is a necessary evil. Like I wouldn't even be existing in this way if I didn't have to. And then when I don't have to, I get to be free again. you know? Anyway, what the fuck was I just saying? or not saying, not saying for the most part. I don't have much to say, I'm not I'm really excited, I'm glad about how that last tract turned out, but it's not uh it's not finished. What what is finished? Oh, I had those two singles cleared, so hot little numbers is out today, but you won't hear this today. I can't I have no guarantees no guarantees about when you will hear this. I'm not sure anyway, I had a little voice in my head that was like do not leave your house and I was like, “I don't this is not a house.” And I was waiting on an Amazon package and Amazon the app does this weird thing where it's like, it'll be like the driver is this many stops away. this many stops away and it'll go from like three stops away to deliver it sometimes. So I was like refreshing and refreshing the page, like had nothing else to do. No, I just have to this is one of those times every few weeks where I have to not work out vigorously, and I had like a good run yesterday, but I think I overdid it after a period of stagnancy where I just didn't run that much at all. I didn't run that much at all. And then I ran like a lot and I was liking it so much because I was getting to go high speed, but if I'm out in my neighborhood every day running like that, like things get weird and shifty, so I don't I don't get the luxury of doing that all the time. cause my neighborhood is kind of just like a weird, bad shit, crazy place. I don't even think it really exists, like on the actual like, I think it's on grid off grid. Like I—I swear to God, there's things that move around that like should not, like things that are there and then are not, and then things that like it's just, you know, whatever. What is this episode for? I don't know if I can talk for an hour. I can't say, my energy's a little bit different, a little bit fucked up. Why was I not supposed to leave? I didn't give a fuck. I already did now we're on the Peloton, which is why I'm doing the subside right now. Well, I found a podcast that I might be interested in. I'm not sure. It takes it takes a lot. Like I realized that when I do this podcast, I'm giving myself energy. I don't know how but it gives me energy to to listen back to something that it feels like. I've never heard it before. Because I'm kind of an automatic out—out my body when I'm making these episodes and so it's not. It's like it's like hearing something new. Also, my my grown up voice doesn't sound like me to me. So I'm like, ah, like it's still new every time. hundrers of episodes later, it's new every time. For an hour at a time, and I'm really enjoying my Peloton. So would that being said, what do I have any honorable mentions? No, None. There's none at all. I am technically behind schedule well, actually, I mean like I'm catching up, you know, is this just on random? That's gonna bug me. where'd I put the remote. I liked the pattern that was on one of these lights in my studio, and so I thought it was gonna stay there, but it's alternating. I wonder if I can find that one thing that has started on again. Ooh, that's cool. Is it gonna stay there, though? That's dope. I'll just leave that like that— anyway. I'm going back to being a night person cause that's where the things are calm. That's where things are calm, but I'm also coming out of my like weird antisocial space cause of voice in my head was like, though, don't go out of your house. I was like, this is not a house. If it was, I probably wouldn't, but it's not, so I have to go do things in order to make sure that one day I have a house that I can choose to or not to leave. So. I was like, “yeah, I'll do that. I'll go wait for the Amazon guy.” “ I'll go wait for the Amazon guy and jus, like, creep. And so I did that. I went to go creep for the Amazon guy, and it was like, well, it's still three stops away and I was like, this is making me nervous cause it said three stops for like a good 30 minutes. I was like, ‘that's a long three stops.' So, I was like, just sitting in the lobby and I couldn't stand it. Like, I couldn't stand just standing there. So I turned around, I checked my mail, and it was like the same three articles that have been in there for like a month. I just leave them in there. I'm like, ‘these are of no importance really.' So I just leave whatever's in there in there. And I check my mail and I was like, ‘I can't just stand here like this!' and so I was like, fuck it, I'm gonna I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go to the gym for like five seconds because you know, it wasn't worth it and I knew there would be other people there because it's during the day. and there was, and I don't know, I guess I'm I guess I'm uh I guess I'm — I'm better now. As long as I don't have to have that experience all the time, cause I did go straight in there and then a dirp derp followed me in there and I was like, well, that kind of proves my point. So I left the downstairs and I went to the upstairs and there was this this girl just okay, advice: Like if you're ugly, don't be mean. I don't know if she was ugly cause she was mean, or if she was mean cause she was ugly. I don't know, but if you're ugly don't be mean, it makes it worse. That's just advice coming from somebody that's been ugly my whole life! So I'm not mean to people because you can't, like, you can't be ugly and mean. That's extra bad, bro, like, pick one thing and stick with it, but don't be mean and ugly. look, if you're ugly be really nice do that do that anyway, this girl: I don't know why the fuck people mean mug me. Like it's their business. I'm like, 'is this your job?‘ What is wrong?! What is wrong!? I don't know, because I went frumpy as fuck. It's not like I'm dressed. I went in a shirt that I found. I literally found this on a jog. It was brand new, though, and I keep wondering what the where the fuck it came from because I was like bro, if I was going to make T-shirts it would be like this. And it like it looked like it came hot off the press, like somebody screenrinted it for me. It's the coolest shirt. It's the coolest shirt and it brand new, and it was like brand new when I picked it up and saw it was like cool. But I went in like these they were marketed as fucking like you get what you pay for it. They were marketed as high impact sports bas, but then I put it on and it was pretty much like mesh with no support at all. Like I can't even run in them! I can't run in them, but I'm not running because I'm waiting for this injury to fucking all the swelling to go down or whatever. So I was on the Peloton, but I took it easy or whatever. and then I was like, 'well, my shoulders have been bothering me.' I'm trying not to take more than one bath a day. I do take a lot of baths, but it's cause I don't have a sauna anymore! That's why I'm like, oh man, my body got so used to like that extra pushing everything out and then like now if I don't, like my muscle just get all sore and whatever. I've thought about trying like creatine. I don't know, I'm just such a meathead when I when it comes down to it and I'm like bro, if I really get into training or like gym rattiness, like I —I go like probably to half. So my so I haven't been like lifting or anything like that, just cardio and um and I've been eating rice, so I'm I'm thick, you know, like i'm frumpy as fuck, just waiting for this Amazon order to come, and so I go into like the bottom level of the gym because I saw two people at the top and I was like, ‘oh, I'm gonna give you your space or whatever.' And so I went to the bottom, and I did a couple lifts or whatever, but then a derp-derp came in and she was on the phone like “blah, blah, blah, blah,” and I was like, ‘see. that just fucking proved my point.'and so I fucking went upstairs. I was like no matter what, like these fucking derp-derps. And so I was like, okay. And so I went back upstairs where, like the girl and I guess that was her man. I don't know. I guess maybe that's why she was looking at me. like that. I'm not looking at him! I'm looking at you scowling at me. Don't do that! Anyway. Fucking OH—I met the boyfriend of the other girl. I didn't know that was her boyfriend. Now I know why she was scowling at me. Stop scowling, like your face is gonna get stuck like that! I guarantee you and it's already not a good looking face. I'm only noticing this because you're scowling at me with it. Don't do that like I'm getting to the age where I'm careful like I smile when I want to frown like I have this natural, like a droopy dog, like a cartoon droopy dog face when something really hits me a certain way, my face will just automatically and, like — people only— — it like —I only know about it because people call attention to it like something would happen I'd make that face and they'd be like, what is that face? And I'm like, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about until one day I guess I like noticed the muscular change in my face and I was like, oh, that face and so now I'm aware of it, but it's not something that I do on purpose. It's something that I do as a reaction to something, but now I'm getting to the age where I'm like, yo, if I keep making this face, there's gonna be lines in this area. Like there's gonna be lines in this area where there where there's going to be lines anyway, eventually, but I can prevent the like I can like if you smile more, you get smile lines when you get older, and if you frown, like that, then you get that face and I'm not trying to look like somebody's fucking dog, you know, like a fucking like, you know, like a cute dog, like a chow chow or like, what are those things? I don't know, I don't I don't know, I don't know. Anyway, how the fuck is like, oh, don't scowl! And I was like, I don't know if that's just your aura or your face, but now that you're looking at me like that, like, bro, don't don't do that. Don't be ugly and mean. Like you can either be mean, like most pretty people are mean, but then it's like, oh, I see why. I see why you're mean like that. Beautiful women are like usually. I'm like, ”you—scowl, I guess, but I mean like, it doesn't necessarily make anything worse if you're like a certain…” I don't scowl. I know I'm ugly. I don't go around like American people with my face I'm like don't do that. Don't do that, bro. Otherwise, good looking girl, otherwise otherwise, anyway, I don't know, I guess it's just uh, I've been here too long, dealing with this. Don't scowl, bro! I hate that! And then it's like, oh, I'm only looking at what you're I guess wanting me not to look at because you're looking at me like that and then I'm like, oh, I hate to see a good looking guy with like an ugly girl and then I'm like, 'bro like that's a waste. That's just a whole waste. This whole thing is a waste and you shifted my mind into thinking that way! now I'm mean!” passing on negativeives and shit ugly don't be ugly anyway what the fuck what? was that the story? Well, I mean, like I was just lifting for five seconds. I was only waiting on an Amazon package. I'd like to think that when somebody fucking presses their elevator button with their middle fing that they are flipping you off, but I was like, what did I do to you? Nothing, anyway. When do I have to say for the next fucking 20 minutes? That makes me seem like a shitty person, but I'm not that. I'm not that shitty. I finally did watch I finally did watch Bob the Drag Queen's opening monologue for the Queerlie's. That's what they're called. It's like on my it's on my to do list to be invited to a place like this. This is where I want to go and I'm like I'm not I I want well, I mean like I'm straight. I'm straight. Well, I'd like to think of my I'm like a gay man. I'm gay like a man for men. I'm like a gay man. I don't know how to I'm gay for men. And yeah. I guess I'm kind of queer. I don't know. I don't think so. Because when I think about aquer means like you can go both ways, I'm not going no way but one at this point. I'm strictly dickly. Super duper straight. I like dudes. I like gay dudes. That's a problem. That's like a like an ongoing problem. If I like a guy, I'm like, ”oh, man, he's probably gay.” He is he's gay, you know? It's it's okay. But you whatever, I just like dudes. I like all dudes. No, I don't like all dudes. I like all men. There's a fucking hard line between dudes, guys, men, boys don't like boys. Definitely like I don't even like college students anymore like even graduate students, I'm like oh, who are you? What do you baby? Oh, they're cute, like football players, professional athletes, children. They're children. They're adonises, sure, statuesque, perhaps genetically gifted, absolutely am I attracted? No. no, That's a kid. That's what I see. I'm old I'm old, that's okay. I like it. I'm starting to get like excited for Amazon packages that are not—I'm like, I'm opening my Amazon package like I waited all day for this. There's nothing in here.' regular household items, like true facts, facts. ah, but you know what? I paid a pretty price for this protein. It'd better be the best protein (it's not the best.) It's probably maybe the second best. Becahse the best that I've ever tried. I'm not behind the $80 per80 for 15 servings. That's too much. I haven't even actually done the fucking math on that, but that's too many. That's what that is. That's what that is. Like for protein? Anyway, what the fuck was I talking about? beef? Nah, I was talking about being meaty, but not in the way that you would think. And then I was talking about the Queerly's, so I guess we're back on meat, kind of. kind of. I don't know. what was it what was my point about that? Oh, I just I like gay culture, like not as like a, you know, I like it. I love it. I wanna go to the queeries. I wanna vogue. I still can't I can't bring myself to go to a vogue club in New York because I'm just like, bro, oh, that's what it was. I mean but not like drag queen mean. No. ans then I was thinking about I was thinking about Joan Rivers RIP and I was like is technically like like if she ex if a certain if a person like her existed now, would she be canceled? Like, because she was not nice. She was honest. Whixh is not necessarily always like a nice thing. So I mean like I don't I don't think I'm mean, especially when Bob the drag Queen reminded me that, like, yo, Gays are super fierce to each other, like to the point where it's like, oh, that's mean. Like, I forget that people actually like openly what's it called. Is it called roasting, like on all fronts? I don't know. I don't forget that, but, you know, it's when was the last good roast, though? Not for a long time. A lot of red tape, a lot of things you can't say. I think that's the theme that, you know, the cancellation of like the entire human race, has just changed media. It just changed theater, like, “Ohp, you can't say that!” Like, I'm I'm gonna say that. Maybe. I don't know, my whole my whole thing changes when I see other people. I'm like, oh, this could turn into like one of those fucking like this could be a stampede real quick. The herd mentality is thick and this motherfucker. If too many people all agree that I'm the enemy, this is bad for me. is bad. I'mma just stay— I'mma to just stay neutral. No honorableensions, nothing. I'm still I'm just in the midst. I'm in the thick of it, putting my things and my stuff together. I realized I'm really glad about a lot of things. Pretty glad about things. Um Also, um kind of a tortured soul. I'm not miserable, though. And I'm really good at not spreading my misery. That shit is like contagious as fuck. It's gross. Like, I'd rather be sneezed on than have some people's like form of depression or mental illness. I like, yo, you keep that to yourself. But in a lot of ways, those things are way more fucking spreadable, way more spreadable than just like like I can get over the flu, whatever your daddy did to you. I don't know. Anyway, no daddy jokes, that's also I can I'm like, uh, okay, what can you say? What can't you say? Because I'm about to take this thing to the next level. What is the next level? What is the next level Of which part? I'm in a lot of different I'm in like a lot of different, like, high stakes games. A lot of them. And so I'm like, “okay, what's the next comedy level? not falling on my face every time? It's probably a good place to start. It's probably a good place to start. We'll start there. I don't know when. Probably. I'm probably going to use comedy to Tears or a Clown because I'm really liking how it's turning out so far, and so far, don't have a song on there under five minutes. Is it under five minutes? I don't know. It's long. They're all long, but it's a concept album, so it's it's it's meant to be listened to more like a film or more like a, you know, like a play or like a musical, you know, because I'm weird like that. I don't I don't ever want to do anything normal or popular yet unless somebody offers me a house, like— a real house where no doors will be slammed. NO DOORS WILL BE SLAMMED! What, am I gonna slam the door for myself? I'm mad— at myself. No, take your shoes off, quiet. Unless you're landing on the hellipad. Does my house have a helipad? No. No, I feel like unauthorized helicopters would land on it. I feel like they would. if you build it, they will come. I'm like ooh. It's very like few it's like, “who the fuck is in the helicopter?!” I don't know. Well, I mean, like there's a couple different ones now anyway, it's not I'm not telling that joke. It's awkward, but then then I don't know. I had for some reason, I guess maybe that was the reason. I left out one card from the uh the Truth or Dab game that I ended up with, the Hot Ones game that I have no friends to play with. I still have the fucking sauce in my fridge from the game. Like I don't think you have to refrigerate it, but I refrigerated it anyway because I'm like, ‘it's hot sauce. ' Like, it should be perishable, but then I guess anything with a certain amount of vinegar is just preserved it preserved, you know? Damn, what the fuck am I about to say for an hour? I have no idea. I'm really nervous. I'm giving this entire album away for free. Stupid. Well, what the fuck? If nobody's going to buy it, might as well just like, you know, get it out there and get it to the next thing. I don't I don't have much else to say. What am I reading? Oh, I finally found my copy of the Odyssey Sure did. I think I have two copies of it, though. I think I have like a paperback version. Apparently the last time somebody opened it was 1981. Ans so I fucking I opened it and the whole the whole coverage just fell off, but I was getting my kicks. I really like…that book. I like that one. What else am I reading? Other things? I decided to finally. I decided to finally try to go through all the books I checked out of the library, like over a year ago so that I can take them back, but again, these things keep being relevant, like I just use them for reference. I'm really bad at libraries . I'm terrible at them. Like we could say historically, but I don't know, I haven't had like an enough adult experience with libraries to no, I'm like on record. It's I'm really bad at libraries. Yeah. like, really bad. Like, sometimes I've lost books on my way to take them back to the library. Isn't that ironic? Anyway, what the fuck is going on now? I don't know . The street Fighter's edition of “we don't give a fuck.” I'm guessing. I heard like a a like audible car accident and then like more yelling and it made me worry that somebody might be hurt because at first I was laughing. It was like and not like I heard the plastic crunch and, like, the fiberglass and I was like,” oh boy, ha ha.” And then like somebody was like yelling from the street and I didn't know if it was in relation to that because there's always crackhead down there. and there's always somebody doing some fuck shit right—there, and I'm like, ‘okay, all right, well, hopefully nobody got hurt. unless they were one of the people sitting under the window, like waiting to rev their engine. Then I'm like, “that's on you. I told you I'm not the one that deals karma at something else.” I don't know. I think it was just two vehicles, like not doing well together. New York drivers are not great, though. They have a very very little patience. Like, all you have to do is slow down a little and somebody's like,aby,ep,ep, beep, beep. I'm like, “Yo, dude like calm the fuck down. Calm the fuck down. Like that's not helping anything. It's not helping anything.” I think people need to work out more, maybe because I had already done my hour on the Peloton and whatever those vibes were were just like they were like shwing, like bouncing off me. I only did a couple lifts. I don't know why you gotta scowl. I guess I'm a little upset, cause I'm just I'm like a nice person. That's why I'm upset because I'm like, oh, like how do you do? I went frumpy. It's not like I'm like bending over in front of your man. It's like, 'hello, how y'all doing?' Like, I'm not doing that. All I'm doing is lifting. And then I fucking left because my fucking Amazon order was like, okay, it's delivered. And it said it was delivered early. So I could have gotten a couple more lifts in, but I didn't. I did not get those last few lifts in. So waiting because it was like, ‘yo, your package is in the mail room' and I was like, 'okay, cool.' So I went over back to the mail room and there was nothing there. and I was like , fuck this. Like, now I'm like sweating bullets. I'm like, 'oh my God. like, what if whoever stole my pancakes also stole this Amazon hall' — and like, Amazon keeps track of shit like that. so like I've had packages stolen before and they knew that by my credit card number they were like, ‘ yo like haven't you had this issue before?' I was like “yeah, but like that's why I told the Amazon driver to come to the door,” but the Amazon driver is like, ”no I'm fucking late or whatever, I'm not gonna do that!” Sometimes they do. It really just depends on what the fuck is going on. Sometimes I leave it at the fucking wear wherever I'm gonna leave it outside if I can. I'm like damn god damn. Like when when I was in the workforce workforce— cause trust me, like what I'm doing right now sometimes feels like slave wages. I'm like bro, did I really do this for two years and get $15 dollars? That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. No, that doesn't mean that doesn't that doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. It doesn't, right? does it? That's not a lot. No, it's not. I also don't have “billions of streams”. This saddens me. Oh, I got the lights to match. That's good. I didn't think they were gonna match. Anyway, what the fuck was I saying? I've been in —fucking— “billions of streams”. You need ten million for a hit. I get like I get giddy when I hit 200 streams for a song. I'm like, ‘wow. they really liked it.' and it makes me wonder how the fuck did I even get those? Tame Impala, according to YouTube. According to YouTube, people who like Tame Impala will , like, sit on my music a little bit longer than people just random coming in from any of my other places, but I haven't checked on my analytics in a while because… I wasn't dropping music eguch making me sad to watch my numbers just plummet and makes me sad anyway, and now I'm gonna know about the numbers. I'm like, ‘well, whatever' Here's chairs of clown comes out. I picked the date, but I'm not saying shit about it, cause I can still change my mind. I could still change my mind. I still might, I don't know. We'll see how it goes. We'll see how it goes with the next few tracks. It's almost finished. It's really oh— Uptown A has a new single. Oh. not not out yet. It will be by the time you hear this though. It's called what's it called? Suede. It's really good. I listened to it and I was like, 'I really like this song‘ which, like I said, it happens about one every ten songs. I'm like, ‘I really like this. I really like this.' Like technically those are the only songs that should be out are the songs that I listen to and I'm like I should I like this, but I don't I don't sit on my work long enough to do that anymore. I just don't because also I'll bury shit and forget that I even fucking made it. And then, it'll— and then I'll be like, “oh, it'll give me anxiety that I have it and I haven't done anything with it. And I have an attachment to most of my songs. Like, I won't just sell my beats, my beats are not cheap, though. Like, I almost was on beatstars—this website for be selling, but there was a couple things that made me not do it mostly, I guess they're trying to, I guess what they're trying to do is like sell their brand or whatever. So everybody that's already on the site was talking about how there's no—like, it's it's really hard to get circulated as an artist. Like you'll have beats on there for months and years at a time without selling any beats. And you have to be like, really aggressive about, um, like you like my it would like I'm already being really aggressive about my actual songs, so like to be that aggressive about my beats would not be like it would be like two different things. It felt like two different paths, so I didn't do it. But what was I just saying about that? Oh, my beats are not cheap. Like, I'm not gonna do 20 for 20. It would literally have to take me less than five minutes for me to sell beat that cheap. Like I would have to throw it together with like no technique whatsoever, just a bunch of loops, and then I'd be like, here's some which is what I was planning to do with some drill beats, because I know that they're just like drill beats are cheap, like period, because they don't I don't think they matter so much as long as it's got the bass and then, like, whatever that little dude is saying. It's always a little dude. It's always a little dude. It's likeah, ‘yeah. I uh,' I don't know, I love artists. I I'm starting to feel less like an artist, though, and more like a producer, or like, you know, like a creator of sorts. I'm borrowing, though. I'm not going to I'm not going to lie. Because, hell, man, he's such a dick sometimes. I was like, bro. be like something some artist, something, something, and Gee was like, “I'm not an artist, I'm a creator!” But that's I guess since it's so easy for anybody to just say like “I'm an artist” now, I don't know, I feel like that's the whole point of like the human experience is like, everybody has an art like, you know, it's just the thing that makes it difficult is that adding value to it has no, there's no right and there's no wrong and there's no good and there's there's bad. There's bad. There's a lot of art in the world that's just bad. It's not good, but like to the person that made it, like that's their shit. So like in that way their technically is no bad because to that at least one person in the world, the person who made it, it's good. So when it comes to art, there's technically no right and wrong. I'm not going to say there's no good and bad, because I like I said, I collect bad music. Like if it's if it's notoriously bad, I'll be like, yeah. like it's probably easier to get my attention if your music is bad, than if it's good. If it's good, I'm almost intimidated like as an artist. Like, I'll be like, oh, this is too good. It's probably gonna make myself esteem not great. if I spend too much time with it. That's true. I don't listen to really good artists anymore, because I'm like, oh, man. Like, I'll just sit there and shit on myself and be like, why, am I not at this level? And even when it comes down to it and it's like all about business and all about like, you know, your connections or like, you're you know, like it's about who you know. And like, look, sometimes it's about talent, but like less of the time than it should be. Like, sometimes it's just like, who your parents are and all this shit. So it's like, I shouldn't feel that way, but I had a lot of the time I can't help it. Like, I'll be sitting and listening to an artist that's like, you know, ”billions of streams!”. and I'm like, “fuck this.” I'm like, ‘I don't wanna hear this. cause I'm not there.' It's like, is, it if I have any kind of envy or jealousy in me, it's probably that. But then when it comes down to it's like, you gotta take the good with the bad. It's not all fucking pancakes, it is all pancakes. Most of this actually. whatever I cut. I'm looking forward to this smoothie. This would better be the best protein I ever had in my life for the price that I paid for, this is better be the fucking best smoothie I've ever had. Uh, we'll see. This is about to be smoothies and miso time. I'm trying to lose 50 pounds. i don't know what realm that is, but I think. I'm pretty sure that would require, like losing muscle, which is fine. I'm— I might be too strong. I went to the gym. I didn't need to. That dude, I swear to God he flipped me off. ‘Cause here's what happened, is, like, the Amazon package said it was delivered. I was like ”cool. all right.” So I left the gym. I was like, ‘bye.' I was like, ‘see ya.' And I, well, I was lifting. Did I make him feel like a bitch? Is that what it was? Because—because I was lifting and I was just whatever light work because I'm actually in a lot of pain. Like, I told myself that I was I was going to buy myself a gift because nobody buys me gifts on the one day that you should everybody should get a gift on this one day and nobody buys me gifts on this day. So I was like, ‘I'm going to buy myself a gift.‘ But as soon as I put money like, aside for that, I had this injury and I immediately just took money out of that fund for fucking ibuprofen and I was like, hey. Another year. Like that's that's my gift. I was like, So so I'm in a lot of pain, so I'm not doing it like regular I'm in my harem pants and I'm in pain. So I'm like not doing anything special. And I'm doing this, and this dude. I think I made him feel like a bitch. That's what that was, cause like, I don't know what they were doing, some YouTube thing where they were like flapping their arms around, like dinkus, DINKUS., that's what you look like. You look like a dinkus, anyway. I'm not paying attention to I'm not giving people negative attention until they're doing weird shit around me. Then I'm like, now I'm looking at you because you're mean mugging me. Don't do that. I don't with your face, dear, I don't recommend that. Don't don't scrunch up your face like that. No. Anyway, mm. aren't all people beautiful? No, not if you live in New York long enough. Eventually, everybody just scoe at each other to death. That's the whole place. I'm like, where are the happy people at? Fucking on a plane! I think for rich people, the quality of life here is different. I think that the luxury of living in New York is that they're like, ”I live in New York”, but they do that like, around the globe. That's what they do. They're like, yeah, I live in New York, but like they're hardly ever in New York. Or there's just a bunch in New York that I haven't seen while I've seen it when the sun hits it just right, it glistens. I'm like, ‘oh. that's a different place.' No, it's an optical illusion. Oh, it doesn't exist. I'm like, “okay, all right.” Try to find that shiny ass, what is that golden —[thingy] anyway? I'm like, “nah, no, it's a trap, “ because if you actually get to Manhattan on the street level, it's just like you can't see the buildings. Like you just at the bottom and you just shadows, even on the sunny days, just like you're in the cold shadows. That's what that place is. I haven't been over there in so long. Never in Manhattan. That place is scary. It's like a supercomputer. But— I guess performance wise in comparison to other like, major cities in the world is not great. I feel like it's pretty great. I feel like it's pretty great. But, you know, I haven't seen Tokyo or where where else was on that list? I don't know, I skipped around a lot. My ADD is unchecked. up. Anyway, I'm kind of annoying, I's okay. Somebody's gonna like it. Somebody, there's somebody for everybody. You see? I don't know why that pissed me off, because that's the second time I got a scowled at in the elevator by an ugly girl. I'm like, why the fuck are you ugly? Oh, cause you're scowling at me. I didn't even see that until you darted me those fucking little eyes. and then I was like “ugh. rude!” I like, I think it's the vibe. I think that's what that is. Cause like, I also notice when people smile at me and I'm like, ”oh, what a beautiful person,” or if somebody's just like resting, not even resting resting bitch face, just like resting face. Like if there's actually muscles in your body that are working towards being angry at me, I notice. I'm like, ”oh, yo, don't do that.” I don't know why that bothered me so much. Then her dude fucking leans over to fucking press the elevator button and he does it with his middle finger. Like, I like to think if it's like if the button and the finger are like like adjacent to your face, like, eye level and here comes the middle finger. You like, that dude was flipping me off, but I'm like, I don't know, I don't know why you would do that. I think I made him feel like a bitch in front of his mean girl. Why—why are you if you're in a couple, why is anybody in this situation mad? Like if you're in a loving, happy, like a healthy relationship, like you shouldn't even see the rest of the world around you, honestly. If you're two people in love, you don't notice like you don't see shit like that. Like the whole world just caves. like it just falls around like you don't notice when you're all fucking in love and all giggly and everything. She's like 'ha ha like, yes, we are together and nothing else really exists. ‘ Like that's I don't know why the fuck you guys are both mean mugging, like that seems like some self reflective. I don't know what the fuck you mad at. I just that a couple lifts. He like starts doing pushups I was like,get it. get it!” Because, I'm encouraging like that, but I'm not looking at him because honestly, eh. like. Like, she don't jump for much these days. Like, she really knows when she likes something, my dragon, or whatever. Like she really knows. She's like, ”yeah, yeah.” But for the most part, like, I don't know, I can tell in like a person's aura or like a vibe, like, if they have something for me, something for me, you know, like if something is— she's gonna notice, she's gonna like, oh, hey, but nothing here. So I don't know why I have the fuck you're looking at me like that, cause the way you're looking at me is pissing me off, and that's how contagious— that's how contagious negative energy could be. Luckily, I was already on the Peloton for an hour. I just finished a song that made me laugh a lot. It made me laugh a lot, and in the moment in the moment, what's fucked up is everybody was heckling this guy, but I think he might have actually been like a professional or he was just some crackhead. I don't think so. First of all, he got the most laughs. I'm listening back to this recording and I'm like, “yo, everybody's—” he made me laugh. I heard myself laugh on this recording. And then as I'm making this song, the number of different laughs from around the room that I'd like that were beautiful to me because I love the sound of laughter… So the difference this I'll— I'll talk more in depth about this album as it's finished and as it's coming out in the next few days. um I still have ‘All The Rage' to come out before that. What day is it coming out? The 10th? Yeah, the 10th. All The Rage is coming out on the 10th, but it has a single coming out on the the All The Rage has a single coming out on April 7th called Sweet Dreams, and then it'll be out three days later. It's pretty much like a hype up single. There's two singles out from that. Yeah, Hot Little Number is also on All The Rage. So Hot Little Number is coming out in the next couple days, because they just felt like there should be at least like one release in March. I did some releases in early March, but not much. Um, and then oh, the single for yeah, I'm only taking one single off of that, because they're so massive. All the songs on Tears of a Clown are like six, five, six, seven minutes. It's it's a true concept album. It's true to itself, and so that's it's cool because it's kind of like pushing me into the next batch of things and working on a I don't know if it's a remix or if it's just like a a dubstep song with heavy sampling cause I'm getting into more dub stuff. butit's crazy cause I got mad at myself because I was like, “oh, I really wanted to fucking I really wanted to finish this.” I don't wanna jinx it so I don't wanna talk about what it is. But I'll talk about it when it does get done. And now I'm understanding that like it's just being major focusshifted. Like, because I cared so much about it that I didn't want to just do it and then be like, that's it. Like, that's it. And it was gonna go on Tears of a Clown but then I was like, I can't because it samples a song that was actually I think it was like a fucking I think it was a hit-ish a TikTok. is it really a hit which it's just on TikTok? I think so, because of the audience on that TikTok has. I refuse. I refuse. I downloaded TikTok once during the pandemic and two things made me never ever go on TikTok again is that it only showed me what appeared to be underage girls doing things that I would slap the shit out of anybody I saw doing like you could be a grown ass woman if you did any of those things. I would hit you like, I—well—no. I'm learning about this. I'm like, ‘oh.' I'm learning about people who make you want to hit them, but you can't. That's things like that's as I think it's a coming of age. I've never had this experience before where it's like, oh, like, you're doing everything in the world to make me want to hurt you. but I can't. Like I have to exercise restraint. That's a fucked up feeling. It's like being penned down. I'm like, oh, like like that's like you can't like you can't do anything about it. You can't do anything about it. What are you gonna do about it?? I don't know, boss up. That's the only thing I can do. I'm like, well, that's that, but oh, it makes me wonder, what makes me kind of understand to a certain extent, like, bro, like, is this what it's like to have a girlfriend? She's gonna make me mad. She's gonna well, I'm I'm not that kind of guy. And I swear to that I'm not. I swear I'd probably be that kind of lesbian, though. like bitch, I will hit you. We are the same gender. like, we could duke it out. We could dupe this out! I'm kidding. I'm not violet. I swear to God, I'm not. But sometimes like I guess it's an episode about about energy, negative energy. It's like I work out enough that like it should just roll off today this. But it wasn't like violent. It was just like, “ooh. girl. You better stop flapping those arms and get you a Peloton. I don't know what the fuck you're looking at me like that for!” I swear, because the anger the anger set into my body.'s like, bro, I just don't like looking at shit that don't look good. I'm an aesthetic person, so like, that's why I don't jog in my neighborhood, cause for the most part, like, I'm gonna take in too much negative, like the negative is gonna outweigh the positive. Like, I can run in circles around whatever my radius around this bitch. but if I see too much trash on the ground, it just depresses me. Like it just makes me upset. and so it like undoes the good that I'm doing by running unless I'm sprinting, but I can't do too much of that. I can't do too much of that. I sprinted almost two miles yesterday I almost top speed, and then those my motorcycle stalkers started stalking me, and so I st like I—I like ran out of steam. I was like, you know I was like, I was like, ugh. There they are. Like, that's weird. How can something like that happen? Anyway. I was like, nah, I'm just gonna fucking jog the rest of this little the rest of this the this last mile or whatever. I'm just gonna jog it, but I sprinted most of that, but then when I got back, I was like, why the fuck am I out of energy? Bitch, because you hit like 11 miles at least. I'm pretty sure what my top speed is like between 11 and 12. if I just spread it, but then that's slow. In comparison to some. That's what I'm saying. pretty sure I wrote like a rhyme recently. I'm I'm not writing so much as organizing, try to anyway. I'm doing a lot at once. What else happened? I don't know. I'm not scowling, your boyfriend's not that cute. I wasn't even looking until you made that face, and I'm like, wh are you trying to defend something here? Is it worth defending? Oh, but the first girl that scowled me, her boyfriend is cute. She needs to do that more, but she needs to be with him, when she does that, like, “girl, you better wash your man's!” .And he has a accent. I don't know where the fuck he's from, cause half of the shit he said was not. I was like, what? what? He is cute. I didn't notice that when she was scowling at me, and that's probably why she I was like, “what is that face? “ Girl? And then I didn't know that was him, cause he went into their apartment. Don't worry, I'm not that kind of girl. like, that's yours. I guess keep making that face. Keep making that face. Do that. Do that. He's cute. I think she'd be cute too, if she wasn't doing that. So, you know, whatever. They' they're probably— and $4 got her flowers! Aw. Aw, and then he said something, oh, cause he thought, and so he doesn't think un is, don't worry. Don't worry, he doesn't. He thought I was delivering Amazon packages because I picked up my Amazon packages. I was picking up my packages and he was like, “oh, you don't need a key for the elevator.“ And I was like, not trying to explain. Like, "No, I live here, I know that. Like” so I was like, okay. And at first I thought he might be like this sounds bad. At first I thought he was deaf, cause whatever he said sounded like a whole, like a whole rolling mumble, and I was like, okay, and I was still listening to my fucking music. And then he kept talking. and so I was like, oh, I have to —and I wasn't even looking at him until I like turned off my music. And then I was I was like, damn. who the fuck is this? And then I was like, oh, like I saw that he lives on the same floor as me. and I was like, ”oh, “ like the elevators and the the the buttons and the elevator are different on both sides. So it depends on which elevator you get where the button is and I press the wrong button, and so he thought I was delivering Amazon package. I was like, no, I'll live here. like like I live here.We live on the same floor, you actually pressed the button already”, and then he said something back and I was like, 'oh, oh, he's he's just from somewhere else. He's not American.' i usually only like American dudes. I like dudes sometimes, not not all the time. I like dudes, sometimes. I like men all the time. That's all around the clock thing that I like. I like them more, increasingly, and the more like stable I get my singularity. I really like them because they can do all the fuck they like all the fuck shit they do is entertaining because they're not doing it to me. I'm like, “okay. I see. like that.” Yeah. I'd be A real, real real, real broad dyke. I'm not gonna lie. I don't like females. I'm not anti feminist. I just for the most part, like get impatient, cause I'm like, what can you do for me? Nothing. Nothing, exactly. I like a friend or something. No, females are never friends with each other. Let's just get that clear. I think I've just figured this out. I just figured this out, like, we'll pretend to be in each other's best interests…. Usually, I mean it. Because I'm not all the way I'm not 100% female. I am very nonbinary in the way they're like I genuinely, genuinely care—typically— if I if I care. if I let myself care, then I genuinely care. But I don't not have the same experience with other females and so I'm just learning this though. Like I'm just learning other females in the competitive sense as I'm learning males. I'm like, “oh, like, I get it. Like if you sense any superiority in me whatsoever, like, you're like, I become your enemy, like, I become your target and you're trying to kill me!” I'm like, ‘that sucks.' To me, like, but if I sense any inferiority in you whatsoever, you're like a nonfactor. Like, I don't— I'm not trying to kill you. I don't care what happens to you. I already won. Let's just all be this way. Just have a oh, oh, that was that thing that I heard. The one thing that I heard. I was like, and it clicked in my brain a certain way. It was that ‘insecurity makes people act crazy.' And I don't know why, but like it clicked with me in a certain way because typically I don't have to bring my insecurities out front or if I do, it works for me in a way that like— it works for me, because if I point if I point like I guess that's the comic or comedian in me. If I point out my indiscretions or my flaws, then it works for me because typically, the person that does sense that inferiority in some kind of way, they get kind of like, it if inflates their ego. It puffs them up and makes them feel like, oh, like, you know, like or, you know, OR— it makes them what's it called, like sympathize with you if they have like some of the same insecurities and it puts you on the same level of equality where it like humanizes you are humanizes them and then you and then you have like, a connection. I'm I'm just you know, I'm just figuring out like human connection in the way that, like, makes sense. So, I'm not I I'm not gonna pretend to know everything because I wouldn't want to. I wouldn't want to. and I with the understanding that, like, on a conscious level, like I well, I mean, like certain certain factors certain factors would indicate that yes, on a conscious level, I do and am, and know everything, but, like to be aware of it at all times would literally be insanity. I wouldn't want to be like allie was like that a lot of the time and I was like,bro, you need to get off God because I well, God is where he went. He was like,I'm just gonna die.” I was like “cool. fuck you, dude. Fuck you.” Like he was like, I'm just gonna die. *Explode! * i was like, all right, ‘whatever. Whatever dog.' I was still a little bit. I am I still grieving? I'm still grieving? I'm thinking I'm like in the acceptance part. where it's like,‘ oh, you're you're right. Like you're you're right about a lot of things and like your freedom is that you're hopefully. Well, see, he might have had some other shit to do. He might have had other shit to do, so I just I kind of have this thing where it's like he still actually like he's in another realm figuring out. figuring out things. Figuring out things. That's what you do when you die, and you haven't done everything yet. I know that much, but I know that the less I know, the better, ha, Tame Impala and also like, he's just a five. And again, uh, I don't I don't the whole music industry is herpes, like, don't touch me, don't well, Tame Impala can do better. So, so, I don't worry about things like that. I don't to worry about things like that, but the whole music industry, Herpes. I don't I don't think it would be hard to be with another musician. Like, really? I like pretty dudes. I like pretty guys, and I like pretty men. Pretty boys, though. I'm like,' oh, youes gots to learnings to do.” You gots to fuck around for like 50 more years. And then maybe we can have like a tea. In 50 years?! yeah, yeah. was you know, then what are we gonna do? There's none of like all the dumb shits out the way. All the dumb shit and all those dumb girls. all the girls like get the girls out of the way and then like a few of the women, like a lot of the women, like, get all the dumb shit out the way. And then talk to me. or don't. In fact, in fact, that's how I wanted to go. My next actual thing with like a person of the opposite gender should be—seriously wordless. like, it shouldn't have to have like, I don't have to explain myself to you. if I have to do that, I'm already doing too much work. I would I think I just might be a single forever. It's cool. I'm like “yay, I got over it.” And now I well, how am I gonna— I'm like I devising a plan, “how to hold babies without being weird.” Like, I—I want to do that. I don't necessarily want to take it all the way. Like, I don't wanna be I don't wanna be a midwife or a dula. don't wanna be like a baby— I don't want to be anything in the medical field because gross. Gross, gross. I thought I was gonna be at EMT for a while, because they're like, “oh, no, no, you're too old to be a firefighter!” That's okay. after living this long in New York, I'm like, running into a burning building would probably be like at the top of my priorities, if that were my job. You don't don't talk to me on the wrong day. I will try and fail to save everybody in this burning building. That's I'm you know, that's where I'm at. so it's probably good that I missed the cut off for being an actual firefighter. But then, oh, I signed up to be an EMT and they were like, oh, it's a year and a half wait, but then once you get into the program, the way that it works is that like you ‘technically, like word training you on a loan. So like everything that you make in the first, however many years, you actually owe back to us and you can't quit.' And I was like, that's kind of that's okay, because it's like job security. But then ey, I met an EMT that was taking the same bus as I was and I was like bro like that doesn't make sense. Like, you have a you have a full-time job and we're on the same bus, that's no. No, like you should be able to afford the next level of transportation hug. That's that's wrong, that's a hard job. ‘You should get paid more,' but then I was like, it's okay.' What was the second thing? Oh, I went to the ER. My first trip to the ER in New York was like was like the trip that I would never take to the ER in a third world country. I like I thought about it in Mexico a couple times. I was like, ‘bro, if it came down to it.' Because I saw like a building that I didn't know was like a functional building. I thought it was like a shell of a building, but then there was like a there was like a flickering sign on the front of the building that was like, you know, this is a hospital, this is the ER. And I was like, “no, it's not.” And I was like “this is like a shut down hospital, right?” But then there was like somebody at the entrance and I was like, 'okay.' And then I thought to myself 'like, okay, if I had to go to this fucking hospital or like just duke it out with whatever the fuck is happening, like what would be my choice?' And I was like, ‘I would probably just like take it.' I'd probably just take it. I'm not gonna lie, you know? like that. But the end, well I had to go, I had to go and honestly, New York ER is not super different, not you like not not anything like the ERs on the West Coast. is not the safest place. No. No, I did not want to be there. And then when I'd witnessed what an EMT does in a New York City, like ER, I was like, oh. I am— uh what's it called? [withdrawing] I'm taking out my applications. Oh, that was hardcore. What was it like a gunshot? It was something I think it was. I think that was a couple gunshot wounds in there. I was like, you know, 'no, this is what they do. This is what they do all the time.' Ive just I've reached a level of I can't do that with a lot of professions. Like, don't get me wrong. I'm not unwilling to work. It's just like I can't. Like my heart can't take it. Like it cannot. I've, you know, I've been around. I'm no spring chicken. I've already had some grief. grief. Like I don't think I can do that. So hat's off to the people in the blue, whatever. “all lives matter.” This is true. But, you know, I'm not picking those sides. Anyway, it is true. Everybody. Everybody makes sense in a certain way, right? Okay, I'm just trying to take up this last minute. What the fuck was this episode for? That was a fast hour. I'm surprised by myself. Don't scowl if you're ugly. Like, don't be ugly and scowl. I don't I don't know which thing happened first. I don't know if she was already ugly, so she's scowling. or if the scowling just, like changed everything. I've said this before, I'll say it again, like you can be —you can look, however, but as a person who like sees sings speaks vibrations, like if your whole shit's fucked up. like, that's what I see. So it will be the prettiest girl, boy, man, trans. You could be the prettiest cat. You would be a cat. I'm— I'm not— look, you know, I'm not into beastiality; pansexuality. sure, you know? I've had crushes on trees. Me and my Peloton have a thing going, but I spend a lot of time sitting on it. [MENACING IMMORTAL LAUGHER] a.k.a “mwahaha' Sorry. Okay, I was about to— That's enough, right? Yeah, that was so— —Somebody help that fucking bitch. they lady, man! that lady in her fucking dragon I don't know what the fuck is gonna happen. Like, don't worry, it is a very small percentage of people in the whole population that she's actually gonna try to actually hunt down and murder. You know, gently. death by snusnu. as possible as most of these dudes don't have, you know, like, I'll kill you. Don't scowl at me, and like, I will literally kill your boyfriend. Like, doll like by choice, though, I wouldn't kill him. So don't worry, you can take that face off now. Jesus Christ all day anyway. All day and all night, okay? Have a good day or night or whenever the fuck you're listening to this. Thank you for listening. More stuff soon, because we'll see what happens with the like, you know, with the website and whatever. I am you dot guru. That's what it is for the foreseeable future. That's what that is. I i A-M-U DOT GURU I gotta work on this website. It's gotta be it's like I can't overhype it. I can't do all this spelling out and promoting my own website if it's not gonna be like the most spectacular—smoothie that I've ever had, which is happening right now. Amen. {Enter The Multiverse} The Complex Collective © [The Festival Project ™ ] -Ū.

In the 1960s, a deep anxiety set in as one thing became seemingly clear: We were headed toward population catastrophe. Paul Ehrlich's “The Population Bomb” and “The Limits to Growth,” written by the Club of Rome, were just two publications warning of impending starvation due to simply too many humans on the earth.As the population ballooned year by year, it would simply be impossible to feed everyone. Demographers and environmentalists alike held their breath and braced for impact.Except that we didn't starve. On the contrary, we were better fed than ever.In his article in The New Atlantis, Charles C. Mann explains that agricultural innovation — from improved fertilization and irrigation to genetic modification — has brought global hunger to a record low.Today on Faster, Please! — The Podcast, I chat with Mann about the agricultural history they didn't teach you in school.Mann is a science journalist who has worked as a correspondent for The Atlantic, Science, and Wired magazines, and whose work has been featured in many other major publications. He is also the author of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus and1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, as well as The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World.In This Episode* Intro to the Agricultural Revolution (2:04)* Water infrastructure (13:11)* Feeding the masses (18:20)* Indigenous America (25:20)Below is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation. Intro to the Agricultural Revolution (2:04)I don't think that people realize that the fact that most people on earth, almost the average person on earth, can feed themselves is a novel phenomenon. It's something that basically wasn't true since as far back as we know.Pethokoukis: What got my attention was a couple of pieces that you've worked on for The New Atlantis magazine looking at the issue of how modern Americans take for granted the remarkable systems and infrastructure that provide us comfort, safety, and a sense of luxury that would've been utterly unimaginable even to the wealthiest people of a hundred years ago or 200 years ago.Let me start off by asking you: Does it matter that we do take that for granted and that we also kind of don't understand how our world works?Mann: I would say yes, very much. It matters because these systems undergird the prosperity that we have, the good fortune that we have to be alive now, but they're always one generation away from collapse. If they aren't maintained, upgraded and modernized, they'll fall apart. They just won't stand there. So we have to be aware of this. We have to keep our eye on the ball, otherwise we won't have these things.The second thing is that, if we don't know how our society works, as citizens, we're simply not going to make very good choices about what to do with that society. I feel like both sides in our current political divide are kind of taking their eye off the ball. It's important to have good roads, it's important to have clean water, it's important to have a functioning public health system, it's important to have an agricultural system that works. It doesn't really matter who you are. And if we don't keep these things going, life will be unnecessarily bad for a lot of people, and that's just crazy to do.Is this a more recent phenomenon? If I would've asked people 50 years ago, “Explain to me how our infrastructure functions, how we get water, how we get electricity,” would they have a better idea? Is it just because things are more complicated today that we have no idea how our food gets here or why when we turn the faucet, clean water comes out?The answer is “yes” in a sort of trivial sense, in that many more people were involved in producing food, a much greater percentage of the population was involved in producing food 50 years ago. The same thing was true for the people who were building infrastructure 50 years ago.But I also think it's generally true that people's parents saw the change and knew it. So that is very much the case and, in a sense, I think we're victims of our own success. These kinds of things have brought us so much prosperity that we can afford to do crazy things like become YouTube influencers, or podcasters, or freelance writers. You don't really have any connection with how the society goes because we're sort of surfing on this wave of luxury that our ancestors bequeathed to us.I don't know how much time you spend on social media, Charles — I'm sure I spend too much — but I certainly sense that many people today, younger people especially, don't have a sense of how someone lived 50 years ago, 100 years ago, and there was just a lot more physical suffering. And certainly, if you go back far enough, you could not take for granted that you would have tomatoes in your supermarket year round, that you would have water in the house and that water would be clean. What I found really interesting — you did a piece on food and a piece on water — in the food piece you note that, in the 1980s, that was a real turning point that the average person on earth had enough to eat all the time, and rather than becoming an issue of food production, it became an issue of distribution, of governance. I think most people would be surprised of that statistic even though it's 40 years old.I don't think that people realize that the fact that most people on earth, almost the average person on earth, can feed themselves is a novel phenomenon. It's something that basically wasn't true since as far back as we know. That's this enormous turning point, and there are many of these turning points. Obviously, the introduction of antibiotics for . . . public health, which is another one of these articles they're going to be working on . . .Just about 100 years ago today, when President Coolidge was [president], his son went to play tennis at the White House tennis courts, and because he was lazy, or it was fashionable, or something, he didn't put on socks. He got a blister on his toe, the toe got infected, and he died. 100 years ago, the president of the United States, who presumably had the best healthcare available to anybody in the world, was unable to save his beloved son when the son got a trivial blister that got infected. The change from that to now is mind boggling.You've written about the Agricultural Revolution and why the great fears 40 or 50 years ago of mass starvation didn't happen. I find that an endlessly interesting topic, both for its importance and for the fact it just seems to be so underappreciated to this day, even when it was sort of obvious to people who pay attention that something was happening, it still seemed not to penetrate the public consciousness. I wonder if you could just briefly talk to me about that revolution and how it happened.The question is, how did it go from “The Population Bomb” written in 1968, a huge bestseller, hugely influential, predicting that there is going to be hundreds of millions of people dying of mass starvation, followed by other equally impassioned, equally important warnings. There's one called “Famine, 1975!,” written a few years before, that predicted mass famines in 1975. There's “The Limits to Growth.” I went to college in the '70s and these were books that were on the curriculum, and they were regarded as contemporary classics, and they all proved to be wrong.The reason is that, although they were quite correct about the fact that the human race was reproducing at that time faster than ever before, they didn't realize two things: The first is that as societies get more affluent, and particularly as societies get more affluent and give women more opportunities, birth rates decline. So that this was obviously, if you looked at history, going to be a temporary phenomenon of whatever length it was be, but it was not going to be infinite.The second was there was this enormous effort spurred by this guy named Norman Borlaug, but with tons of other people involved, to take modern science and apply it to agriculture, and that included these sort of three waves of innovation. Now, most innovation is actually just doing older technologies better, which is a huge source of progress, and the first one was irrigation. Irrigation has been around since forever. It's almost always been done badly. It's almost always not been done systematically. People started doing it better. They still have a lot of problems with it, but it's way better, and now 40 percent, roughly, of the crops in the world that are produced are produced by irrigation.The second is the introduction of fertilizer. There's two German scientists, Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch, who essentially developed the ways of taking fertilizer and making lots and lots of it in factories. I could go into more detail if you want, but that's the essential thing. This had never been done before, and suddenly cheap industrial fertilizer became available all over the world, and Vaclav Smil . . . he's sort of an environmental scientist of every sort, in Manitoba has calculated that roughly 40 percent of the people on earth today would not be alive if it wasn't for that.And then the third was the development of much better, much higher-yielding seeds, and that was the part that Norman Borlaug had done. These packaged together of irrigation fertilizer and seeds yielded what's been called the Green Revolution, doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled grain yields across the world, particularly with wheat and rice. The result is the world we live in today. When I was growing up, when you were growing up, your parents may have said to you, as they did me, Oh, eat your vegetables, there are kids that are starving in Asia.” Right? That was what was told and that was the story that was told in books like “The Population Bomb,” and now Asia's our commercial rival. When you go to Bangkok, that was a place that was hungry and now it's gleaming skyscrapers and so forth. It's all based on this fact that people are able to feed themselves through the combination of these three factors,That story, the story of mass-starvation that the Green Revolution irrigation prevented from coming true. I think a surprising number of people still think that story is relevant today, just as some people still think the population will be exploding when it seems clear it probably will not be exploding. It will rise, but then it's going to start coming down at some point this century. I think those messages just don't get through. Just like most people don't know Norm Borlaug, the Haber-Bosch process, which school kids should know. They don't know any of this. . . Borlaug won the Nobel Prize, right?Right. He won the Nobel Peace Prize. I'll tell you a funny story —I think he won it in the same year that “The Population Bomb” came out.It was just a couple years off. But you're right, the central point is right, and the funny thing is . . . I wrote another book a while back that talked about this and about the way environmentalists think about the world, and it's called the “Wizard and the Prophet” and Borlaug was the wizard of it. I thought, when I proposed it, that it would be easy. He was such an important guy, there'd be tons of biographies about him. And to this day, there isn't a real serious scholarly biography of the guy. This is a person who has done arguably more to change human life than any other person in the 20th century, certainly up in the top dozen or so. There's not a single serious biography of him.How can that be?It's because we're tremendously disconnected. It's a symptom of what I'm talking about. We're tremendously disconnected from these systems, and it's too bad because they're interesting! They're actually quite interesting to figure out: How do you get water to eight billion people? How do you get . . . It is a huge challenge, and some of the smartest people you've ever met are working on it every day, but they're working on it over here, and the public attention is over here.Water infrastructure (13:11). . . the lack of decent, clean, fresh water is the world's worst immediate environmental problem. I think people probably have some vague idea about agriculture, the Agricultural Revolution, how farming has changed, but I think, as you just referred to, the second half, water — utter mystery to people. Comes out of a pipe. The challenges of doing that in a rich country are hard. The challenges doing a country not so rich, also hard. Tell me what you find interesting about that topic.Well, whereas the story about agriculture is basically a good story: We've gotten better at it. We have a whole bunch of technical innovations that came in the 20th century and humankind is better off than ever before. With water, too, we are better off than ever before, but the maddening thing is we could be really well off because the technology is basically extremely old.There's a city, a very ancient city called Mohenjo-daro that I write about a bit in this article that was in essentially on the Pakistan-India border, 2600 BC. And they had a fully functioning water system that, in its basics, was no different than the water system that we have, or that London has, or that Paris has. So this is an ancient, ancient technology, yet we still have two billion people on the planet that don't have access to adequate water. In fact, even though we know how to do it, the lack of decent, clean, fresh water is the world's worst immediate environmental problem. And a small thing that makes me nuts is that climate change — which is real and important — gets a lot of attention, but there are people dying of not getting good water now.On top of it, even in rich countries like us, our water system is antiquated. The great bulk of it was built in the '40s, '50s, and '60s, and, like any kind of physical system, it ages, and every couple years, various engineering bodies, water bodies, the EPA, and so forth puts out a report saying, “Hey, we really have to fix the US water system and the numbers keep mounting up.” And Democrats, Republicans, they all ignore this.Who is working on the water issue in poorer countries?There you have a very ad hoc group of people. The answer is part of it's the Food and Agricultural Organization because most water in most countries is used for irrigation to grow food. You also have the World Health Organization, these kinds of bodies. You have NGOs working on it. What you don't have in those countries like our country is the government taking responsibility for coordinating something that's obviously in the national interest.So you have these things where, very periodically — a government like China has done this, Jordan has done this, Bolivia has done this, countries all over the world have done this — and they say, “Okay, we haven't been able to provide freshwater. Let's bring in a private company.” And the private company then invests all this money in infrastructure, which is expensive. Then, because it's a private company, it has to make that money back, and so it charges people for a lot of money for this, and the people are very unhappy because suddenly they're paying a quarter of their income for water, which is what I saw in Southwest China: water riots because people are paying so much for water.In other words, one of the things that government can do is sort of spread these costs over everybody, but instead they concentrate it on the users, Almost universally, these privatization efforts have led to tremendous political unhappiness because the government has essentially shifted responsibility for coordinating and doing these things and imposed a cost on a narrow minority of the users.Are we finally getting on top of the old water infrastructure in this country? It seems like during the Biden administration they had a big infrastructure bill. Do you happen to know if we are finally getting that system upgraded?Listen, I will be the only person who probably ever interviews you who's actually had to fix a water main as a summer job. I spent [it at] my local Public Works Department where we'd have to fix water mains, and this was a number of years ago, and even a number of years ago, those pipes were really, really old. It didn't take much for them to get a main break.I'm one of those weird people who is bothered by this. All I can tell you is we have a lot of aging infrastructure. The last estimate that I've seen came before this sort of sudden jerky rise of construction costs, which, if you're at all involved in building, is basically all the people in the construction industry talk about. At that point, the estimate was that it was $1.2 trillion to fix the infrastructure that we have in the United States. I am sure it is higher now. I am delighted that the Biden people passed this infrastructure — would've been great if they passed permitting reform and a couple of other things to make it easier to spend the money, but okay. I would like to believe that the Trump people would take up the baton and go on this.Feeding the masses (18:20)I do worry that the kind of regulations, and rules, and ideas that we put into place to try and make agriculture more like this picture that we have in our head will end up inadvertently causing suffering for the people who are struggling.We're still going to have another two billion people, maybe, on this earth. Are we going to be able to feed them all?Yeah, I think that there's no question. The question is what we're going to be able to feed them? Are we going to be able to feed them all, filet mignon and truffled . . . whatever they put truffle oil on, and all that? Not so sure about that.All organic vegetables.At the moment, that seems really implausible, and there's a sort of fundamental argument going on here. There's a lot of people, again, both right and left, who are sort of freaked out by the scale that modern agriculture operates on. You fly over the middle-west and you see all those circles of center-pivot irrigation, they plowed under, in the beginning of the 20th century, 100 million acres of prairie to produce all that. And it's done with enormous amounts of capital, and it was done also partly by moving people out so that you could have this enormous stuff. The result is it creates a system that . . . doesn't match many people's vision of the friendly family farmer that they grew up with. It's a giant industrial process and people are freaked out by the scale. They don't trust these entities, the Cargills and the ADMs, and all these huge companies that they see as not having their interests at heart.It's very understandable. I live in a small town, we have a farm down there, and Jeremy runs it, and I'm very happy to see Jeremy. There's no Jeremy at Archer Daniels Midland. So the result is that there's a big revulsion against that, and people want to downsize the scale, and they point to very real environmental problems that big agriculture has, and they say that that is reason for this. The great problem is that in every single study that I am aware of, the sort of small, local farms don't produce as much food per acre or per hectare as the big, soulless industrial processes. So if you're concerned about feeding everybody, that's something you have to really weigh in your head, or heavy in your heart.That sort of notion of what a farm should look like and what good food is, that kind of almost romantic notion really, to me, plays into the sort of anti-growth or the degrowth people who seemed to be saying that farms could only be this one thing — probably they don't even remember those farms anymore — that I saw in a storybook. It's like a family farm, everything's grown local, not a very industrial process, but you're talking about a very different world. Maybe that's a world they want, but I don't know if that's a world you want if you're a poor person in this world.No, and like I said, I love going to the small farm next to us and talking to Jeremy and he says, “Oh look, we've just got these tomatoes,” it's great, but I have to pay for that privilege. And it is a privilege because Jeremy is barely making it and charging twice as much as the supermarket. There's no economies of scale for him. He still has to buy all the equipment, but he's putting it over 20 acres instead of 2000 acres. In addition, it's because it's this hyper-diverse farm — which is wonderful; they get to see the strawberries, and the tomatoes, and all the different things — it means he has to hire much more labor than it would be if he was just specializing in one thing. So his costs are inevitably much, much higher, and, therefore, I have to pay a lot more to keep him going. That's fine for me; I'm a middle-class person, I like food, this can be my hobby going there.I'd hate to have somebody tell me it's bad, but it's not a system that is geared for people who are struggling. There are just a ton of people all over the world who are struggling. They're better off than they were 100 years ago, but they're still struggling. I do worry that the kind of regulations, and rules, and ideas that we put into place to try and make agriculture more like this picture that we have in our head will end up inadvertently causing suffering for the people who are struggling.To make sure everybody can get fed in the future, do we need a lot more innovation?Innovation is always good. I would say that we do, and the kinds of innovation we need are not often what people imagine. For example, it's pretty clear that parts of the world are getting drier, and therefore irrigation is getting more difficult. The American Southwest is a primary candidate, and you go to the Safford Valley, which I did a few years ago — the Safford Valley is in southeast Arizona and it's hotter than hell there. I went there and it's 106 degrees and there's water from the Colorado River, 800 miles away, being channeled there, and they're growing Pima cotton. Pima cotton is this very good fine cotton that they use to make fancy clothes, and it's a great cash crop for farmers, but growing it involves channeling water from the Colorado 800 miles, and then they grow it by what's called flood irrigation, which is where you just fill the field with an inch of water. I was there actually to see an archeologist who's a water engineer, and I said to him, “Gee, it's hot! How much that water is evaporated?” And he said, “Oh, all of it.”So we need to think about that kind of thing if the Colorado is going to run out of water, which it is now. There's ways you can do it, you can possibly genetically modify cotton to use less water. You could drip irrigation, which is a much more efficient form of irrigation, it's readily available, but it's expensive. So you could try to help farmers do that. I think if you cut the soft costs, which is called the regulatory costs of farming, you might be able to pay for it in that way. That would be one type of innovation. Another type of thing you could do is to do a different kind of farming which is called civil pastoral systems, where you grow tree crops and then you grow cattle underneath, and that uses dramatically less water. It's being done in Sonora, just across the border and the tree crops — trees are basically wild. People don't breed them because it takes so long, but we now have the tools to breed them, and so you could make highly productive trees with cattle underneath and have a system that produces a lot of calories or a lot of good stuff. That's all the different kinds of innovation that we could do. Just some of the different kinds of innovation we could do and all would help.Indigenous America (25:20)Part of the reason I wrote these things is that I realized it's really interesting and I didn't learn anything about it in school.Great articles in The New Atlantis, big fan of “Wizard and the Prophet,” but I'm going to take one minute and ask you about your great books talking about the story of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. If I just want to travel in the United States and I'm interested in finding out more about Native Americans in the United States, where would you tell me to go?One of my favorite places just it's so amazing, is Chaco Canyon, and that's in the Four Corners area — that whole Four Corners area is quite incredible — and Chaco Canyon is a sign that native people could build amazing stuff, and native people could be crazy, in my opinion. It's in the middle of nowhere, it has no water, and for reasons that are probably spiritual and religious, they built an enormous number of essentially castles in this canyon, and they're incredible.The biggest one, Pueblo Bonito as it's called now, it's like 800 rooms. They're just enormous. And you can go there, and you can see these places, and you can just walk around, and it is incredible. You drive up a little bit to Mesa Verde and there's hundreds of these incredible cliff dwellings. What seems to have happened — I'm going to put this really informally and kind of jokingly to you, not the way that an archeologist would talk about it or I would write about it, but what looks like it happened is that the Chaco Canyon is this big canyon, and on the good side that gets the southern exposure is all these big houses. And then the minions and the hoi polloi lived on the other side, and it looks like, around 800, 900, they just got really tired of serving the kings and they had something like a democratic revolution, and they just left, most of them, and founded the Pueblos, which is these intensely democratic self-governing bodies that are kind of like what Thomas Jefferson thought the United States should be.Then it's like all the doctors, and the lawyers, and the MBAs, and the rich guys went up to Mesa Verde and they started off their own little kingdoms and they all fought with each other. So you have these crazy cliff dwellings where it's impossible to get in and there's hundreds of people living in these niches in these cliffs, and then that blew up too. So you could see history, democracy, and really great architecture all in one place.If someone asked me for my advice about changing the curriculum in school, one, people would leave school knowing who the heroes of progress and heroes of the Agricultural Revolution were. And I think they'd also know a lot more about pre-Columbian history of the Americas. I think they should know about it but I also think it's just super interesting, though of course you've brought it to life in a beautiful way.Thank you very much, and I couldn't agree with you more. Part of the reason I wrote these things is that I realized it's really interesting and I didn't learn anything about it in school.On sale everywhere The Conservative Futurist: How To Create the Sci-Fi World We Were PromisedFaster, Please! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. 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It's Season 11! And it's the 200th episode! This occasion calls for something special. Dr. Gee brings starts the season with his signature Mic Check to set the tone. He speaks to this moment with a spoken word poem and some commentary on what these times mean for us all. Dr. Gee lays out a call to audacity. Listen up! alexgee.com Support the Show: patreon.com/blacklikeme Join the Black Like Me Listener Community Facebook Group

Brothers Gonna Work It Out / Public Enemy 5:08 DE LA TRIP / Cookin Soul 4:01 The Shit / Godfather Don & Jazz Spastiks 1:31 Social Distortion feat. MF DOOM (DJ Premie... 3:04 Snow Game / Sleepingdogs 2:54 Lower East Side / Onyx 2:47 Krush Groove Kangol feat. Opio & DJ Jon D... 3:32 What's Up (Feat. Onyx) / Lords Of The Unde... 2:55 Dirt Road / Ramson Badbonez 2:53 Calling Hours (rearranged by FiveEight Feve... 2:52 The Rose Bowl (Feat. Your Old Droog & Gee... 4:10 Coffee & Tequila (Prod. By ChefBoyz) / The... 2:41 I Ran Into The Rain / K-Def 2:27 Usual Suspectz feat. Tha God Fahim & Jay... 2:54 Show & Prove (S&P Edition) / Solomon Child... 2:05 Dope Peddling (Feat. Verbal Kent & A-F-R-... 3:38 The Broker (Feat. J-Scienide) / Al Rock 2:44 Raining Sledgehammers feat. D-Styles / Na... 3:31

Send us a textOkay, so here's the story: Kids from the future must partner with their ancestors in the 1980s to fight a super powerful criminal. Which sounds like just the thing kids should be doing. Then again, in the 1980s, we were allowed to go out all day and do whatever as long as we were back before dark. And that was in the day and age of Milk Carton Portraits, strangers with candy and stranger danger. So… this totally checks out.              Here now is the story of how this lazer-y show came to Saturday Morning.              Where did this futuristic shoot ‘em up show come from?              Who was the cast involved?              Will there ever be a “Field of Dreams” that will take us back to the 80s?     All these questions, and more, will be answered in this look at LAZER TAG ACADEMY! Thanks for ‘tooning in.  Share With Us: SatMornPod@hotmail.comBluesky: @SatMornPodYouTube Us: tinyurl.com/yyhpwjeo (Don't waste your time)   Featured Music:“Nostalgic Happy Music” by AudioJungle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtxSUR6MQhw&t=2s “Happy Life” by Fredji - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzQiRABVARk Various Music by Oneul - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by302C2YhxY “I Feel You” by Kevin MacLeod” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw8E3jjbUCE “Nostalgic” by OrangeHead - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wExcRoNNzAc “Breakfast Club” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Spi22l3m5I “Horizons” by Atch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-u53MADIag “80's Hijack” by Gee - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndVqzJ9Lk6M&t=26s “Synthmania” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6r20TKnA6M “United” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArjGQFCcHxA “Cool Blue” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp5cxZWP-wc   #ABC #NBC #CBS #The80s #80s #cartoons #cartoon #animation #SaturdayMorning #1980 #1981 #1982 #1983 #1984 #1985 #1986 #1987 #1988 #1989 #Filmation #HannaBarbera #DePatieFreleng #RubySpears #Disney #LazerTagAcademy 

At long last, the episode that got away, it's David Green here again to talk about 1964's Mary Poppins. Gee, who could find something not to love about a film that's a beloved classic? Certainly not David who adores this film, that leaves just...

They say he watches from the shadows, always wearing a hat — but the Hat Man isn't just another shadow person… he's something far more terrifying.Darkness Syndicate members get the ad-free version of #WeirdDarkness: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicateDISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.IN THIS EPISODE: Unlike most shadow people figures, the Hat Man - this tall, dark being often appears during times of emotional turmoil. With accounts from all over the world, questions continue to be asked about his origin – is he supernatural? Interdimensional? Just our imagination? Demonic… or extraterrestrial? What is the Hat Man – and what are his motives? (The Night Terror That is The Hat Man) *** He was a charismatic activist and local celebrity who counted the elite of Philadelphia among his friends. But behind closed doors, Ira Einhorn's relationship with his girlfriend Holly Maddux was fraught with abuse, control, and ultimately, murder. The shocking discovery of Holly's body in a trunk in Einhorn's apartment was only the beginning of the hunt for the man they'd eventually call “The Unicorn Killer.” (Holly Maddux And The Unicorn Killer) *** On May 1, 1897, Louisa Luetgert, the wife of a prominent Chicago sausage-maker, mysteriously vanished. The last sighting of her was with her husband, Adolph, as they walked into his sausage factory. This chilling disappearance not only shocked the city but also caused a notable decline in sausage sales that summer. Gee, I wonder why. (The Sausage Maker And His Wife) *** Centuries of worship and tragedy have left behind more than just memories in some churches… they've also left behind spirits, some holy… some not. From ghostly priests and weeping brides to mysterious mists and phantom lights, there are hauntings that linger in these ancient sanctuaries. What eerie tales are hidden within the walls of the world's oldest… and most haunted… churches? (Attending Church Eternally As A Ghost) *** In June 2006, Gilbert Gilman vanished without a trace during a short walk in Olympic National Park. Despite an extensive search and numerous theories, no evidence of his fate has ever been found. Was he a victim of foul play, or did he choose to disappear? (The Mysterious Disappearance of Gilbert Gilman)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00.00.000 = Lead-In00:01:33.538 = Show Open00:04:31.957 = The Night Terror That is The Hat Man00:24:13.746 = The Sausage Maker And His Missing Wife00:37:46.756 = The Mysterious Disappearance of Gilbert Gilman00:44:00.652 = Attending Church Eternally As A Ghost (Haunted Churches)00:56:53.246 = Holly Maddux And The Unicorn Killer01:05:03.887 = Show Close, Verse, and Final ThoughtSOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…“The Night Terror That Is The Hat Man” source: Erica McCann, Graveyard Shift: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mbwzkup3; Brandon Michaels, Ranker: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yxz4b38j“Holly Maddux And The Unicorn Killer” source: The Scare Chamber: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8bmr32“Attending Church Eternally As a Ghost” source: Patrick Thornton, Graveyard Shift: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2zyhhree“The Mysterious Disappearance of Gilbert Gilman” source: Strange Outdoors: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/ycx59v88“The Sausage Maker And His Missing Wife” by Troy Taylor (used with permission): https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yc3dnfcm=====(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: May 21, 2024EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/DemonicHatMan

Listen to ASCO's Journal of Clinical Oncology Art of Oncology article, "Tamales” by Megan Dupuis, an Assistant Professor of Hematology and Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The article is followed by an interview with Dupuis and host Dr. Mikkael Sekeres. Dupuis reflects on how patients invite their doctors into their culture and their world- and how this solidified her choice to be an oncologist. TRANSCRIPT Narrator: Tamales, by Megan Dupuis, MD, PhDI do not know if you know this, but tamales are an important—nay, critical—part of the Mexican Christmas tradition. Before I moved to Texas, I certainly did not know that. I did not know that the simple tamal, made of masa flour and fillings and steamed in a corn husk, is as essential to the holiday season as music and lights. Whole think pieces have been written in The Atlantic about it, for God's sake. But, I did not know that. A total gringa, I had grown up in upstate NY. We had the middle-class American version of Christmas traditions—music, snow, Santa, and a Honey Baked Ham that mom ordered 2 weeks before the holiday. I had never tried a homemade tamal until I moved to Texas. We had relocated because I was starting a fellowship in hematology/oncology. A central part of our training was the privilege of working at the county hospital cancer clinic. Because we were the safety-net hospital, our patients with cancer were often under- or uninsured, frequently had financial difficulty, and were almost always immigrants, documented or otherwise. In a typical clinic day, over 90% of my patients spoke Spanish; one or two spoke Vietnamese; and typically, none spoke English. From meeting my very first patient in clinic, I knew this was where I needed to be. Have you ever been unsure of a decision until you have been allowed to marinate in it? That is how I felt about cancer care; I had not been sure that my path was right until I started in the county oncology clinic. I loved absorbing the details of my patients' lives and the cultures that centered them: that Cuban Spanish is not Mexican Spanish and is not Puerto Rican Spanish; that many of my patients lived in multigenerational homes, with abuelos and tios and nietos all mixed together; and that most of them continued to work full-time jobs while battling cancer. They had hobbies they pursued with passion and lived and died by their children's accomplishments. I learned these details in the spaces between diagnosis and treatment, in the steady pattern woven in between the staccato visits for chemotherapy, scans, pain control, progression, and hospice.  In one of those in-betweens, my patient Cristina told me about tamales. She had faced metastatic breast cancer for many years. She was an impeccable dresser, with matching velour tracksuits or nice slacks with kitten heels or a dress that nipped in at the waist and flared past her knees. Absolutely bald from treatment, she would make her hairlessness look like high fashion rather than alopecia foisted upon her. Her makeup was always painstakingly done and made her look 10 years younger than her youthful middle age. At one visit in August, she came to clinic in her pajamas and my heart sank. This was a familiar pattern to me by now; I had taken care of her for 2 years, and pajamas were my canary in the coal mine of progressing cancer.  So on that sunny day, I asked Cristina what her goals would be for the coming months. The cancer had circumvented many of her chemotherapy options, and I only had a few left. “Doctora D, I know my time is limited…” she started in Spanish, with my interpreter by my side translating, “but I would really like to make it to Christmas. My family is coming from Mexico.” “Oh that's lovely. Do you have any special Christmas plans?” I ventured, wanting to understand what her holidays look like. “Plans? Doctora D, of course we are making tamales!” She laughed, as though we were both in on a joke. “Tamales? At Christmas?” I asked, signaling her to go on.  “Yes yes yes, every year we make hundreds and hundreds of tamales, and we sell them! And we use the money to buy gifts for the kids, and we eat them ourselves too. It is tradicio´ n, Doctora D.” She underlined tradicio´ n with her voice, emphasizing the criticality of this piece of information. “Okay,” I said, pausing to think—December was only four months away. “I will start a different chemotherapy, and we will try to get you to Christmas to make your tamales.” Cristina nodded, and the plan was made.  Later that evening, I asked one of my cofellows, a Houston native, about tamales. He shared that these treats are an enormous part of the Houston Christmas tradition, and if I had any sense, I would only purchase them from an abuela out of the trunk of a car. This was the only way to get the best homemade ones. “The ones from restaurants,” he informed me, “are crap.”  So summer bled into fall, and fall became what passes for winter in Texas. On 1 day in the middle of December, Cristina came into clinic, dressed in a colorful sweater, flowing white pants, black boots, and topped off with Barbie-pink lipstick. “Cristina!” I exclaimed, a bit confused. “You don't have an appointment with me today, do you?”  She grinned at me and held up a plastic grocery bag with a knot in the handles, displaying it like a prize.  “Tamales, Doctora D. I brought you some tamales so you can join our Christmas tradition.” I felt the sting of tears, overwhelmed with gratitude at 11:30 in a busy county clinic. I thanked her profusely for my gift. When I brought them home that night, my husband and I savored them slowly, enjoying them like you would any exquisite dish off a tasting menu. Sometimes, people think that oncologists are ghouls. They only see the Cristinas when they are in their pajamas and wonder why would any doctor ever give her more treatment?  My answer is because I also got to see her thriving joyfully in track suits and lipstick, because I got to spend countless in-betweens with her, and because I helped get her to the Christmas tradiciones I only knew about because of her. And in return, she gave of herself so easily, sharing her life, her passion, her struggles, and her fears with me. Caring for Cristina helped me marinate in the decision to become an oncologist and know that it was the right one. And if you are wondering—yes. Now tamales are a Christmas tradicio´n in the Dupuis household, too. Mikkael Sekeres: Hello, and welcome to JCO's Cancer Stories: The Art of Oncology, which features essays and personal reflections from authors exploring their experience in the oncology field. I'm your host, Mikkael Sekeres. I'm a professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Hematology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami. What a pleasure it is today to be joined by Dr. Megan Dupuis from Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is Assistant Professor of Hematology and Oncology and Associate Program Director for the Fellowship program. In this episode, we will be discussing her Art of Oncology article, "Tamales." Our guest's disclosures will be linked in the transcript. Both she and I have talked beforehand and agreed to refer to each other by first names. Megan, welcome to our podcast, and thank you for joining us. Megan Dupuis: Oh, thanks so much for having me, Mikkael. I'm excited to be here. Mikkael Sekeres: I absolutely loved your piece, "Tamales," as did our reviewers. It really did resonate with all of us and was beautifully and artfully written. I'm wondering if we could just start—tell us about yourself. Where are you from, and where did you do your training? Megan Dupuis: Sure. I'm originally from upstate New York. I grew up outside of Albany and then moved for college to Buffalo, New York. So I consider Buffalo home. Big Buffalo Bills fan. And I spent undergrad, medical school, and my PhD in tumor immunology at the University of Buffalo. My husband agreed to stick with me in Buffalo for all twelve years if we moved out of the cold weather after we were done. And so that played some factor in my choice of residency program. I was lucky enough to go to Duke for residency—internal medicine residency—and then went to MD Anderson for fellowship training. And then after Anderson, I moved up to Nashville, Tennessee, where I've been at Vanderbilt for almost four years now. Mikkael Sekeres: That's fantastic. Well, I have to say, your Bills have outperformed my Pittsburgh Steelers the past few years, but I think I think we have a chance this coming year. Megan Dupuis: Yeah. Yep. Yep. I saw they were thinking about signing Aaron Rodgers, so we'll see how that goes. Mikkael Sekeres: Yeah, not going to talk about that in this episode. So, I'm curious about your story as a writer. How long have you been writing narrative pieces? Megan Dupuis: I have always been a writer—noodled around with writing and poetry, even in college. But it was when I started doing my medicine training at Duke that I started to more intentionally start writing about my experiences, about patients, things that I saw, things that weighed either heavily on me or made a difference. So when I was at Duke, there was a narrative medicine writing workshop—it was a weekend workshop—that I felt like changed the trajectory of what my interest is in writing. And I wrote a piece at that time that was then sort of critiqued by colleagues and friends and kicked off my writing experience. And I've been writing ever since then. We formed a narrative medicine program at Duke out of this weekend workshop experience. And I carried that through to MD Anderson when I was a fellow. And then when I joined at Vanderbilt, I asked around and said, "Hey, is there a narrative medicine program at Vanderbilt?" And somebody pointed me in the direction of a colleague, Chase Webber, who's in internal medicine, and they said, "Hey, he's been thinking about putting together a medical humanities program but needs a co-conspirator, if you will." And so it was perfect timing, and he and I got together and started a Medical Humanities Certificate Program at Vanderbilt about four years ago. And so- Mikkael Sekeres: Oh, wow. Megan Dupuis: Yeah. So I've been doing this work professionally, but also personally. You know, one of the things that I have been doing for a long time is anytime there's an experience that I have that I think, “Gosh, I should write about this later,” I either dictate it into my phone, “write about this later,” or I write a little message to myself, “Make sure that you remember this experience and document it later.” And I keep a little notebook in my pocket specifically to do that. Mikkael Sekeres: Well, it's really a fabulous, updated use of technology compared to when William Carlos Williams used to scribble lines of poetry on his prescription pad and put it in his rolltop desk. Megan Dupuis: Although I will admit, you know, I don't think I'm much different. I still do prefer often the little leather notebook in the pocket to dictating. It'll often be when I'm in the car driving home from a clinic day or whatever, and I'll go, “Oh, I have to write about this, and I can't forget.” And I'll make myself a little digital reminder if I have to. But I still do keep the leather notebook as well for the more traditional type of writing experience. Mikkael Sekeres: I'm curious about what triggers you to dictate something or to scribble something down. Megan Dupuis: I think anything that gives me an emotional response, you know, anything that really says, “That was a little bit outside the normal clinical encounter for me.” Something that strikes me as moving, meaningful—and it doesn't have to be sad. I think a lot of novice writers about medical writing think you have to write only the tragic or the sad stories. But as often as not, it'll be something incredibly funny or poignant that a patient said in clinic that will make me go, “Ah, I have to make sure I remember that for later.” I think even surprise, you know? I think all of us can be surprised in a clinical encounter. Something a patient says or something a spouse will reflect on will make me sit back and say, “Hmm, that's not what I expected them to say. I should dive into why I'm surprised by that.” Mikkael Sekeres: It's a great notion as a starting point: an emotional connection, a moment of surprise. And that it doesn't have to be sad, right? It can be- sometimes our patients are incredibly inspirational and have great insights. It's one of the marvelous things about the career we've chosen is that we get to learn from people from such a variety of backgrounds. Megan Dupuis: That's it. It's a privilege every day to be invited into people's most personal experiences, and not just the medical experience. You know, I say to my patients, “I think this cancer diagnosis is in some ways the least interesting thing about you. It's not something you pick. It's not a hobby you cultivate. It's not your family life. It's a thing that's happened to you.” And so I really like to dive into: Who are these people? What makes them tick? What's important to them? My infusion nurses will say, "Oh, Dr. D, we love logging in and reading your social histories," because, yeah, I'll get the tobacco and alcohol history, or what have you. But I have a little dot phrase that I use for every new patient. It takes maybe the first five or six minutes of a visit, not long. But it's: Who are you? What's your preferred name? Who are your people? How far do you live from the clinic? What did you used to do for work if you're retired? If you're not retired, what do you do now? What are the names of your pets? What do you like to do in your spare time? What are you most proud of? So those are things that I ask at every new patient encounter. And I think it lays the foundation to understand who's this three-dimensional human being across from me, right? What were they like before this diagnosis changed the trajectory of where they were going? To me, that's the most important thing. Mikkael Sekeres: You've so wonderfully separated: The patient is not the diagnosis; it's a person. And the diagnosis is some component of that person. And it's the reason we're seeing each other, but it doesn't define that person. Megan Dupuis: That's right. We're crossing streams at a very tough point in their life. But there was so much that came before that. And in the piece that I wrote, you know, what is the language? What is the food? What is the family? What are all of those things, and how do they come together to make you the person that you are, for what's important to you in your life? And I think as oncologists, we're often trying to unravel in some way what is important. I could spend all day talking to you about PFS and OS for a specific drug combination, but is that really getting to meeting the goals of the patient and where they're at? I think it's easy to sort of say, “Well, this is the medicine that's going to get you the most overall survival.” But does it acknowledge the fact that you are a musician who can't have neuropathy in your fingers if you still want to play? Right? So those things become incredibly important when we're deciding not just treatment planning, but also what is the time toxicity? You know, do you have the time and ability to come back and forth to clinic for weekly chemotherapy or what have you? So those things, to me, become incredibly important when I'm talking to a person sitting across from me. Mikkael Sekeres: Do your patients ever get surprised that you're asking such broad questions about their life instead of narrowing down to the focus of their cancer? Megan Dupuis: Sometimes. I will say, sometimes patients are almost so anxious, of course, with this new diagnosis, they want to get into it. You know, they don't want to sit there and tell me the name of the horses on their farm, right? They want to know, “What's the plan, doc?” So I acknowledge that, and I say to them in the beginning, “Hey, if you give me five minutes of your time to tell me who you are as a person, I promise this will come back around later when we start talking about the options for treatments for you.” Most of the time, though, I think they're just happy to be asked who they are as a person. They're happy that I care. And I think all of us in oncology care—I think that's... you don't go into a field like this because you're not interested in the human experience, right? But they're happy that it's demonstrable that there is a... I'm literally saying, “What is the name of your dog? What is the name of your child who lives down the street? Who are your kids that live far away? You know, do you talk to them?” They want to share those things, and they want to be acknowledged. I think these diagnoses can be dehumanizing. And so to rehumanize somebody does not take as much time as we may think it does. Mikkael Sekeres: I 100% agree with you. And there can be a selfish aspect to it also. I think we're naturally curious people and want to know how other people have lived their lives and can live those lives vicariously through them. So I'm the sort of person who likes to do projects around the house. And I think, to the dismay of many a professional person, I consider myself an amateur electrician, plumber, and carpenter. Some of the projects are actually up to code, not all. But you get to learn how other people have lived their lives and how they made things. And that could be making something concrete, like an addition to their house, or it can be making a life. Megan Dupuis: Yeah, I love that you say that it is selfish, and we acknowledge that. You know, sometimes I think that we went into internal medicine and ultimately oncology... and I don't mean this in a trite way: I want the gossip about your life. I want the details. I want to dig into your hobbies, your relationships, what makes you angry, what makes you excited. I think they're the fun things to learn about folks. Again, in some ways, I think the cancer diagnosis is almost such a trite or banal part of who a human is. It's not to say that it's not going to shape their life in a very profound way, but it's not something they picked. It's something that happened to them. And so I'm much more excited to say, “Hey, what are your weekend hobbies? Are you an amateur electrician?” And that dovetails deeply into what kind of treatment might help you to do those things for longer. So I think it is a little bit selfish that it gives me a lot of satisfaction to get to know who people are. Mikkael Sekeres: So part of what we're talking about, indirectly, is the sense of otherness. And an undercurrent theme in your essay is otherness. You were an 'other' as a fellow in training and working in Texas when you grew up in upstate New York. And our patients are also 'others.' They're thrust into this often complicated bedlam of cancer care. Can you talk about how you felt as an 'other' and how that's affected your approach to your patients? Megan Dupuis: I think in the cancer experience, we are 'other,' definitionally, from the start, for exactly the reasons that you said. I'm coming to it as your physician; you're coming to it as my patient. This is a new encounter and a new experience for both of us. I think the added layer of being this person from upstate New York who didn't... I mean, I minored in Spanish in college, but that's not the same thing as growing up in a culture that speaks Spanish, that comes from a Spanish-speaking country—the food, the culture. It's all incredibly different. And so the way that I approached it there was to say, “I am genuinely curious. I want to know what it's like to be different than the culture that I was raised in.” And I'm excited to know about that thing.   And I think we can tell—I think, as humans—when somebody is genuinely curious about who you are and what's important to you, versus when they're kind of just checking the boxes to try to build a relationship that's necessary. I think my patients could tell that even though I'm not necessarily speaking their language, I want to know. I ask these questions because I want to know. I think if you go to it from a place of curiosity, if you are approaching another person with a genuine sense of curiosity... You know, Faith Fitzgerald wrote her most remarkable piece on curiosity many, many years ago. But even the quote-unquote “boring” patient, as she put it, can have an incredible story to tell if you're curious enough to ask. And so I think that no matter how different I might be culturally from the patient sitting across from me, if I approach it with a genuine sense of curiosity, and they can sense that, that. that's going to build the bond that we need truly to walk together on this cancer journey. I think it's curiosity, and I think it's also sharing of yourself. I think that nobody is going to open up to you if they feel that you are closed to sharing a bit of yourself. Patients want to know who their doctor is, too. So when I said I asked those five or six minutes' worth of questions at the beginning of a new patient encounter, I share that info with them. I tell them where I live, how long it takes for me to get to clinic, who my people are, the name of my dog, what I like to do in my spare time, what I'm proud of. So I share that with them too, so it doesn't feel like a one-way grilling. It feels like an introduction, a meeting, the start of a... I don't want to say friendship necessarily, but a start of a friendliness, of a shared communal experience. Mikkael Sekeres: Well, it's a start of a relationship. And you can define 'relationship' with a broad swath of definitions, right? Megan Dupuis: That's right. Mikkael Sekeres: It can be a relationship that is a friendship. It can be a relationship that's a professional relationship. And just like we know some personal things about some of our colleagues, the same is true of our patients. I was wondering if I could pick up on... I love that notion of curiosity that you brought out because that's something I've thought a lot about, and I've thought about whether it could be at least one way to combat burnout. So could you put that in context of burnout? Do you think maintaining that curiosity throughout a career is one potential solution to burnout? And do you think that being open with yourself also helps combat burnout, which is counterintuitive to what we've always been taught? Megan Dupuis: Wow. I think that this is such an important question, and it's almost like you read my justification for a Medical Humanities Certificate Program. One of the foundational arguments for why I thought the GME should support the creation of this program at Vanderbilt was because we hypothesized that it would improve burnout. And one of the arms of that is because it engenders a sense of genuine curiosity. When you're thinking about the arms of burnout: it's loss of meaning in your work; it's depersonalization of patients, right, when they're treated as objects or numbers or a ticket in the system that you have to shuffle through; when it's disconnection from the work that you do. I absolutely think that curiosity is an antidote to burnout. I don't think it's the whole solution, perhaps, because I think that burnout also includes systemic injury and structures of our medical healthcare system that no individual can fix in a vacuum. But I do think when we're thinking about what are the changes that we as individual physicians can make, I do think that being open and curious about your patient is one of the best salves that we have against some of these wounds. You know, I've never left a room where a patient has shared a personal story and felt worse about it, right? I've always felt better for the experience. And so I do think curiosity is an incredibly important piece of it. It's hard, I will acknowledge. It's hard for the speed that we move through the system, the pace that we move through the system. And I'm thinking often about my trainees—my residents, my fellows—who are seeing a lot, they're doing a lot, they are trying to learn and drink from the fire hose of the pace of medical development, checking so many boxes. And so to remain curious, I think at times can feel like a luxury. I think it's a luxury I have boomeranged back into as an attending. You know, certainly as a resident and a fellow, I felt like, “Gosh, why does this attending want to sit and chitchat about this person's music career? I'm just trying to make sure their pain is controlled. I'm trying to make sure they get admitted safely. I'm trying to make sure that they're getting the right treatment.” And I think it's something that I've tried to teach my trainees: “No, we have the time. I promise we have the time to ask this person what their childhood was like,” if that's something that is important to the narrative of their story. So it sometimes feels like a luxury. But I also think it's such a critical part of avoiding or mitigating the burnout that I know all of us face. Mikkael Sekeres: I think you touched on a lot of really important points. Burnout is so much more complicated than just one inciting factor and one solution. It's systemic. And I love also how you positioned curiosity as a bit of a luxury. We have to have the mental space to also be curious and engaged enough in our work that we can take interest in other people. I wanted to touch on one more question. You write in your essay that a patient in pajamas is a canary in the coal mine for deteriorating health. And I completely, completely agree with that. I can vividly recall a number of patients where I saw them in my clinic, and I would look down, and they had food spilled on their sweatshirt, or they were wearing mismatched socks, or their shoes weren't tied. And you thought to yourself, “Gee, this person is not thriving at home.” Do you think telemedicine has affected our ability to recognize that in our patients? Megan Dupuis: Yes, I do think so. I can remember vividly being a fellow when COVID first began in 2020, and I was training in an environment where most of my patients spoke Spanish or Vietnamese. And so we were doing not just telemedicine; we were doing telephone call clearance for chemotherapy because a lot of the patients didn't have either access to the technology or a phone that had video capability. A lot of them had flip phones. And trying to clear somebody for chemotherapy over the phone, I'll tell you, Mikkael, was the number one way to lead to a recipe of moral injury and burnout. As a person who felt this deep responsibility to do something safe... I think even now with telemedicine, there are a lot of things that you can hide from the waist down, right? If you can get it together enough to maybe just put a shirt on, I won't know that you're sitting there in pajama bottoms. I won't know that you're struggling to stand or that you're using an assistive device to move when you used to be able to come into clinic without one, or that your family member is helping you negotiate stepping over the curb in clinic. These are real litmus tests that you and I, all of us, use when we're deciding whether somebody is safe to receive a treatment. And I think telemedicine does mask some of that. Now, on the other hand, does telemedicine provide an access point for patients that otherwise it would be a challenge to drive into clinic for routine visits and care? It does, and I think it's been an incredible boon for patients who live far away from the clinic. But I think we have to use it judiciously. And there are patients where I will say, “If you are not well enough to get yourself to clinic, I worry that you are not well enough to safely receive treatment.” And when I'm thinking about the rules of chemo, it's three: It has to be effective, right? Cancer decides that. It has to be something the patient wants. They decide. But then the safety piece—that's my choice. That's my responsibility. And I can't always decide safety on a telemedicine call. Mikkael Sekeres: I completely agree. I've said to my patients before, “It's hard for me to assess you when I'm only seeing 40% of you.” So we will often negotiate them having to withstand the traffic in Miami to come in so I can feel safe in administering the chemotherapy that I think they need. Megan Dupuis: That's exactly right. Mikkael Sekeres: Megan Dupuis, it has been an absolute delight getting to chat with you. It has been just terrific getting to know you and talk about your fabulous essay, "Tamales." So thank you so much for joining me. Megan Dupuis: Thank you for having me. It was a wonderful time to chat with you as well. Mikkael Sekeres: Until next time, thank you for listening to JCO's Cancer Stories: The Art of Oncology. Don't forget to give us a rating or review, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. You can find all of ASCO's shows at asco.org/podcasts. Thank you again.   The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement.  Like, share and subscribe so you never miss an episode and leave a rating or review. Guest Bio: Dr Megan Dupuis is an Assistant Professor of Hematology and Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.  

URSULA'S TOP STORIES: Hits keep coming to Wall Street // Nationwide protests // Trump cuts to libraries in WA // Trump asks SCOTUS to keep innocent man in Salvadoran torture gulag // WE NEED TO TALK. . . Gee is learning line dancing

The last days before the Great Hunt.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.“Can the scorpion ever stop being a scorpion? “"Do we get our legally permitted weaponry back?" The bishop still held my hand."Sure. If it makes you feel better.""I would like to meet your people then," he gave my paw one last shake then released me. "Shall we go?""I will have someone take you to your car. I want to briefly meet with the President, of Havenstone, then I'll join you in the garage. We'll drive over to JIKIT and I'll make the introductions. Good enough?""That is acceptable," he nodded."What about you two?" I regarded the nun and the Swiss Super-soldier. The nun remained vigilant, and silent. The Swiss' eyes flickered to his boss before settling back on me."It is what I volunteered for," he stated firmly."Okay. Please never say I didn't give you a chance to take the sane way out. Also, Bishop Nicolö, circumstances have conspired to up my prospective wedding date to January 1st.""That will be more difficult. Why the change?" he remained grim."We are having twins. By March, this will be very visible.""That is, unfortunate," he shook his head."You have no idea," and then a brainstorm. "And I am curious about resurrecting the Order of the Dragon, the Societas Draconistarum." Technically that meant 'Society of the Dragonists' which was more appropriate than the literal Ordo Draconis."Precisely how do you plan to recreate a crusading Christian Order which was the purview of the Hungarian monarchs?" he didn't sound the least skeptical, just curious."I have billions of euros to fund such a thing," I winked. "Of far greater critical importance, I know where I can find the supernatural guidance and spiritual imperative for such an organization.""You are going to produce a dragon?" his eyes grew larger even as he fought down his fear. Good man. He was adaptive. He'd need to be."I never said such a thing. That would make me sound crazy," I smiled broadly. "Besides, when I say 'dragon', you think 'devil' and that's way too pedestrian for where we are going.""I am not a moral relativist.""Neither am I. I'm out to save lives and nurture the drive in the human spirit to reach for freedom, love and liberty. As you might imagine, I'm pretty freaking outnumbered.""I think you are crazy," he re-evaluated things."I just might be. In all honesty, you should back out now. Take your two compadres back to 25 East 39th Street (the Holy See's Permanent Observer Offices to the UN in NYC) and report 'Mission Failure'. You'll most likely live longer," I reasoned."I am not afraid to die," Sister Rafaela Sophia finally voiced an opinion."That's idiotic," I scoffed before the bishop could reprimand her for opening her mouth. "You should be.""My soul is in God's hands," she set her jaw."Does he talk to you?" I countered."His message is clear.""Not what I asked. I asked if he specifically directed you to toss your life fruitlessly away as an object lesson for the reckless, or careless?""This is uncalled for," Nicolö intervened."Nope. I bet you a phone call to my Brother to physically restore your bishopric that there are four people in this room who have murdered in cold blood," I kept eye contact with the nun, "and she's the odd one out. Right Juanita?""Yes, Ishara," Juanita slipped up. Her spycraft, like mine, needed work."You were in the military?" the bishop asked my bodyguard."Was? I am. Right now," she related. "I will be until I die."That earned me looks from the three Catholics."She is loyal," Nicolö nodded slightly toward her, referring to Juanita's declaration."Huh? To me? Nope. She's loyal to my office, which we shan't get into right now. Back to you, Sister Rafaela Sophia. Are you out to be a martyr, or has some saint, or angel, given you a directive the other two seem to be unaware of which causes you to devalue your life?""I am devoted to the One True God, Christ, our Savior," and Juanita snorted, "and the Virgin Mary," the nun stated firmly. "I don't hear voices in my head.""Juanita, that was rude. Apologize to our guest," I kept looking forward."No." Well, fuck you too."Gun," I commanded. I held out my left hand."What? No. I will not give you one of my guns," she resisted."Juanita, give me your primary weapon, or I will ask Pamela to beat you up the moment I depart for the Great Hunt. After yesterday's stunt, you know she will," I threatened. Fair, I was not. She drew a Glock-20 and handed it to me. I went through the routine, dropped the magazine then ejected the round before opening the door.Oh look, there were four SD chicks outside, ready to escort my visitors downstairs. I didn't even need to waste a phone call. It wasn't like the conference room wasn't being monitored."Excuse me," I took a half step out the door then hurled all three items down the hall. Looking back at Juanita. "Go fetch.""Fuck you," she snapped."And insulting her faith was as degrading to both her faith and her as me doing this to you is degrading to you right now," I lectured her. "It is important to her, therefore it is important to me because she is my guest in the same way it is important to me that I let my bodyguard do her job without being a total asshole all the time. Now go get your God-damn weapon," I barked. Off she went. I left the door open."Now Sister Rafaela Sophia, the point of all this is: I don't give a crap if you are willing to die for God. In fact, that makes you less than worthless to me and the team. I want to know if you are willing to put other motherfuckers in the ground so that Bishop Nicolá, or Mathias, might get to keep doing their jobs.""Murder is a sin," she declared."Go home," I sighed while shaking my head."She answers to me, the Church and God, not you, Mr. Nyilas," the bishop stepped forward."Then you can go home too," I shrugged. "I'm not asking for remorseless killers. I'm asking for people willing to kill to get the hard work done and best of all, for people who know the difference.""Everyone on JIKIT is a professional soldier, or killer?" he asked."No, but the ones who aren't don't carry guns and know to get down when things get funky," I bantered."I vouch for her," he insisted. Juanita came running back into the room."Cool beans. I don't know you either.""You apparently know my service history," he volleyed."Yeah. Ten years a foreigner in the service of France, then you went straight into a university which turns out Jesuits," I riposted."What turned your life around?" he evaded. That was okay. I'd gotten what I wanted. I was willing to bet he had read every bit of public information about me and it was rumored the heavy Catholic membership in the FBI had its benefits to the Church as well. Not so much as to give them insight into JIKIT, but,"Someone risked their life for me. It's been pretty much downhill from there," I confessed. It was the truth. After Katrina gave me the life line on Day Two, it had all spiraled to the revelation of my heritage, Dad's death, Summer Camp, the Hamptons, Romania and Aya's kidnapping."A person, a soldier, died saving my life," the bishop empathized. "Her story is similar. She seeks redemption. She is not suicidal. I am staking both our lives on it."Did he mean him and Mathias, or him and me? I wasn't certain. Still, it was good enough for now. I'd gotten a look at their emotional make up, even the relatively quiet Swiss."Very well," I agreed. "I have to go see the President about my new job description. I'll catch up with you at your car." To the SD team leader, "Take them to the garage. I will join the group of you very soon.""Yes Ishara," she nodded. I exited the room, Juanita in tow. Two SD entered. I was gone before the Papal team left. Upstairs we went, with one last chore to discharge. I had to check on Ms. French to be absolutely freaking sure it was Shawnee, because anyone else would spell disaster.{8:30 am, Monday, September 8th. Last day}A Room full of asistants:Well, there it was, the office of the Executive Director to the President, and not 'Executive Assistant', because this was Katrina's final 'fuck you, no, just her final 'fuck you' before the Great Hunt got underway. I shouldn't assume things, dang it!Anyway, according to the gray-haired matron running gatekeeper to the Office of the President, this was where I was supposed to show up. I shot Juanita a worried look. She glanced my way and shrugged, momentarily willing to not give me shit about the past 24 hours because where I was situated would determine how easily she could do her job.In we went. In the suite were three desks, the 'big' desk situated at the far end of the office space and two far more modest ones on either side of the entryway. The room expanded beyond the chokepoint formed by the two closest desks into a cluttered area. The walls were cluttered with inset bookshelves and portraits of women. Facing one another were a loveseat on my left with bookend plush chairs in an 'L' facing and a full sofa on the right. There were end tables at the ends of the sofa and the corners between the loveseat and each chair.As the door opened, I hadn't knock as this was my office, or so it seemed, the occupants, who had all been sitting in quiet conversation in the central section, began reacting. Oh look ~ Constanza! I nearly had a heart attack before I realized there were three other Amazons also in the room. Sadly, none were behind the 'big desk', so I couldn't tell who was in charge. Two of the other three choices weren't too much better. First off,"Ishara," Marilynn Saint John stood to greet me. I'd last seen her when I'd dedicated her grandmother's (Hayden's) spirit to the halls of my ancestors, not hers, after forcing the political crisis leading to Hayden's suicide ~ her taking herself to the cliffs and in doing so, destroying the Amazon Cult of Blood Purity. Marilynne was clearly still bitter with me. Umm, I could still incite passion in women I hadn't slept with, yet, woot?"Cáel," the senior-most and only friendly face in the room spoke next. Thank goodness it was Beyoncé Vincennes, Head of House Hanwasuit and House Ishara ally."Cáel Ishara," the third individual was deferential which I wasn't sure how to take as the last time I'd encountered her, yeah, things hadn't gone well either."Beyoncé," I started off with a smile. From there, I had to figure out, ah, Beyoncé's eyes flickered to Constanza then Sabia. I knew Marilynn, with her young age, had the least seniority, "Constanza, Sabia, Marilynn. How's tricks?"Glum faces by everyone except Beyoncé. I didn't ask about Sabia's particular well-being. It had been months since I'd beaten her into the mats of the Full-blooded gym. She'd attacked Yasmin, the Brazilian Hottie and my Brazilian Jujutsu sparring buddy, and I'd retaliated by ambushed her when she turned her back on us. Besides, she'd been giving me shit before I even could see straight.Constanza was minus her left eye because of her dire insult to me. If she wasn't capable of working, she wouldn't be here. If she appreciated my 'mercy' in sparing her life ~ her insult was worthy of her death ~ Constanza hid it well. I hadn't spared her expecting a change of heart. I hadn't felt words alone warranted anyone's death. I was a big boy and could take a few insults. House Ishara, as represented by me, could care less. These days, my sisters would be less understanding despite them knowing my heart."Constanza Landau of House Jaya and Marilynn Saint John of House Anahit are Assistants to President Shawnee French," Beyoncé eased things along, "so will be working closely with us, at least for the short term. Sabia Noel of House Guabancex, who I now think you know as well, has joined you as the other 'Assistant' to the 'Executive Director to the President', (that would make me an 'adept', but adept at what?), and since two of the three Regents are unfamiliar with the workings of Havenstone proper, Shawnee has asked me to perform in that role."Beyoncé was, or had been, Havenstone HQ's CFO (Chief Financial Officer). From what I was quickly piecing together, she would essentially be making all the day-to-day decisions concerning the running of Havenstone (how the Host made the majority of its money) until the Regents got up to speed.Only Buffy had actual experience with the New York office and, from what she had told me, solely within Executive Services. While ES knew 'who' did what inside Havenstone, they weren't aware precisely how those Amazons got their jobs done. That would have been an impossible task. Katrina could do it, but she knew it was beyond the ability of most of us 'mere mortals'. Since we were currently at war, the Host needed Katrina completely focused on her duties as Chief Spy-mistress, not baby-sitting the adults.Shawnee indeed had much gravitas among the other House Heads. Not only had she risen up to lead a First House, she had performed heroically during the final days of the last Secret War. Afterwards she had moved into the realm of Amazon jurisprudence and mediation. Until yesterday, she had lived in a House Arinniti freehold in Minnesota's Great Lakes region thus her desire for the 'Training Wheels' period.The Regency would not rule through telecommunication (the upper echelons feared being eavesdropped upon beyond the standard Amazon (read: paranoid) levels) and Havenstone: New York was the center best situated for the current war-fighting operations, so here she lived. I was sure a team from Executive Services was buying, outfitting/spy-proofing and fortifying a dwelling suitable for the President of a Fortune 500 company. Hayden's home would remain the domicile of Sydney thus Marilynn.The same rigmarole would be done for Rhada and Buffy (though I imaged Buffy would bitch endlessly). Publically, they were VP's of a company worth hundreds of billions of dollars and they had to present the public trappings of such leaders.Why did the Amazons do this ~ unmask their leadership to public exposure? Legal-simple: they could request and expect all levels of public and private security for their executives who happened to also be important officials of the Host. Certainly not all executives at Havenstone were officeholders, House Heads, or House Apprentices, but the high level of competence which permitted one often led to the other.Beyonce:As an example: Beyoncé wasn't the most 'bad-ass' lethal chick in House Hanwasuit. As she was preparing to be casted, her intelligence, creativity and diligence at her future craft, finances, was noted by the Host and the members of her House. In due time her name was circulated as Apprentice and the elders approved. When her elder cousin, the prior House Head, took herself to the cliffs, Beyoncé assumed the top spot. Beyoncé wasn't even one of that woman's three daughters.Mirroring her advancement in her House was her advancement in Havenstone's Accounting, Acquisitions and Banking Divisions until she was appointed CFO Havenstone HQ ~ the supreme financial authority inside Havenstone, though the individual regional branches had a greater degree of autonomy than you might normally expect from a 21st century conglomerate, or a Bronze Age autocracy.I had to constantly remind myself, despite the near-constant feuding, Amazons exhibited a phenomenally higher level of trust than I'd ever found in any other society I'd ever witnessed, or read about, before. Though technically Beyoncé could have gone to President Hayden to enforce her decisions ~ or now the Regency ~ she was far more diplomatic in her approach in dealing with the other 'continental' CEO's and CFO's.That meant she had to wrangle the aspirations and resources from:North America (including Latin America, the 'Canadian Arctic' and the North Pacific Ocean),South America (includes both the South Atlantic and South Pacific as far as Samoa),Europe (mostly Central Europe these days plus Antarctica, the 'Russian' Arctic and the North Atlantic),Africa (mostly West-central Africa),India (the subcontinent plus the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean) and,Southeast Asia (which includes Australia)All of which suggested Havenstone hadn't redrawn the Amazons' geographic demarcations since the late 19th century. As an example, an East African venture, say in Tanzania, was as likely to be under the purview of Havenstone: India (due to its control over the Indian Ocean) as Havenstone: Africa (which traditionally had no East Coast holdings due to their constant struggles versus the Arabic slave trade).Returning to Beyoncé: initially she had held the proper 'conservative' (aka man-hating) mindset. My behavior during that first Board Meeting began to change her opinion of me and the New Directive. After the Archery Range incident, Beyoncé became a vocal proponent of the New Directive and faced challenges within her ranks. House Heads do not have to accept challenges and Beyoncé didn't, reasoning with her detractors they had no alternatives save the 'Old Ways' which spelled doom for the Amazon Race.Bing-bang-boom ~ I became the Head of a resurrected House Ishara by the Will of the Ancestors and Beyoncé was vindicated. Not necessarily in the New Directive, but in her support of me thus the rebirth of a sister First House. The purge following High Priestess' Hayden's death was her ultimate absolution. The Ancestors and Destiny had spoken and shown Beyoncé had been piloting House Hanwasuit along the proper course all along.Back to my current circumstances:Oh, why was I Assistant to the Executive Director to the President? It gave me direct access to the finances of Havenstone which was a critical leg of the war-fighting stool ~ people, morale, money and equipment. As Chief Diplomat, I helped with all four of those in varying degrees, allied troops, allied victories, allied bank accounts and allied armaments.The Great Khan, my spiritual 'Blood-Brother', was ramping up his logistic support for my Amazons in Africa, Asia and the Americas. We were 'Allies in the Struggle' and he wasn't going to wait for the Condottieri to begin coordinating with the Seven Pillars to declare them to be his enemies. They were already fighting the Amazons and 9 Clans, his allies, so their fates were sealed.In Japan, my Amazons provided small yet highly effective strike groups which the Ninja families furnished all the support services for. Everything from food to bullets to medical attention as needed. Without reservation, we shared their death-grapple with the Seven Pillars.From the dispatches I was getting back from my family members and envoys in Japan, we were making serious diplomatic inroads with the Ninja. Once again, it was the Amazons shocking capacity for violence as well as their fanaticism, professionalism and proficiency which all impressed our hosts and terrified our enemies, and this from people of a philosophical mindset which had them historically battling samurai.The Black Lotus were running around like rhesus monkeys on crack cocaine unleashed in a China Shop and given RPG's. While the Amazons couldn't help them in China, Indochina & Thailand ~ the Khanate could and was. The Amazons were of more help in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, where the Black Lotus and Amazons were going everywhere on the offensive against the Seven Pillars while the normal tight cohesion and iron-clad confidence, traits which made the 7P's so dangerous ~ were shaken by their horrendous losses in the 'Homeland' aka Mainland China.Less we forget, the 'military intelligence' wing of their organization had been decimated by the Khanate's Anthrax attack due to members of the Earth & Sky sacrificing themselves by being injected with the toxin then allowing themselves to be captured, which always ended in torture and death.Furthermore, the People's Republic of China, while having a scary 18% of the population either captured, imprisoned, dead, or displaced due to the Khanate invasion, that had come with the loss of 63% of their landmass (they had lost all of Nei Mongol, Ningxia & Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regions, Qinghai and Gansu as well as 90% of Yunnan, 80% of Sichuan and 20% of Shaanxi provinces) to the Khanate and the 'abomination' that was a free Tibet.Then came the Russian 'stab in the back' which entailed the loss of another 10% of their people falling under foreign dominion as well as losing 8% of their most industrialized territory, Manchuria (Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces ~ the Nei Mongol portion of 'Manchuria' was in the Khanate's greedy clutches, from the viewpoint of a Seven P's warrior).Don't get me wrong, they weren't about to throw in the towel. If anything, they were becoming more dedicated to trying harder, digging deep into their knowledge of every atrocity, inhumanity and perversion now deemed necessary to re-chart history back onto its 'correct' path. It was this willingness to act in an even greater sociopathic manner which was being used against them. After all, the 7P's had plenty of proxy allies, who were starting to get really nervous about what their paymasters were now asking them to do,We Amazons were getting some extra special help too. The Booth-gan (Do not call them Thuggee ~ the confederate 9 Clan member based out of India though long since ensconced within various Hindi enclaves across the Globe) had created an all-female group of ultra-fanatical Kali-devotees ~ a gift for the upcoming battle fomented by the Will of the Goddess herself.While Aya was our Queen and the Regency would rule until she wished to assume command of the Amazon People, the nuts-and-bolts of the Host's activities were handled by Saint Marie as Golden Mare (our Minister of War) (technically she held the top spot due to our State of War, though no Golden Mare had ever exercised such authority over a Queen (and she definitely believed Aya was our Queen)), Katrina (as Minister of Intelligence and Security), Beyoncé (as Havenstone (the multinational corporation) ~ our Treasurer/Economic Tsarina) and me (our Foreign Minister).Saint Marie had decided to forgo a public face in order to better facilitate her moving around to various battle fronts and holding clandestine meetings with her junior regional commanders. Her Havenstone corporate title was 'Chief of Security Training and Certification'. As an extra level of deception, the head of Security Services wasn't even a Director-level position, instead being folded into the duties of the Office of the President.To my current circumstances ~ I had been given Constanza's house name which could only mean she wasn't currently assigned to the Security Detail; a fact that couldn't have made her bad attitude any better. Marilynn had completely lost her way as an Amazon when I first met her, burying her pain and confusion in endless partying and intoxicants. I believed only her grandmother's status as High Priestess kept her from the severest of reprimands, or death. I didn't even know what Marilynn's caste was. Sabia,"While I'm sure you are both far more qualified than I, precisely how did you two get these jobs?" I had to ask my two non-coworkers. Constanza glowered. Marilynn flinched."I have an in depth knowledge of Havenstone security procedures and resources," Constanza replied."Shawnee requested me," was Marilynn's comeback. "I also have intimate knowledge of the City of New York and its environs.""Actually, Buffy Ishara recommended you both to Shawnee," Beyoncé corrected their misconceptions. I knew the score. I'd be working intimately with the tight community around the President (Shawnee) and Vice Presidents (Buffy & Rhada). Buffy wanted me to be surrounded by women who hated my guts, so I wouldn't end up boinking them. It rarely worked that way. All too often ladies who hated my still-beating heart ended up punishing me with sex. I wasn't sure why that happened, but it did."Beyoncé, didn't the Chief Diplomat of the Host have her own office? I'm pretty sure Troika had one before her unfortunate collision with Saint Marie," I felt entitled to inquire."Do you feel you've earned that office space?" she riposted."Oh, fuck no!" I waved my hands one over the other to accentuate my denial. "I was just wondering where I could stick Juanita while I'm hanging around, here.""She has the desk right outside the door, Cáel," Beyoncé smiled knowingly. "So there is no way you can sneak past her.""Oh," I grunted. "Buffy again?""No. Pamela Pile put in that particular request.""Oh, Sweet Mother of God, now she is conspiring against me too?""Yes. Some of us realize the greatest hazard to your health is yourself, Ishara," Beyoncé chided me. "We'd like to keep you around, so we listen to those charged with that nigh impossible task.""Is she going to be hanging around the office often?" Constanza asked, either myself, Juanita, or Beyoncé; I wasn't sure. She = Pamela."Please, Constanza," I attempted to intervene, "don't make Pamela kill you. It will upset Mona." Constanza's scowl was accentuated by the eyepatch covering her ruined left socket, the one Pamela had carved out when Constanza had insulted me and House Ishara on our first day of rebirth. I didn't tell Juanita this, because Juanita might just shoot Constanza over the insult before Pamela got a chance to finish the job.The tension was palatable."Mona and I have talked, about Romania, and other things," Constanza grudgingly allowed. It took me a second to realize there was a hidden meaning to what she said. Mona was part of my personal Security Detail bodyguard unit. If she felt Constanza, the woman who had raised her after her birth-mother had died, was a threat to me, she'd feel duty-bound to snuff Constanza first. Amazons were hard-ass bitches alright and I think Mona had made that clear."I hope things can improve between us," I offered to Constanza. "Beyoncé, I just stopped in to say 'hey'. I'm off to JIKIT and I've got three of the Pope's people waiting on me in the garage so,""Vice President Varma requested a moment of your time," Beyoncé smirked. "She is in 2604.""Who?""Vice President Rhada Varma, a moment of your time, alone?" she clarified."Sure thing," I backed out of the office. Once I had some space, I turned to Juanita. "Give me three minutes then bust in and say, I don't know, a tsunami is about to overwhelm the city, or something. Otherwise, I won't get out for at least an hour and I think I've put the Bishop and his people through enough delays as it is.""Are you actually asking me to stop you from having an in-office liaison?" she studied me intently as we walked in the direction of Rhada's office."Yes. It's not likely to happen often, believe me.""Oh, I do, in that you won't ask me to do it often," she grumbled. I'd deal with Juanita's morale problem later. Right now, I had to gird my loins so they wouldn't do anything else with Rhada. I had work to do, damn it!Rhada was sitting at her desk, working on something, stylus raised up so she could chew on the end. Her hair was pulled back in a half-ponytail, the type that captured the rear half of the hair in a ponytail while leaving the front and bangs free to flow down. Rhada's blouse was white & billowy and, as I was soon to discover, her pants were ultra-tight and contour hugging."Mr. Nyilas," she greeted me. "I would like a moment of your time," she relayed what I already knew. She was more than a tad nervous to boot."Vice President Varma," I started off."When in private you may call me Rhada," she interrupted."Rhada, you look more ravishing than ever."That got up her and coming around her desk, which revealed her ultra-tight pants with no sign of her wearing underwear. Yikes! My cock was preparing to do what a cock was meant to do and I just didn't have the time, Really!"Do you have any time?" she let her bosom heave."Not today, ugh," I groaned. See, Rhada took the stylus and dragged it down her chin, throat and in between her bountiful mounds.All of which exposed the top of her black bra."Are you sure, Master?" she enticed me by turning around and then leaning over her desk, point that ass in my direction. My mouth began salivating and my groin ached. I found myself quick-stepping to her and giving those buttocks two firm slaps, one on each cheek."No, damn it, though I'm going to make you pay for this when I get back," I rumbled."Master will make me wait?" she taunted me."That will cost you even more," I growled. "I have business which simply won't wait and here is my captive teasing me with the treasures of her flesh. Bad, war captive," I spanked her yet again, hard. "Bad!" and I spanked her a fourth time. With each beating, Rhada gasped in pain and then exhaled in pleasure."If I've been bad, Master must be extra harsh with me when he returns in triumph from the Great Hunt," she gloated. Rhada had gotten what she wanted, which was another affirmation of my lust for her and our 'game'. I could provide her the release she so desperately craved while allowing her the safety of remaining in the Amazon fold. It was a perfect pairing, for her.I had other problems, such as all the other baby mamas in my life plus the extra-marital affairs I was contemplating. I still took the moments we had to snuggle with Rhada, her grinding that tush into my rod while I held both her arms tightly to her side while raining kisses down onto her neck and head."Sir! A giant tsunami is approaching the city!" Juanita exploded through the door."What?" I coughed. I had a face full of hair."Huh?" Rhada pushed up and away from me. I let her go."Right now," Juanita insisted. She really needed to stop taking me so seriously when I gave her such advice."Really?" from Rhada. She shot me a curious look so I shrugged. What else was I supposed to do with such a flimsy lie forcing our separation? At least I got out of there on time?{9:50 am, Monday, September 8th ~ Last day}(JKIT HQ)"Is this a common occurrence?" Sister Rafaela Sophia whispered to the closest woman, who happened to be Wiesława, the Polish Amazon. Since she hadn't arrived with us from Havenstone, the nun might have assumed she was with the 'Americans', or British."What?" Wiesława responded evenly."Weapons combat, they look real," the nun clarified."They are real. We always practice with real weapons.""Really?""Of course," Wiesława smiled at her. "We believe a few cuts and scrapes now will save lives when the true tests come.""Oh, you are with, Havenstone?" Rafaela clued in."Yes. I am Wiesława of House Živa. I am currently assigned to Unit L, Cáel's unit within JIKIT," she offered her hand to shake. Despite being a full-blooded Amazon from a freehold, her 'human' skills were progressing nicely. The nun shook it."I am Sister Rafaela Sophia of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that is a Roman Catholic Religious Order." Pause. "Do you hate Catholics too?""Yes. We have lived beside your people for many centuries and found your clergy to be much more dangerous than your pagan predecessors. Still, Cáel thinks you can be relied on and he's proven we can trust outsider women, which I was raised to believe was unlikely, and outsider men, which was basically anathema, so I'm willing to set aside my prejudices and judge you as an individual," the Pole imparted."Outsider men?" Rafaela mumbled."Well, yes," Wiesława smirked. "You are a nun, right?""Yes.""So you set aside the World of Men to live mostly among women, right?""Not entirely," the nun chose her words carefully. "We still rely on priests for religious rights and of course obey the life teachings of Christ and follow the leadership of his Holiness, the Pope, a man.""No one is perfect," the Amazon bantered back."Do you know the teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ?" Rafaela ventured into dangerous waters."Yes. He was the semi-historical Son of your supposed One True God. We are not monotheists. We are Polytheists. Živa is my House's matron Goddess. It is also the name of the first woman to lead the House, her birth name surrendered to Destiny so all the daughters who came afterwards would be equals.""Oh, is Mr. Nyilas also pagan?" she inquired."I am unsure. From what I have been told, he has commended the spirit of his fallen father to your Jesus in a sacred ceremony then, in the presence of your Trinity and the Goddess Ishara, brought in new members to his House. I suspect he may be both," Wiesława reasoned. "Why don't you ask him?""Because he's fighting for his life?" Rafaela looked my way.See, the entire time their discussion had been going on, I had been sparring in a spare room at JIKIT HQ with Estere Abed, the Hashashin assassin (rather redundant ~ like saying the Sahara Desert). I had two tomahawks while she had a scimitar and curved dagger. While we sparred using the furniture as obstacles, Agent-86 was briefing me on various World events to get my input.Addison Stuart (CIA) and Lady Fathom Worthington-Burke (MI-6) were having a chat with Bishop Nicolé de Santis, verifying for themselves he was worth adding to the team. Juanita was having a similar discussion with Rikki Martin (US State Department) concerning my earlier encounter with the Papal team. Nicolé's buddy, Wachtmeister Mathias Bosshart of the Swiss Guard, was getting acquainted with the other security personnel.In comparison, those two had it easy. Both men were in their elements. Nicolé was a spook who pretended to be a diplomat for the Pope and was well acquainted with terms like 'deniable assets', 'plausible deniability' and your direct superior referring to requests concerning your identity/diplomatic status by saying 'I never heard of him and if I had, I have no idea what he was doing when you caught him doing what I don't know what he was doing', or something like that.Mathias was in the company of military-security specialists, brother professionals who were introducing him to his 'sister' professionals. Our Homeland Security gang were almost entirely former military by now. They got along with our JSOC folks and both had gained a limited acceptance with the Amazon security contingent.They bonded over the fact they were forced to work with really shady characters ~ the 9 Clans menagerie ~ who didn't always appreciate JIKIT operational security. Without going into particulars, the Wachtmeister was given the impression the abnormal was the norm and if you didn't think there was a 'down-side' to being able to carry your personally favorite bang-bang (the SG 552-2P Commando in his case) with some serious attachments (read: grenade launcher) around in downtown Manhattan, you probably didn't belong on this team.Back in the room,"He's not fighting for his life," Estere laughed. "He is fighting for mine.""Right," I responded sarcastically. We went through a flurry of exchanges, ending up with me kicking a chair at her. Estere stepped over it, colliding with me.I blocked her dagger, disarmed her scimitar and,"You are dead," she panted down at me, smiling. I was on my back, her straddling me. She had a belt-knife to my throat. I hadn't see her draw it. The scimitar 'disarm' had been a distraction."Woot!" I exhaled."But you're dead," Sister Rafaela misunderstood my good humor."He survived a minute and thirty-four seconds more today than his previous record," Estere responded. She slithered off of me, doing my arousal no good whatsoever, then offered me a hand up."And that's better?""He's a rank amateur with a few months on the job. I've been training to kill people for nearly two decades," Estere smiled. "Care to have a go?""With him, or you?""Either," Estere offered."I don't have a knife, or any hand weapons," she stated."We'll need to remedy that," Wiesława stated. "You should at least carry a knife.""Really? Why?""It is a nearly universal tool," I verbally stepped up. "Even if you are disarmed, you should be able to find one relatively easily, people are less likely to miss a stolen knife than a purloined gun, and a concealed blade could come in handy.""Do you train in knife-work?" Rafaela eye-balled me."Absolutely. It is part of my culture," I grinned."Okay. Can we spar, hand-to-hand?""Sure," I nodded. I put my tomahawks in their harnesses then put my harnesses aside. Estere gave me a wink before giving us the fighting space."So," Rafaela began to circle, "are you Christian?""By your definition, or mine?""By the definition of the Catholic Church."Oh cool, she went for a Savate stance. This was going to get ugly.My "no," was followed by her kick and my block, lunge and grapple. She wasn't nearly as good as Felix. I had her down and in a choke hold within fifteen seconds.Perhaps she thought I'd take it easy on her. She tapped out. I released her, retreated and flowed back to my boxing stance. It took her a moment to realize this was 'practice', not 'an interview'. She hadn't failed in anyone's eyes. We were both doing this to get better."See, I really, truly believe I have talked to supernatural entities ~ some who are considered divinities," I continued. This time she was more careful, trading jabs and blocks with me. "They don't claim to be the One True God. I believe in such a thing, but I also believe having been given the Message, Humanity has been left to muddle things out for ourselves."Whoops, she popped me one."The Woman-Thing this morning?""Yep," I evaded another flurry. She got cocky and I landed three blows, dropping her to the ground. I didn't help her up. Instead, I withdrew and let her get back up on her own before deciding if she wanted to continue. She did."I believe I've seen dragons and ghosts. I have felt legions of my ancestors give me quiet encouragement when I needed it. I know the dead have been brought back to life," I came at her. This time we both went for body blows, knees, elbows and fists. She was not SD-caliber and she needed to be. I grappled and she was forced to tap out again. After she regained her feet, she held up a hand for a pause."Do you believe any of that?" she addressed Estere."I am an adherent of Ismaili Islam yet nothing Cáel has encountered is contrary to my belief system. The Universe is a complex place and the Divine Light is often seen through a fractured lenses," she counseled the nun."Among the escapees were lawyer Francisco Luemba, Catholic Priest Raul Tati, economist Belchior Lanso Tati and former policeman Benjamin Fuca who are serving jail sentences of between three and six years each for supposed links to the rebel group FLEC (Frente para a Libertaé'o do Enclave de Cabinda), which carried out the attack on the Togolese football team at the start of the Africa Cup of Nations in January, 2010," Agent-86 read off yet another bit of global minutia."We need to get to them," I half turned. Sister Rafaela punched me in the gut and I folded up."Oh!" she gasped. "I'm sorry.""Okay," I mumbled. I had to keep with the plan. "Those men. We need to contact our Coils people in Kinshasa and the Warden of the Mountain Ways ('she' was the Amazon Host's leader of Africa ~ in the ancient times, the mountain ways had been the routes of southern vulnerability for the Amazon tribe thus the name).""Okay," both Agent-86 and Estere answered."Why?" 86 added."The Coils and the Host have had a serious problem with no nation in Africa giving them even back room recognition so we are going to take over our own country, Cabinda. It's been struggling to be free of Angola since 1975 and, by latest estimates, we've got strike elements of over 2,000 Amazons ready and waiting next door in Cameroon, Gabon and the Republic of Congo.""So you are going to go to war with Angola?" Estere frowned. "Don't we have enough enemies?""Au contraire," I grinned wickedly. "The resistance movement is genuine," I ticked off my points, "they have tons of offshore oil, and after we set off some spectacular explosions in the two main Angolan ports which are just down the coast, we allow global panic to bully the UN into intervening before the Angolan military launch an effective counter-offensive ~ considering the Angolan Armed Forces (I'd been reading up on a ton of CIA & MI-6 briefings) will most likely involve attrition warfare since they can't beat us in a stand-up fight.""They, the Angolans, have no overland access, they are separated by 60 kilometers of territory belonging to the Democratic Republic of Congo over some sad ass roads Plus the Congo River itself which is freaking huge by the time it gets that close to the Atlantic, Cabinda rests on the Atlantic Ocean by the way. No bridges. The Angolan Navy is anemic. Let me think."I began pacing."Hmm, they have no paratroopers though they have some Special Forces, we will need to hit as many of them in the barracks as we can. Their last invasion was from the north, overland, from the Republic of the Congo, in 1975, not likely to happen this time, though I may have my 'Brother' weasel up a battalion of Indian paratroopers to act as convincing peacekeepers after the initial take over.""Perhaps we can recruit some Vietnamese. I'm sure they'll love fighting in someone else's jungle for a change. We'll need some of 'our' guys to seize the port of Soyo, it is on the wrong side of the river, but has the major refinery the Cabindans will need. Since the entire surrounding province are the same ethnic make-up as the Cabindans, we'll have to take that too.""Man-o-man, I bet by the time this is over they'll really wish they'd given little Cabinda independence back in 1975. As for their other refinery, it is in their capital, Luanda, a few big explosions there too will get the markets jittery. Check that ~ the complete and utter destruction of their major petroleum facility will create a stampede for Peace," I continued. I walked over as our resident computer intelligence genius worked his magic."Blowing things up, you mean killing people," the nun blanched."Yes. This is what I do," I spared her a sympathetic glance. "I've got a madman roaming around in my head who provides me truly epic military advice which normally, but not always, means blowing shit up and killing folks. Welcome to the team," then as the data appeared, "Holy Shit! Did they build their oil refinery in the midst of their ghetto?" I was staggered. The refinery in Soyo was isolated from the town so it could be easily (and safely) seized. It was the one in Luanda which was the 'Holy Shit' site."It looks that way," Agent-86 agreed nonplussed. "Hmm, yeah, here is the port facility then your neighborhood of shoddily constructed one- and two-story dwellings between the refinery and the inland storage tanks, the perimeter barrier appears to be a chain link fence. I'd hate to be their Chief of Security.""Oh yeah," I choked. Estere slipped around to get a look."Whoops," she snorted."What are these people thinking?" I continued. "The whole shebang is exposed to the northern quarter of the city. The storage tanks have residential dwellings on all four sides with numerous side streets. Two teams with RPGs and four rounds apiece, Holy Crap. Sorry Sister.""But I want to save lives," she sputtered."Limiting the collateral damage could be pretty tough," Estere frowned. She toggled throw a series of maps to multiple pictures."Oh, look (dripping sarcasm); they light up the refinery at night. You can sit off the coast in a speed boat under cover of darkness and attack from there," she noted."Damn. Those are a lot of lights," Agent-86 agreed."24-7 operation," I suspected."We will need some experts," the government agent nodded."Or we are going to kill a fuck-load of innocent people. Not just the workers, but can you imagine a fire spreading to those neighborhoods? Shit," I muttered."You can't seriously be contemplating doing something like this," the nun sputtered. "It is inhumane. Think of the families, the children.""Lady, yes I am. Do you have any idea what the Human Rights record of the Angolan Army in Cabinda is? It is truly horrific and in case you missed it, one of the guys in dire need of rescuing by me, due to him being a huge rebel leader who has managed to escape, is also a Catholic priest. He's going to be part of the new government we are going to install once we kill a few hundred Angolans ~ mostly soldiers (more like well over a thousand).""We are going to kill a few hundred so a few hundred thousand can live free, democratic lives without worrying about the local police and political establishment torturing and murdering them. It is all part of the plan.""I think I need to talk with the Bishop.""Hang on. Let me finish," I forestalled her. "He'll get briefed along with everyone else. After all, it is a majority Roman Catholic country as is Angola, so I'm sure your guy can be of immense help.""The people you are putting at risk don't deserve this," she protested."They never do," I nodded in agreement with her. "It rarely stops terrible crap from happening to them though."I felt sorry for the Sister. She thought the Bishop was going to put a stop to this. Poor girl; he was going to do the exact opposite. See, the two competing forces at play here were a communistic kleptocracy (currently ruling Angola) and Catholic liberation theology united with a Cabindan national identity dating back to 1885. At stake was 900,000 barrels a day of petroleum. That was a bunch of funding for somebody. Last I checked, the state run energy conglomerate had misplaced $32 billion, in just three years.Mind you, the Coils of the Serpent and the Amazon Host didn't want to help the People of Cabinda out of the goodness of their hearts either. They wanted cover for the importation of weapons and other war-fighting material so they could kill the Condottieri in Africa. If the rebel leaders-turned-legitimate government didn't play ball well, the Coils were in the 'assassinating people' business and somewhere along the line the survivors would figure out keeping 'us' happy kept them alive. Problem solved.It was Bishop Nicolé de Santis' job to facilitate that understanding. If certain people with Vatican credentials explained the 'facts of life' to the new regime a lot more lives could be saved, Catholic lives. In turn, he could work to make sure the new group in power wasn't nearly as corrupt as the gang we were tossing out. Better education and quality of life, improved infrastructure & security and a nice shiny cathedral, or two.We, as in JIKIT and our component members, didn't want to rule the country and dominate the people's lives. We needed the ports and the airfields with a blind eye turned to our skullduggery. Sure, there would be future considerations. Amazons and Coil members would be fighting and dying for these people's freedom ~ public recognition definitely not required. No; the Amazons wanted to be left alone in their deep jungle homes which was an isolation they basically already had. This was a future chit which said 'don't come looking'.The Coils? Let's just say in the future Cabinda would have embassies around the globe and if occasionally they wanted someone to slip through under diplomatic cover ~ they were good for it. And if the Cabindans ever needed help in the future they knew they had friends in dark places who were now invested in Cabinda's survival. It was a win-win-win, unless you were an Angolan big-wig, or one of their foot-soldier currently serving in Cabinda. Amazons weren't big on taking prisoners, or even giving the opposition the option of giving up.For me, it wasn't lunch yet and here I was plotting to overthrow yet another government in yet another country ~ though in only two, small provinces this time. Thank the Goddess I had the rest of the week

Gee & Trish are back with another episode!! It's a new year and listen how we talk about what's new in our lives and the same ole drama that goes on in our everyday lives. Everybody decided to get crazy on a 80 degree weather day so here we are!

URSULA'S TOP STORIES: Shootings over the weekend // Senate passes 6 cent gas tax increase // Off-duty WSP Trooper has more than double BAC // The New Marrying Down // Gee's airplane storytime

LejalNyte with Gee on Sub FM 28th March 2025 - https://www.sub.fm

Join Gee and Ray as we explore the cynical character lives of Moyoco Anno! From a harrowing spiral of disordered eating, to the many lives of history's sex workers, Anno's work is fierce with it's criticism -- but does it always hit the mark?Follow RRtL on BlueSky!Follow Ray on her channel ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Whimsical Pictures⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠And if you can't get enough of me, Gee, be sure to follow me on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky

Send us a textOkay, so here's the story: A group of characters in their 50s get together to have comedic adventures and explore life. No, not “The Golden Girls”. Though Foghorn Leghorn would make an awesome Dorothy. Hmmm… Warner Bros, what's stopping you from producing a Looney Tunes / Golden Girls remake? Oh, that's right. Your taxes.              Here now is the story of how this looney, tuney show came to Saturday Morning.              Was the succotash really suffering?               Did anyone see a puddy tat?              What's up, Doc?     All these questions, and more, will be answered in this look at THE BUGS BUNNY AND TWEETY SHOW! I say, I say, let's just play it already! Thanks for ‘tooning in.  Share With Us: SatMornPod@hotmail.comBluesky: @SatMornPodYouTube Us: tinyurl.com/yyhpwjeo (Don't waste your time)   Featured Music:“Nostalgic Happy Music” by AudioJungle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtxSUR6MQhw&t=2s “Happy Life” by Fredji - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzQiRABVARk Various Music by Oneul - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by302C2YhxY “I Feel You” by Kevin MacLeod” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw8E3jjbUCE “Nostalgic” by OrangeHead - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wExcRoNNzAc “Breakfast Club” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Spi22l3m5I “Horizons” by Atch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-u53MADIag “80's Hijack” by Gee - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndVqzJ9Lk6M&t=26s “Synthmania” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6r20TKnA6M “United” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArjGQFCcHxA “Cool Blue” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp5cxZWP-wc   #ABC #NBC #CBS #The80s #80s #cartoons #cartoon #animation #SaturdayMorning #1980 #1981 #1982 #1983 #1984 #1985 #1986 #1987 #1988 #1989 #Filmation #HannaBarbera #DePatieFreleng #RubySpears #Disney #Superheroes 

GUEST: Chris Sullivan explains Gee’s new route to the airport & I-167 tolls // Beware of new scams! They're getting really good. // Opening Day for the Mariners! // SCENARIOS!

Steve and Alan learn from Jenny Gee, a professor, researcher, and experienced music teacher, about effective classroom management techniques, especially in the post-pandemic environment. Gee shares practical advice and research-backed strategies that teachers can use to address behavior challenges, build relationships with students, and create engaging, safe learning environments.

«Wir haben wirklich unser Bestes gegeben», sagt My Morning Jacket-Keyboarder Bo Koster im Sounds!-Interview über das zehnte Album seiner Southern-Rock-inspirierten Kapelle. Und er hat verdammt recht. «Is» ist das beste My Morning Jacket-Album seit Jahren. All Killer, no Filler – dem Quintett aus Louisville, Kentucky ist mit ihrer neuen Platte ein wirklich hervorragender Wurf gelungen. Von den härteren Rockern wie «Half a Lifetime» bis zu den dreamy Balladen wie «Time Waited»: Es sind alles starke Songs, welche My Morning Jacket aus den rund 100 Demos, die Sänger und Songwriter Jim James für das Album geschrieben hat, ausgewählt haben. Dafür musste man jedoch auch ein paar Umwege gehen, wie Koster, der auch schon in der Tourband von Roger Waters spielte, im Interview erzählt. Mit «Half a Lifetime» zum Beispiel, gibt's auf der neuen Platte einen Song, dessen Demoversion bereits 20 Jahre zurückgeht. «Is» ist das neue Sounds! Album der Woche. Noch Platz im Plattenregal? Dann live Sounds! hören! Wir verlosen jeden Abend bis Freitag eine Vinyl-Ausgabe des Albums. +++ PLAYLIST +++ · 22:56 – ANWAY von FROWN LINE · 22:52 – PECKHAM RYE von MONTE MAI · 22:48 – YOU GOT TIME AND I GOT MONEY von SMERZ · 22:43 – PURE LOVE von DJ KOZE FEAT. DAMON ALBARN · 22:39 – THE STEPS von HAIM · 22:37 – JEALOUS BOY von THE BUG CLUB · 22:32 – THE WOLF von WITCH POST · 22:29 – LIFE DURING WARTIME von TALKING HEADS · 22:26 – BACKFLIP von CAMILLA SPARKSSS · 22:21 – SEXY CLOWN von MARIE DAVIDSON · 22:18 – JESUS WITH GLASSES von URGES · 22:15 – CORRIDOR von URGES · 22:10 – FAKE PLASTIC TREES von RADIOHEAD · 21:55 – MAYBE WHEN WE'RE 30 von SPORTS TEAM · 21:50 – I'M IN LOVE (SUBARU) von SPORTS TEAM · 21:45 – EVERYDAY MAGIC von MY MORNING JACKET · 21:40 – DIE FOR IT von MY MORNING JACKET · 21:36 – WORDLESS CHORUS von MY MORNING JACKET · 21:29 – HALF A LIFETIME von MY MORNING JACKET · 21:26 – BREATHE von PINK FLOYD · 21:20 – ROCKMAN von MK.GEE · 21:16 – OUT IN THE OPEN von MY MORNING JACKET · 21:09 – I CAN HEAR YOUR LOVE von MY MORNING JACKET · 21:06 – TIME WAITED von MY MORNING JACKET

URSULA'S TOP STORIES: ICE imposters in Fife // Ferguson wants to keep child support for those on welfare // Longer lunches for kids // What could a gutting of Apple Health mean for you? // WE NEED TO TALK. . .Gee's experience in Lewis County

Send us a textOkay, so here's the story: A pack of legendary bears inhabit a royal forest. They've stayed hidden from humans for a thousand years, but are found now because… it's convenient for the show?               Here now is the story of how this bouncy show came to Saturday Morning.              What was the origin of this show?              Did the studios have a village creature Mad Libs where they filled in the blanks to create new shows?              Who was responsible for that iconic theme song?     All these questions, and more, will be answered in this look at DISNEY'S ADVENTURES OF THE GUMMI BEARS! Thanks for ‘tooning in.  Share With Us: SatMornPod@hotmail.comBluesky: @SatMornPodYouTube Us: tinyurl.com/yyhpwjeo (Don't waste your time)   Featured Music:“Nostalgic Happy Music” by AudioJungle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtxSUR6MQhw&t=2s “Happy Life” by Fredji - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzQiRABVARk Various Music by Oneul - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by302C2YhxY “I Feel You” by Kevin MacLeod” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw8E3jjbUCE “Nostalgic” by OrangeHead - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wExcRoNNzAc “Breakfast Club” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Spi22l3m5I “Horizons” by Atch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-u53MADIag “80's Hijack” by Gee - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndVqzJ9Lk6M&t=26s “Synthmania” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6r20TKnA6M “United” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArjGQFCcHxA “Cool Blue” by Vodovoz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp5cxZWP-wc   #ABC #NBC #CBS #The80s #80s #cartoons #cartoon #animation #SaturdayMorning #1980 #1981 #1982 #1983 #1984 #1985 #1986 #1987 #1988 #1989 #Filmation #HannaBarbera #DePatieFreleng #RubySpears #Disney #Superheroes 

This week we find Doctor Vlarg a new Steamer and Master Torgo makes good on Clockwork Torgo: Tommy Boy. We also talk about cataloging 1,200 minis, Monarch, Foundation, Multiverse of Mystery, Ishy, the French Connection, Crimson Tide, Kingdom 2 Crowns, Obsidian's Avowed, This Movie Exists, The Lost Empire, Fortress, Delicious in Dungeon, Uncle from Another World, Rising of Shield Hero, Anime and Manga, our first Arcade Games, House of the Dead, and obscure arcade cabinets. So don't pull that plug it's time for a Gee...

Welcome to Campfire Classics, a Literary Comedy Podcast!! Have you ever been halfway through an entertaining piece of media, whether a movie, or a story, or say...a podcast episode... and suddenly  found yourself thinking, "Gee, is this a little culturally insensitive?" Well, that's how I felt listening to Ken's accent work during this week's story. To be clear, there is nothing racist about the story. It's just, sometimes an accent is so bad it's offensive... Anyway, this week, Ken gets to read "The Monster Maker" by Ray Bradbury. It's a wild adventure story reminiscent of some TTRPGs a certain member of this show's production staff has played recently. "The Monster Maker" was published 1944 in Planet Stories. Extensive research has found no evidence of an active copyright. Email us at 5050artsproduction@gmail.com. Remember to tell five friends to check out Campfire Classics. Like, subscribe, leave a review. Now sit back, light a fire (or even a candle), grab a drink, and enjoy.

Welcome to China Compass on the Fight Laugh Feast Network! I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben. Follow me on X (@chinaadventures) where I post detailed daily reminders to pray for China (www.PrayforChina.us). BTW, X is also the best way to get in touch with me. Either tag me with a question or comment, or follow and send a DM. Finally, PrayGiveGo.us has easy access to almost everything that I am involved in, including books, Substack, this podcast, and our dedicated pray for China website. Today we begin with some North Korea news (1:07), followed by a look at some 214 year old preaching advice from missionary William Milne (34:18). Next, we look at how to pray for China this week (39:20) and hear a number of stories, especially the one about the Chrisitan hotel near North Korea in Lucky Forest. This Week’s (North Korea) News Why China is wary of North Korea’s embrace of Russia https://www.ft.com/content/d4094f65-de08-4fcf-ab11-424ef152e89e Families of Captured North Koreans to be Executed https://www.yahoo.com/news/families-captured-north-korean-troops-090313885.html North Korea Reopens After Five Years https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/north-korea-reopens-foreign-tourists-special-economic-zone-pyongyang-closed-4966381 Western Tourists Shocked by North Korea https://www.yahoo.com/news/western-tourists-given-rare-glimpse-112527445.html North Korea Tours Quickly Suspended https://www.rfa.org/english/korea/2025/03/06/north-korea-foreign-tour-suspension/ South Korean Travel to China Surges https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2025/03/113_392898.html On This Day… 200 Year Old Preaching Advice from William Milne https://chinacall.substack.com/p/200-year-old-preaching-advice The Memoirs of William Milne (200th Anniversary Edition!) https://a.co/d/bALLtAf Pray for China (March 9-15, 2025) Systematically and Strategically Interceding for All of China https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-march-9-15-2025 Mar 9 - Pray for Jiaozuo (“Gee’ao-dzwah”) in heavily populated Henan Province, one of the few Chinese prefectures that I've never previously heard of. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaozuo Henan is paired up with Kentucky and West Virginia for prayer: www.PrayforChina.us Here's my Henan podcast (and more): https://prayforchina.us/index.php/henan/ Mar 10 - Pray for Jianli in Hubei Province's Jingzhou Prefecture, one of China's many million+ cities almost no one has heard of: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jianli Hubei (“Who-bay”) is matched with Illinois for prayer: www.PrayforChina.us For more about Hubei (incl. my podcast): https://prayforchina.us/index.php/hubei/ Mar 11 - Pray for Zhangjiajie City in the breathtaking mountains of NW Hunan: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhangjiajie. Hunan literally translates to “south of the lake” and is paired with both Indiana and Ohio for prayer: www.PrayforChina.us For more about Hunan (incl. my podcast): https://prayforchina.us/index.php/hunan/ Mar 12 - Pray for Kunshan City in Suzhou Prefecture in eastern China's Jiangsu Province: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunshan. Jiangsu Province is paired with Tennessee for prayer: www.PrayforChina.us For more about Jiangsu (incl. my podcast): https://prayforchina.us/index.php/Jiangsu/ Mar 13 - Pray for Fengcheng (“Fungchung”) City in Yichun Prefecture in SE China’s Jiangxi Province: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fengcheng,_Jiangxi Jiangxi is paired with Georgia for prayer: www.PrayforChina.us For more about Jiangxi (incl. my podcast): https://prayforchina.us/index.php/Jiangxi/ Mar 14 - Pray for Meihekou City in Jilin Province’s Tonghua Prefecture, home of the Christian hotel I visited back in 2003: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meihekou Jilin (“Lucky Forest”) is paired with all of New England for prayer: www.PrayforChina.us For more about Jilin (incl. my podcast): https://prayforchina.us/index.php/jilin/ Mar 15 - Pray for Panjin Prefecture in NE China's Liaoning Province, a place I visited one day back in 2003: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panjin. Liaoning is paired for prayer with New York, PA, NJ & Delaware: https://prayforchina.us/states/new-york.html For more about Liaoning (& my podcast): https://prayforchina.us/index.php/Liaoning/ If you enjoy this podcast, follow or subscribe and leave a review on whichever platform you use. And don’t forget to check out everything we are involved in at PrayGiveGo.us. Luke 10, Verse 2!

We are happy to welcome back Gee Scott Sr. to the Bucknuts Morning 5 today. How high is the standard within Ohio State's football program? Well, we all know it is very high, but as he is known to do, Mr. Scott aka The Buckeye Preacher articulated it perfectly. The standard is 'Straight A's across the board." Why? Because there "Ain't no B-plus in Buckeye Nation." That is just a sprinkling of the wisdom and insight that Gee brings to the show. He and Dave Biddle discuss the national championship run and Gee Scott Jr. being a valuable cog as the starting tight end and much more. That is coming your way on the Wednesday 5ish. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices