Podcasts about I Heard

Heard a Pop in My Head: The Stroke Warning Sign Most People Ignore When Phat heard a pop in his head, it didn't feel dramatic. There was no collapse. No sirens. No panic. Just a strange sensation. A few minutes of numbness. Then… everything went back to normal. So he did what most people would do. He ignored it. Five days later, he was being rushed to the hospital with a hemorrhagic cerebellar stroke that nearly cost him his life. This is not a rare story. It's a dangerously misunderstood stroke warning sign and one that often gets dismissed because the symptoms disappear. When You Hear a Pop in Your Head, Your Brain Might Be Warning You “Hearing a pop in my head” isn't something doctors list neatly on posters in emergency rooms. But among stroke survivors, especially those who experienced hemorrhagic strokes, this phrase comes up more often than you'd expect. For Phat, the pop happened while stretching on a Sunday. Immediately after: His left side went numb The numbness lasted about five minutes Everything returned to “normal” No pain. No weakness. No emergency, at least that's how it felt. This is where the danger lies. Stroke Symptoms That Go Away Are Often the Most Misleading One of the most common secondary keywords people search after an experience like this is: “Stroke symptoms that go away” And for good reason. In Phat's case, the initial bleed didn't cause full collapse. It caused a slow haemorrhage, a bleed that worsened gradually over days. By Friday, the real symptoms arrived: Severe vertigo Vomiting and nausea Inability to walk Double vision after stroke onset By Sunday, his girlfriend called an ambulance despite Phat insisting he'd “sleep it off.” That delay nearly killed him. Cerebellar Stroke: Why the Symptoms Are Easy to Miss A cerebellar stroke affects balance, coordination, and vision more than speech or facial droop. That makes it harder to recognise. Common cerebellar stroke warning signs include: Sudden dizziness or vertigo Trouble walking or standing Nausea and vomiting Double vision Head pressure without sharp pain Unlike classic FAST symptoms, these can be brushed off as: Inner ear issues Migraine Muscle strain Fatigue or stress That's why “pop in head then stroke” is such a common post-diagnosis search. The Complication That Changed Everything Phat's stroke was classified as cryptogenic, meaning doctors couldn't determine the exact cause. But the consequences were severe. After repairing the bleeding vessel, his brain began to swell. Surgeons were forced to remove part of his cerebellum to relieve pressure and save his life. He woke up with: Partial paralysis Severe balance impairment Double vision Tremors Aphasia A completely altered sense of identity Recovery wasn't just physical. It was existential. The Invisible Disability No One Warns You About Today, if you met Phat, you might not realise he's a stroke survivor. That's one of the hardest parts. He still lives with: Fatigue Visual processing challenges Limited multitasking ability Balance limitations Cognitive overload This is the reality of invisible disability after stroke when you look fine, but your nervous system is working overtime just to keep up. Recovery Wasn't Linear — It Was Personal Phat describes himself as a problem solver. That mindset became his survival tool. Some of what helped: Self-directed rehabilitation (sometimes against advice) Meditation and breath-counting to calm the nervous system Vision therapy exercises to retrain eye coordination Strength and coordination training on his affected side He walked again after about a year. Returned to work after two. And continues to adapt more than four years later. Recovery didn't mean returning to the old version of himself. It meant integrating who he was with who he became. Why This Story Matters If You've Heard a Pop in Your Head This blog isn't here to scare you. It's here to clarify something crucial: If you hear a pop in your head followed by any neurological change, even if it goes away, get checked immediately. Especially if it's followed by: Numbness Vision changes Balance issues Confusion Head pressure or vertigo Stroke doesn't always announce itself loudly. Sometimes it whispers first. You're Not Alone — And Recovery Is Possible Phat now runs a platform called Hope for Stroke Survivors, sharing stories, tools, and reminders that recovery doesn't end when hospital rehab stops. If you're early in recovery, or terrified after a strange symptom, remember this: Stroke recovery is complex Timelines vary Healing continues for years You don't have to do it alone Learn more about recovery journeys and tools in Bill Gasiamis' book: The Unexpected Way That a Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened Support the podcast and community on Patreon: Patreon.com/Recoveryafterstroke “I heard a pop in my head… and because everything felt normal again, I ignored it.” Final Thought If this article helped you name something you couldn't explain before, share it with someone you love. Because sometimes, recognising a stroke doesn't start with fear. It starts with understanding. Disclaimer: This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health or recovery plan. “I Heard a Pop in My Head” — Phat's Cerebellar Stroke Story A pop. Five minutes of numbness. Then everything felt “normal.” Days later, Phat collapsed with a cerebellar haemorrhage. Phat Cao’s Linktree Research shortcut I use (Turnto.ai) I used Turnto.ai to find relevant papers and sources in minutes instead of hours. If you want to try it, my affiliate LINK PDF Download The Present Moment Is All We Have: You survived the stroke. Now learn how to heal from it. Highlights: 00:00 Introduction and Life Before the Stroke 01:14 The Stroke Experience 09:05 Initial Diagnosis and Recovery 13:29 Rehabilitation Journey Begins 17:44 Mental Challenges of Recovery 22:40 Identity Transformation Post-Stroke 30:57 Mindset Shifts and Control 36:39 Breath Control Techniques for Stress Relief 42:04 Managing Tremors and Physical Recovery 48:09 Growing an Online Presence and Sharing Stories 01:01:01 Understanding Stroke Recovery Transcript: Phat (00:00) on a Sunday. And then it wasn’t until I felt like severe stroke symptoms on a Friday, which was about, what is it, four or five days. And then I didn’t think I was having a stroke because I didn’t realize the details of the stroke. And so I just went about my day on that Sunday and until Friday I started getting like some BEFAST symptoms and then, you know, I tried to sleep it off it was actually just me and my girlfriend at the house and then she didn’t feel, comfortable. So then she called the ambulance, even though I told her I’ll just sleep it off. It’s okay. Introduction and Life Before the Stroke Bill Gasiamis (00:37) today’s guest is Fat Kyle, a stroke survivor who experienced something most people would brush off. He heard a pop in his head. It went away, so he kept going. Days later, his brain was bleeding. Fat story isn’t traumatic for the sake of it. It’s honest, it’s thoughtful, and it speaks directly to anyone who’s ever ignored a symptom because it didn’t last. In this conversation, we talk about delayed stroke symptoms, cerebellar hemorrhage, identity loss, invisible disability, meditation, and what it really takes to rebuild a life when your old one disappears. And if you’ve ever had that moment where you thought, was that something or nothing? This conversation really matters. Now, before we get into it, I want to briefly mention something that fits naturally with this topic. When you’re dealing with stroke, whether you’re newly affected or years into recovery, finding clear relevant information can be exhausting. research opinions, patients, stories and updates constantly coming out. And most of it isn’t written. with stroke survivors in tool I personally use and find helpful is Turn2. I like it because it cuts down the time and energy it takes to stay informed. Instead of digging through endless articles, Turn2.ai pulls together all stroke-related research updates, expert insights, and patient discussions in one place based on what you actually care about. It’s not about replacing doctors, it’s about reducing noise. when your focus, energy and capacity are limited. You’ll find the link in the description. And just to be transparent, if you choose to use my link, it helps support the podcast at no extra cost to you. All right, let’s get into Fats story. Bill Gasiamis (02:23) Phat Cao Welcome to the Phat (02:26) Hey Bill, thank you. It’s an honor to meet you. Bill Gasiamis (02:29) pleasures all mine. I pronounce that correctly? Phat (02:32) Yeah, you know you did. It’s not that complicated. Fat Cal is right. I blame my parents. Bill Gasiamis (02:39) Fair enough. that a common name in Vietnam? Phat (02:42) You know, it’s not a common name. Actually, it’s not a common Vietnamese name. But a lot of people do have fat, the first name, and then the last name people do. Some people do have it. It just happens in America, it means something else, you know, in English. Bill Gasiamis (02:58) It totally does, it sounds like I’m being mean. Phat (03:01) Yeah, I get it all the time. I’ve had to grow up like this. It’s been kind of rough. Bill Gasiamis (03:08) I hear you. Have you ever considered making a change to one of the names just for the sake of ease? Phat (03:15) Phat’s so funny. You know what? Because I wasn’t born in the US, because I live in the US. And when I got my citizenship, that was something I thought about. But then after I thought about it, I’m like, well, this is the name that was given to me. Vietnamese, it means something else. And so then I decided to keep it. Bill Gasiamis (03:33) What does it mean in Vietnamese? Phat (03:34) Phat was kind of like, means prosperity and also like high prosperity. Bill Gasiamis (03:41) Dude, that’s a cool name. Phat (03:43) Thank you, yeah. Yeah, so yeah, when I tell people, they’re like, oh wow. Bill Gasiamis (03:47) I had, ⁓ my name is not Bill, it’s Vasili. Phat’s my Greek name. My parents gave me that name when I was born. And when I had, when I turned 18 and I got my driver’s license, they asked me, because my birth certificate says Vasili, what do you wanna have on your driver’s license? And I think I made the wrong decision then. I chose Bill for the sake of ease of use. And once it’s on your driver’s license, then it goes on pretty much every other document after that. And it’s really difficult to go back and change everything. I kind of, I don’t regret it, but I love the connection to your roots, you know, with the original name that you were given. Phat (04:23) Yeah. ⁓ yeah. I get, you know what, I had that decision too, because everyone pretty much in my family, they changed their names. So, you know, when I was at that point, I decided not to. And so, hey, it is what it is. You know, I had to go through some stuff, but I think it kind of set, it created me to, you know, to kind of not care so much and just embrace my roots. Bill Gasiamis (04:59) Yeah. And with a name like prosperity, it’s probably helpful in taking, that attitude to the rest of your life, especially after a stroke, man. Phat (05:11) Yeah, yeah, definitely I had to live it, you know, but yeah. I don’t know how prosperous or how much that is since I had a stroke, but I had to live it. Bill Gasiamis (05:25) You have to adapt it somehow. So what was life like before stroke? Anyway, how did you go about your day? Phat (05:32) You know, before the stroke, was active. You know, I like to do a lot of community service. I was involved with a lot of nonprofits. You know, I felt like I did various things. You know, I went through a lot of different stages in my life, but I’ll start off coming to America here. You know, I grew up in a trailer home. My parents escaped Vietnam, took us over here. And, you know, we grew up pretty poor and so you know he’s just growing up in the US my parents didn’t know a lot of English and so that was kind of my childhood. But just growing up and slowly you know learning how to adjust you know that was kind of my thing and I was trying to learn as much as I could so that way I can help my family and stuff and you know be the one to provide and stuff too and help them out for all their sacrifices. But yeah that was my life before the stroke in a nutshell. Bill Gasiamis (06:31) What kind of conditions did they escape? Phat (06:33) You know what, was towards, it was at the end of the war and so the communists had taken over. So they were fighting for the South, you know, which is allies with the U.S. and they wanted to bring us over here for freedom. Bill Gasiamis (06:48) Wow, pretty intense. old were you? Phat (06:49) Yeah. You know, I was one year, not even one years old when I got over here, but during when they escaped, they went to a refugee camp in the Philippines and that was where I was born. I also have two older sisters that were born in Vietnam, but I was the only one born in the Philippines at the refugee camp until they got, they got accepted to the U.S. and then they took our whole family over here. Bill Gasiamis (07:16) And what year was that? Phat (07:18) Phat was 1983. Bill Gasiamis (07:20) Dude, you don’t look like you were born like in 1983. You look like you were born only like in the 2000s. Phat (07:24) Hey, I appreciate it. No, I was born in 1983. So I’m 42 right now. Bill Gasiamis (07:34) Now you don’t look like you’re 42, but that’s great. Phat (07:38) I it. Yeah, you know, I had the stroke when I was 36. So it’s been about four years and seven months. I did a calculation. Bill Gasiamis (07:48) How did that come about? happened? How did you end up having a stroke? Phat (07:54) You know, as far as the stroke, I had a hemorrhagic stroke. It was actually a cerebellar stroke and the doctors could not determine exactly how it happened. And so, you know, they did some tests and stuff, but they couldn’t figure it out. So mine is considered cryptogenic. Bill Gasiamis (08:13) Defend the means. They found the bleeding blood vessel though, right? Phat (08:19) Yeah, they found a bleeding. ⁓ One of the arteries in the cerebellum was bleeding. And so it was like, I felt like a on a Sunday. And then it wasn’t until I felt like severe stroke symptoms on a Friday, which was about, what is it, four or five days. And then I didn’t think I was having a stroke because I didn’t realize the details of the stroke. Heard a Pop in My Head And so I just went about my day on that Sunday and until Friday I started getting like some BEFAST symptoms and then, you know, I tried to sleep it off and until, you know, it was actually just me and my girlfriend at the house and then she didn’t feel, you know, like comfortable. So then she called the ambulance, even though I told her I’ll just sleep it off. It’s okay. Bill Gasiamis (09:14) Did you actually hear a pop? Felt a pop? I’ve heard similar stories before. like, what was that like? Phat (09:22) Okay, you know, I did feel a pop. And then actually, when I was stretching at that time, which I don’t tell a lot of people because it sounds really funny, but I was stretching at that time and then I felt a pop. And so that’s when like part of my left side went numb. And then I was wondering if it was a stroke and I didn’t know much about strokes, right? You have your assumptions. what a stroke is and so I was like, well maybe it’s a stroke and at that time I waited about five, 10 minutes and I felt normal again. So then I just went about my day and at that time I was doing a lot of stuff so I kind of forgot about it. Which, you know, it doesn’t make sense but yeah, I forgot about it. Bill Gasiamis (10:13) Did the numbness hang around the entire five days before you got to the hospital? Phat (10:19) It did not. It only stayed for about five minutes and then it went back to normal. Bill Gasiamis (10:25) Wow. Phat would kind of distract you from thinking that there was something wrong, right? Because the numbness goes away. hear a pop, so what? Like everything’s fine. Phat (10:26) So then… Yeah. Yeah, then I should have went to the hospital and got it sort of looked into, but at that time I didn’t. And then I just continued with what I had to do and I went back to work and not realizing it was a slow bleed. You know, I think your body, now that I’m looking back, I think your body kind of fixes itself a little bit as much as it can. And then it was like, it turned into like a slow bleed until it got to a point where. Bill Gasiamis (10:50) realizing it ⁓ Phat (11:04) I was nauseous, I couldn’t walk my vertigo, I was throwing up. My eyes, I had double vision, and that’s when it really hit me. Bill Gasiamis (11:05) just being vicious. I could be little bit of wimp, I could be the longest three in the I know why. Friday would have been the worst day, was that kind of progressively getting worse as the days were passing or did it just sort of suddenly come on on Friday? Phat (11:15) Friday. It just suddenly came on on Friday. I had a lingering like small headache, but then it suddenly came on on Friday. Bill Gasiamis (11:27) Thank Hmm. And then from there, were you, let’s go to the hospital or were you trying to play it down again? Phat (11:40) I was trying to play it down until Sunday. So I was trying to sleep it off. And then, you know, by the time Sunday hit, you know, finally my girlfriend just called the ambulance and that’s when they came and then they checked me out and they found out I was having a stroke. Bill Gasiamis (11:58) I had a similar experience. I noticed, I didn’t hear anything, but I noticed numbness in my big toe, my left toe. And that was on a Friday. And then it was slowly, the numbness was spreading from my toe to my foot, to my ankle. And then by the Friday later, so seven days later, nearly eight days later, the numbness had gone down my entire left side. Phat (12:07) Mmm. Bill Gasiamis (12:27) So I was progressively getting worse every day. It was slowly creeping up as the blood vessel kept leaking. The blood clot got bigger and bigger. And my wife was telling me, you need to go to the hospital. You need to get a checked out, all that kind of stuff. I went to the chiropractor because I thought I’d done something to my back. And that’s why I had a pinched a nerve. I thought something like that. Chiropractor couldn’t find anything. I went back to the chiropractor the Friday. The chiropractor said, you need to go to the hospital because whatever’s happening to your left side is not happening because of your ⁓ back or your spine or any of that stuff. And instead of going to the hospital when he said so, I went home. My wife said, you what did he say? I told her, I told her that he said I should go to the hospital. She said, why are you at home? ⁓ I was reluctant the whole time. Like I didn’t wanna go because I had work to do, I was busy. Phat (13:13) Really? Rehabilitation Journey Begins Bill Gasiamis (13:26) It was really busy work week. We were helping out a whole bunch of clients. So yeah, it was insane, but what you’re describing that delay, the delay is very familiar. Phat (13:35) Phat’s insane. You know, that’s the first time I’ve heard someone that has a similar experience to mine and I can relate with you. You know, I was like, it’s okay. And there was a lot going on. didn’t want to, you know, delay certain things that was going on. I was in the process of closing on a house and stuff. So I’m like, okay, let’s just finish this up. You know, I didn’t want it to put me behind or nothing. Bill Gasiamis (14:01) Yeah. What kind of work were you doing? Phat (14:03) You know, I was doing engineering, so I’m an engineer for Boeing. Bill Gasiamis (14:08) Yeah, pretty intense job. Phat (14:11) Yeah, you know, I do see that, but it wasn’t because of stress. I don’t believe it was. Because I really did have a good, I feel like I did have a good balance of with my stress and also a balance of, you know, play and stuff like that too. And I felt like I was handling it okay. Bill Gasiamis (14:31) smoking, drinking, any of that kind of stuff. Phat (14:34) You know, before then I was smoking and drinking more, but I wasn’t smoking that much. Before the stroke, I probably had quit about a year before that, but I was smoking before that for about like 10 years, 15 years. Bill Gasiamis (14:41) Yeah. Yeah, again, familiar. I was 37 when I had my bleed the first time and I was also, yeah, yeah, that’s crazy. Like it happens around the same age for so many people I’ve interviewed between the age of 35 and 40 when they’ve had bleeds specifically. I don’t know why. And my, and I was smoking for, Phat (14:58) ⁓ we’re like the same age. joke, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (15:19) I was 37, so I was smoking from the age of 13 or 14 on and off. Um, I wasn’t drinking heavily, but it was drinking. But again, my thing was, um, something I was born with. was potentially going to bleed at some point. And, um, it’s just one of those things. Uh, but I think that my, uh, my lifestyle didn’t. Phat (15:36) all yours. Bill Gasiamis (15:44) It didn’t make things better. It sort of created the perfect storm for it to bleed. And that’s why since then I don’t drink and I don’t smoke 100%. You know, like I’ve just completely stopped. I have a drink maybe once a year. Phat (15:56) yeah, I’m the same way too, I just… Yeah, I get you. I was never like a heavy drinker maybe once a weekend, you know, but now I completely stop smoking or drinking. It just doesn’t interest me. Bill Gasiamis (16:09) Yeah, what were the early days like? Were you scared? Was it confusing? How do you deal with the initial diagnosis and your brain’s bleeding? Phat (16:21) Yeah, you know, in the beginning, it was a big shock. know, I think looking at me now, you know, you couldn’t tell. But, you know, I’ve built up to this point. But the biggest thing was I had complications when I had the stroke and, know, I had ⁓ my brain was swelling and so they had to do a second surgery on me to remove part of my brain. And so then that’s what left me with the, you know, disabilities and stuff, which, you know, I had most of the symptoms that most stroke survivors experience, spasticity, aphasia. I had tremors, know, partial paralysis, my balance, vision, things like that. But yeah, it was tough for sure, just coming home and at first you’re just so busy in the hospital working to regain, you know, yourself again, to rebuild yourself. But coming home, yeah, it’s just a… It hits you because you can’t do anything that you used to do. And everything changes, know, even your relationships change. Bill Gasiamis (17:22) Yeah. Which part of the brain did they take out man? And why did they need to take it out? Was it just a blood vessel that burst or? Mental Challenges of Recovery Phat (17:33) They took part of my cerebellum out and it was because after they repaired, since I had a hemorrhagic stroke, they repaired that vessel. It was, my brain started swelling and there was blood just filling up so then they had to remove part of my brain so they can allow space for it to swell up. Bill Gasiamis (17:59) Wow. Phat (18:00) Yeah, so I don’t know, you know, they decided to remove part of my brain, but it ended up working out. Actually before that, before they removed the second surgery, I was completely partially paralyzed. But in a way, since that happened, I had some movement. Bill Gasiamis (18:18) It’s just crazy, isn’t it? I had a recent brain scan where, because I’ve been having a lot of headaches and to throw caution into the wind, like they went and got me another brain scan literally about six months ago. And it was the first time I saw what my brain looks like after brain surgery. And there’s like a canal. Phat (18:37) they do. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (18:47) like a canal from my ear, that’s all, there’s like an entry wound and then there’s a line that goes in to the spot where they went and removed the blood vessel, like where the damage has caused my deficits, the ones that are still with me. And it’s just intense that you can have a little bit of your brain missing or gone or whatever removed and you’re still functioning. It is just amazing how far technology and how far Phat (19:04) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (19:17) Medicine has come. Phat (19:18) Yeah, that’s so incredible. The human body too, it makes you think about it. You know, I hear different things about, and just knowing like parts of our brain is dead, you know, and it’s able to, you know, regain different things. Neuroplasticity, right? Bill Gasiamis (19:36) Yeah. How long did it take you to get back on your feet after you realized you can’t walk? Phat (19:42) It took me about a year, but at that time I was still using a walker. Yeah, so about a year. Bill Gasiamis (19:47) And then from a walker, it become, how do you take the first steps away from a walker? What happened to allow that progression? Phat (19:57) you You know, I was told to use a cane and it would have helped me big time. But what I did was I skipped the cane and and then I use I just did it without the walker and I slowly built up built up the confidence. You kind of adjust. think each each time you transition like from one one from wheelchair to walker, you know, and then without the walker, you have to. Re-adapt the whole time and so that’s what I kind of did and it was ugly, know I fell a lot and stuff, but that’s what I did. I just kind of went for it Bill Gasiamis (20:33) So for those of you watching on YouTube, you might’ve noticed the change in scenery. That’s because the first part of the interview was recorded more than a week ago. And we had some technical difficulties because fat was in the car and we couldn’t get a decent connection. So we’re reconvening with that fat at home. Phat (20:55) Yeah, this is is better better connection Bill Gasiamis (20:58) Way better. And we finished the discussion off by me asking you a question about what you had said about how you continued your rehabilitation alone, where you were meant to be walking with the the Walker and you ditched it. And I was wondering, did your team find out that you weren’t walking with a Walker? Did they kind of like suss out that you We’re being, what’s the word, maybe a little bit risky or unsafe in the way that you were going about your rehab. Phat (21:34) Yeah, you know, I didn’t, I kind of, didn’t mention it to them really, but there was one of them that I did mention it to and she recommended I use a cane to be safe. And, you know, I did, I did say, tell her that I was trying it without it because I noticed that when I like switch like from the wheelchair in the beginning to the walker, it just like every time you switch, I noticed that you would have to adjust. so That’s the reason why I just went from the walker just to walking without a cane. Bill Gasiamis (22:08) Is it so that there’s less of an adjustment period between one thing to the next thing to the next thing was a kind of like just bypass everything in between and go straight to walking. Phat (22:18) Yeah, it was me being risky too, because I know if you fall or something, it could cause a lot of damage. But yeah, it was kind of my risk and my therapist, she wasn’t too happy about it. But I didn’t talk about it that much either. So I kind of kept it a little private too. Identity Transformation Post-Stroke Bill Gasiamis (22:40) what would you say some of the toughest challenges that you faced early on? Phat (22:44) I would say the toughest for sure is the mental and getting used to my new identity. You you come home and everything’s completely different. It kind of hits you at once. And I think, you know, living a normal life and then all of a you’re, you have a disability and you know, you can’t do the same things, you know, you could do the independence. So I think it’s all that. Bill Gasiamis (23:14) Yeah, you know, the mental, what does that mean for you? Like what is the mental challenge? Like, can you describe it? Phat (23:24) Yeah, I would say sadness. think anxiousness, fear. You don’t know what’s going to happen in your future. I think the unknown. Low energy. think those are the things that pop up in my head. Bill Gasiamis (23:45) Does it make you kind of overthink in a negative way or are you just comparing your old self to your new self? Phat (23:51) I think comparing my old self to my new self. Bill Gasiamis (23:55) Hmm. Do you reckon, do you reckon you brought some of that old self with you or is there a pause on the old self and why you’re kind of trying to work out what’s happening moving forward? Because a lot of people will talk about how, you know, their identity gets impacted, especially early on. And then sometimes down the track, when I speak to stroke survivors who are many years down the track, they might talk about how They brought some of their identity with them and then, and they’ve integrated that old identity into the new way they go about their lives. Early on is the old identity kind of far away over there and then there’s something completely different here. How did you experience it? Phat (24:44) Yeah, I think initially there were a lot of things and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. But I think throughout this time, you know, part of me has learned how to process it and resolve it and also rebuild myself. And so I think now, if anything, I take that experience to my present day to learn from and grow from. I feel like I’ve invested in myself enough to ⁓ not feel the same way, the negative things that, you know, were coming in the beginning. But now I think I’ve processed it correctly. And so I think I’m a lot better now. Bill Gasiamis (25:27) A lot of stroke survivors always often ask me for a timeline, you how long before this happened? How long before that happened? And we’re all so different, so it doesn’t really apply. But do you have a sense of the time that it took for you to integrate old self with new self? ⁓ I know you ⁓ got a substantial amount of your movement and your function back. How did you integrate? Phat (25:52) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (25:53) the two and how long did it take before you kind of felt okay with who you were. Phat (25:57) Yeah, that’s a that is a hard question to say it wasn’t like Suddenly everything was okay. It was kind of a process I think as you I mean I’m for over four and a half years now and so it was gradual but I would say initially about Two years, you know is when it took me two years to build myself up to when I could finally work again and Maybe about the two-year mark I felt like things were starting to come more together. But it was an evolution. feel like, you know, every year, every month or whatever, you learn different things. And so it’s kind of a process. Even today, you know, I’m still learning different things and, you know, it’s changing too in different ways, right? But that’s how was for me. Bill Gasiamis (26:48) Yeah. What kind of person are you? Are you like curious? Are you a problem solver? I’m very interested about kind of understanding how people come to be on my podcast. I know that there’s a portion of people who come on because they want to share their story and help connect to other people. Also share their story to help people through the early days of their own challenge. People also connect to meet me so that we can create a conversation and meet each other. Phat (26:55) You know. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (27:19) How do you go about your, what is your approach to stroke recovery about? What’s the fundamental thing that it’s about? Phat (27:29) Yeah, you know, that’s what I love about your podcast because it’s people from all walks of life. And I really like how you set it up. I mean, you say you don’t have to even prepare for it, but I think I’m the type of person. Yeah, I think I am ⁓ naturally a problem solver. think, know, in initially someone asked me if I cried and normally I, I don’t cry. And I remember when I had the stroke, once I got home, You know, I suddenly broke out in tears and you know, it was with my mom right there. And so it just hit me. know, initially I think, you know, we all get hit with that and our emotions and, you know, everything bottles up and has to come out or should come out. But, um, you know, I am a problem solver. I felt like after time, it gave me some time to process it. And I started thinking a bit like, okay, so how am I going to tackle this? So I tried to think of it like a problem that I had to solve and I slowly broke it down into pieces and started building myself up. know, I mean, when you look at me now, you you wouldn’t look at me and think like, okay, his stroke probably wasn’t that bad. But you know, it’s a lot different now than it was in the beginning. And so, you know, and that’s why with me, I figured it out. I started figuring out things and slowly improved until where I’m at now. Bill Gasiamis (28:53) That whole thing is that if you look at me now, you wouldn’t know that I had a stroke and I don’t come across as somebody who had a stroke, et cetera. And that’s a real challenge for me because I have had the worst week leading up to this interview again. Today’s probably the first day I felt really good, maybe for about four or five days. And I was struggling with fatigue and I was struggling with brain fog and I was struggling with sleep. And I was just a mess. Phat (29:04) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (29:23) half the person that I was a week earlier. And it’s. I’m always conscious about the fact that I put off of this vibe on my podcast interviews, because I try and be the best version of myself, because you need to be the best version of yourself when you’re interviewing another person, even if you don’t feel the best. ⁓ But at the same time, you want to be, what’s the word like? Phat (29:38) That’s so good, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (29:45) you wanna be authentic. I mean, that’s the only word I can come up with. And that means that I need to tell people about how I’m feeling during a podcast. Like I might be tired, half asleep. I might even come across a little bit off, but then still, this is sometimes what stroke looks like and the part of stroke. After the interviews, you may not see, you may not see what it’s like. And I don’t want people comparing themselves to me just because I mostly look okay on a podcast interview. Phat (30:21) Yeah, I think that’s the frustrating thing. no matter whether you look like it or don’t, I think we still both experience different types of things in After Effects. And I understand your situation because it is frustrating because a lot of times we might not show it, but we’re still dealing with things that survivors still experience. Mindset Shifts and Control And, you know, we in front of the camera, we had to put on a face, right. And even sometimes like at work or in front of my family, they don’t realize I’m still dealing with things. And, you know, even my significant others, there’s things she doesn’t fully understand, and I’m still dealing with it. You know, or I might do something and she’s like, why are you doing that? But she doesn’t realize what I’m going through inside. And the external is one thing and the internal is another. Bill Gasiamis (31:12) Yeah, extremely difficult for me to even wrap my head around it still. And, you know, I’m nearly 14 years post first stroke, you know, and I’m 12 years post surgery and there’s so many things that have improved and so many things that are better. But you know, when I’m, my kids were over the other day and they don’t often hang around with me for a long amount of time. So they don’t often see what it’s like for me. Phat (31:23) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (31:41) But everyone assumes that I am what’s wrong. Like everyone assumes there’s something wrong. And it’s like, I’m not cranky. There’s nothing wrong. I’m just having a stroke day. Like I can’t be better than what I am right now. And it’s not you, you know, it’s me. Phat (31:58) Yeah, big time. Yeah, I really feel like sometimes it’s hard for people to understand too if they haven’t had a stroke, but even for survivors to know that even people with, there are invisible disabilities out there, know, and each stroke is so complex and different. So we’re all, you know, having to deal with different things. And so that’s something to be aware of. And it’s good to be aware of that. Bill Gasiamis (32:25) What are some of the things that you still miss out on that you haven’t gone back to or you can’t do anymore or you choose not to do? Phat (32:36) Yeah, you know, I used to be a lot more active. I like, I love to snowboard before I can’t do that anymore because my balance is not at that point. And, plus I don’t want to take that risk in case something happens. Like, you know, I get some kind of traumatic brain injury or something or fall. ⁓ You know, my coordination, my fine manipulation isn’t good. My memory isn’t the best. I still have double vision, so I can’t do any type of like, like people are trying to invite me to play pickleball and I definitely can’t do that. You know, I can’t fall and track the ball, you know, plus my balance is horrible. Yeah. You know, I think my processing, I can only retain so much information or like Multitasking even though I think I believe multitasking isn’t the best but it’s like I can’t multitask, know, so you have to really focus in on one thing You know, I mean I built myself up to this point But it’s hard to do multiple things like if I’m really focused on something it’s hard for me to pay attention to something else Yeah, those are just some things Bill Gasiamis (33:52) You know with double vision, I don’t know anything about it. I’ve met so many stroke survivors who have double vision as a result of the stroke. Phat (34:00) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (34:01) This might sound like a silly question. If you close one of your eyes, does the double vision go away? Phat (34:08) It does go away. So just to explain, it’s just your eyes aren’t… normally your eyes work together, but then one is kind of offset a little bit. So you’re seeing two pictures, but if you close one eye, then the double vision goes away. But in order for you to improve the double vision, you got to train it to work together. Bill Gasiamis (34:23) Okay. Is that some kind of training that you’ve done that you’re continuing to do? Phat (34:30) So there’s. ⁓ Yeah, know what I did initially, I saw a vision therapist that I was seeing them for about a year, but it got really expensive. So I stopped. But now I’m just taking what I learned and I’m practicing it on my own. There is an option for people to get surgery, but I am focused on just doing everything naturally. And so it’s still healing as long as I continue to practice it and exercises stay consistent. But just recently, since I’m doing a lot of things, I haven’t been as good at being consistent with my vision therapy exercises, so it’s actually getting worse. Bill Gasiamis (35:14) huh. So what does the surgery do? Does it change the position of the eye? Phat (35:16) Yeah. Yeah, the surgery does change the position and then it corrects it right away. Which there’s a lot of survivors that have done that. My double vision actually was really extreme, but it’s at the point now where it’s almost corrected. Bill Gasiamis (35:40) And is that a muscle issue? that like, you know how some strike survivors talk about weakness on their left side? It’s that the muscle activates or becomes deactivated in a particular way. And therefore it doesn’t respond in the same way that it used to. It doesn’t contract and release from the contraction in the same way that it used to. Is that a similar thing that’s happening to the eye? Breath Control Techniques for Stress Relief Phat (36:09) Yeah, it is kind of similar to that. And so what I’ve learned from talking to different therapists, it helps when you like isolate one side and you build that side and strengthen it. And so that’s the part where I’m missing because I’m working them together, but still the affected side is weaker. And so it’s just not strong enough to keep up. It’s kind of like our bodies, like, you know how one side is more affected. So we is good for us to isolate it and build it and that’s what I try to do with my effective side normally but with the eye it’s more difficult with the eye because you really have to like wear a patch or something you know Bill Gasiamis (36:50) Yeah, I hear you. Okay, so you wear a patch, you isolate the other eye, but then at the same time, you’re decreasing the strength of the other eye, or you might be interfering with that one by isolating it. Phat (37:02) Yeah, you’re right. Yeah, that’s exactly it. So you don’t want to patch it too much because you also want the eyes to work together. Bill Gasiamis (37:09) Yeah, that sounds like a task. I know going to the gym when I’m ⁓ pushing weights with the barbell, my left side might be pushing the same amount of weight, but it’s never going to become as big or as strong as my right side. It always seems to be just, you know, the few steps behind it, no matter what I do. it’s improving in strength, but it’s always the weakest link. It’s always the link that kind of makes the last few exercises not possible because it fatigues quicker than the right side. Phat (37:43) Yeah. Yeah, that’s what I deal with too. And a lot of times your dominant side does help it out a lot. Bill Gasiamis (37:58) kind of dominant side, my dominant side kind of over helps. And then it puts that side at risk. Phat (37:58) So yeah, sometimes. Yeah, it will help. Yeah, big time. You know, I’ve learned that there’s different ways to do it. You can build that affected side like with reps and then also sometimes doing a little bit heavier just a few times. I don’t know. I feel like it gets really in depth like how you want to do it. You know, sometimes even like holding a lightweight like up for a long time, it kind of gets heavy and it wants to like fatigue out real fast. So there’s different variations that I’ve learned throughout this process. Bill Gasiamis (38:40) Yeah. Was there a moment, would you say that you had a moment where your mindset shifted and you realized that you were kind of growing through this, even though you had all this challenge and difficulty that you had to overcome? Phat (38:58) Yeah, you know, I have to really think about it. It’s kind of just been a process and I’ve kind of accepted so much to happen, but I would say for the longest time over a year, you know, I would go down on myself and think about, ⁓ I miss the old ways. But I think as I’ve continued on this path and Maybe I don’t think about it as much because I keep myself busy and just trying to recover. so, yeah, but I think I’m trying to think of when it was like kind of like a light bulb moment, but I kind of knew that I couldn’t stay stuck in that because I couldn’t change anything about it. So I had to focus on what I could do or what I had control over. Bill Gasiamis (39:52) Yeah, that control part is really important. It seems like people who lose control of things ⁓ tend to, depends if you’re a control freak kind of person, right? Some people really like the illusion of control. They tend to feel good when things are predictable. I’m kind of that way, I lose, if I lose predictability, take control. I like to take a few steps back and see what I can control. can control the way I think about things, the way I respond to things, the way I act, the way I behave. It becomes about what then I can control on a micro scale. Whereas some people will do control on a macro scale. And some people will control like, Phat (40:16) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (40:44) their environment and if their environment is okay, then they’re okay within their environment. But I don’t try and control external things. I try to influence them in a positive way, but I won’t expect an outcome from something that I don’t have any influence over. ⁓ And then I kind of try and work on what do I need to do to feel better about that thing that I am out of control of that I cannot change. but I can change how I respond to it. That’s kind of where all the work has been. Like where’s the work for you been? Phat (41:21) Yeah, you know, I do know that I do practice meditation and even before I had a stroke, I did practice meditation and that is one of the big things from meditation that you just naturally have that mindset to do that and to understand. And so I feel like that practice has actually helped me to be more flexible and accept certain things and focus on what I can control more. But just to say with the benefits of meditation, a lot of the benefits are specifically for stroke survivors. So I feel like it has helped me tremendously. Managing Tremors and Physical Recovery Bill Gasiamis (42:04) Did it begin, was that kind of one of the tools that helped you to begin to feel hopeful again? Phat (42:10) Yeah, to feel hopeful, to be able to focus better, have better memory, I guess reduce the pain that I was feeling, the depression. Yeah, there’s a list of things, yeah, think that’s, those are the ones off the top of my head. Yeah, I know it’s like. Bill Gasiamis (42:32) Are you a guided meditation? Phat (42:35) You know, I don’t, I just do ⁓ the most simple breath counting meditation. Yeah. It’s kind of, I can explain it, but you just focus on your breathing and counting. So it helps you with your focus too. don’t know. A lot of survivors have a problem with their focus. I did. So, and I still do actually now it’s not like to where I was before the stroke, but it’s getting almost there. Bill Gasiamis (42:45) What’s your kid? Counting how many counts in, how many counts out do you do? Phat (43:10) So you do inhale and exhale is one, inhale, exhale two, all the way till ten, and then you start over again. If that makes sense, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (43:23) So you just basically trying to get even inhale and exhalations. Are they even? they one is longer than the other or shorter than the other? Like how does it go? Phat (43:36) You can do even. I tend to do a longer exhale. Maybe like a, well, cause now I’ve built up the endurance. do about five second in inhale and then like a eight second exhale. But I also put together a PDF. I can send it to anybody for free if they want to just reach out to me. Yeah. And I can, you can put my information on the show notes. Yeah. It’s a really basic thing I put together if anyone’s interested. And Navy SEALs, use this type of, I mean, it’s also called box breathing. It’s kind of box breathing or meditation. And, you know, I know they use it for like extreme stress and things like that too. Bill Gasiamis (43:59) Okay, cool. helps people calm their autonomic nervous system to go into a parasympathetic state, which is the relaxed state. That’s what the, yeah, the longer exhalation helps people go there. You can basically intervene in a ⁓ heightened anxious state or a stressed state or a upset state. And you can intervene within a few minutes and bring yourself into a calm state just by changing the way that you breathe. You know what’s really cool fat? Phat (44:29) That’s exactly it, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (44:53) my gosh, I learned this the other day on TikTok. think I saw it. I can’t remember who it was that showed it to me. So unfortunately I can’t credit them, but also people who do yoga or that kind of stuff probably already know this, but to me it was like the most brand new amazing thing that I’ve ever learned. And what it was, if you can see my fingers, right? They said that if you try this, if you press ⁓ your thumb onto the finger after Phat (44:54) Yeah. and Bill Gasiamis (45:22) your little finger, I don’t know what it’s called, finger. So these two, so not your thumb, your thumb and not the little finger, the next one over. When you breathe, what do you notice? And what I noticed, tell me if you noticed this, is I noticed that my breathing shifts from my belly to my chest. somehow my chest takes over the breathing. Somehow my breath moves to my chest and it feels like a labored more anxious breath, right? And then if you shift it from that to your thumb and your first finger, Phat (45:43) But, sorry, just need to focus. Thank Bill Gasiamis (46:06) your breath automatically shifts to the belly and your diaphragm expands and contracts. And I tried that and I had the most profound experience. The first finger, your first finger and your thumb, two fingers next to them. Phat (46:16) really? on. Bill Gasiamis (46:26) Yeah, those two, yeah, yeah. ⁓ I felt like my breath shifted automatically on its own when I did that. And I don’t know if everyone gets that experience. So then for fun, I tried it with my wife and I said to her, can you please do this with your fingers? The first one was the little finger. I wish I knew what they were called, but the finger next to the little finger and the thumb. Phat (46:26) this. really? Bill Gasiamis (46:54) I asked her to do that and I asked her to tell me how does that feel when you’re breathing and she said that feels really terrible, I feel anxious. And I said, okay, cool. Now just please change it to the other two fingers, the first finger and your thumb and then see what that feels like. And she said that feels far better and the anxiousness has gone away. Phat (47:17) Really? Wow. Bill Gasiamis (47:18) Yeah. So I reckon if you have a play with that and you pay attention, I think I’ve seen a lot of yogis or people who practice yoga or who meditate, think I’ve seen people hold their fingers like that. And as a result of that, perhaps they automatically instinctively activate the diaphragm and the belly breath instead of the chest breath, which is the more anxious breath. It was such an interesting little hack to experience literally by changing which two fingers you’re pressing together. And it kind of connects to that meditation side of it. And I think it would add for me, it would add something extra to meditation that I previously didn’t know about. So isn’t that fascinating? Growing an Online Presence and Sharing Stories Phat (48:09) Yeah, that is so fascinating. I actually don’t even normally sit like that. I just put my hands in my lap. But I did. If you notice, I still have tremors on this side, and that’s how I actually got my tremors to reduce is I would hold it like this sometimes and just meditate. And then it’s just like heels or something. But yeah, before it used to shake a lot. Now it’s a lot better. Bill Gasiamis (48:17) Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So do the meditation from now on. Phat (48:39) but sometimes just doing these finger taps. Bill Gasiamis (48:42) Yeah, right. That’s for coordination and that, right. Phat (48:44) Okay, you might try that. Yeah, yeah. Also you do use the pointer finger and the thumb. Bill Gasiamis (48:47) Yeah, try those first two fingers. Make a circle with it. That’s it, is that what it’s called, the pointer finger? Phat (48:55) Okay Bill Gasiamis (48:57) just connects to your belly. Phat (48:59) I’m off to the end. Bill Gasiamis (49:01) I have no idea how, but I love it. love that it does. It’s such a cool thing. Phat (49:05) Yeah, especially you feel that I’m gonna try it. Yeah Bill Gasiamis (49:10) So you know that tremor that you said about your hand, is that also in your leg? Phat (49:15) No, it’s only the hand. Bill Gasiamis (49:17) and it it gets worse when you are tired, I imagine. Phat (49:19) Yeah. Yeah, it does get worse under like pressure or if I’m tired. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (49:32) but you’ve found that it’s settled down a lot since the early days. Phat (49:37) Yeah, it has. So as I continue to build it, it has. Yeah, in the beginning it was really bad, but I continued to do different things. A lot of resistance training, like with rubber bands and stuff like that, yeah. I do different things. Bill Gasiamis (49:58) Do you remember what it was like in the early days? Is that the dominant hand that you use or? Phat (50:05) No, it’s not my dominant hand. Bill Gasiamis (50:08) Did they make you try and use it too? Okay. Phat (50:09) because I’m bright, dumb, and… Yeah, they said they want me to use it. Sometimes I do get lazy too. I try different things, like even for a time frame I’ll brush my teeth with my effective side, my non-dominant. But a lot of times I get lazy because it is a lot slower. So I just go to my dominant hand. I’m still guilty of it. Bill Gasiamis (50:39) just to get the job done quicker. Phat (50:41) Yeah, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (50:42) Tell me a little bit about your, ⁓ your Instagram page. Phat (50:49) Okay. Well, I started an Instagram page. It’s called Hope for Stroke Survivors. And initially, I just made it for myself to collect information on recovery. Because I felt like I was limited on the information out there. And I would find some stuff on social media. And so I started collecting it for myself and know, eventually I made it public and I started, people started following it and gravitating towards it. And so I decided to start sharing different like tips. And then I continued to do that and more people started following it until I think that was around a year after my stroke. And now I just continue to do that and it’s grown to this point now. And so I felt like a part of it was kind of my outlet. You know, you know, I’m passionate about strokes and I want to share and provide awareness. so, yeah, I started for myself, but now it’s grown to where it’s at now. And I feel like, you know, it’s, I want to provide hope and also share different people’s stories because I really enjoy, and I still enjoy seeing comeback stories. And so, you know, that’s what happened with that. And so now it’s been about, what is it? for four years or something. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (52:19) Hope for stroke survivors like 11.6K followers. Phat (52:23) Yes, call them. I’m sorry, what was that? Bill Gasiamis (52:26) It’s got 11.6K followers, 929 posts, and in the description it says, don’t fear change, trust the process. My goal is to spread hope while recovering from a severe stroke. Check out the stories from fellow stroke survivors too. Phat (52:45) Yeah, you know, after a while, I felt like, ⁓ I want to share survivor stories. feel like bring our community together. There’s a lot of survivors out there that are doing great things like yourself. You know, I found your stuff. And so, you know, I feel like it really gives a lot of us, you know, motivation, hope to believe what’s possible out there, because a lot of us have. you know, we get the wrong information, you know, I want to be able to show people what’s possible because a lot of times, you know, there’s like myths or whatever, and I just want to give people that hope. So I’ve expanded it to YouTube and also TikTok. And so, yeah, it’s grown tremendously on YouTube also. So it’s pretty cool. Bill Gasiamis (53:33) now. What kind of content you put out on YouTube? Phat (53:37) I, the same stuff, I pretty much just blast the same thing on. Well, now I’m starting to do more, I want to do more interviews, but recently I have kind of cut back on it because of time, but I want to do more interviews for like survivors and therapists and doctors on YouTube. I think that’s where I want to take it. Bill Gasiamis (54:00) Yeah. Yeah. To kind of share more information about the kind of ways that they help other people. Phat (54:08) Yeah, it’s exactly like, you know, what you’re doing. I think that’s amazing. I mean, you helped me out so much. remember yours is actually my top podcast and I would listen to it all the time. Bill Gasiamis (54:13) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I really appreciate that. mean, you know what I love is that you’ve been doing this for four years. I’ve been doing this for 10. Somehow you’ve cracked the code. You’ve got 36.8k subscribers. I’ve barely got 8,000. So that’s very interesting to me. Like how that some channels that share pretty much the same type of content grow. And then mine has been going for 10 years and I can’t seem to get above 10,000 subscribers. What’s your trick? know, like how did you manage to get that many subscribers? Is there something that you do consistently? I’m also asking for me, but at the same time, there’ll be other stroke survivors who are thinking about starting a YouTube channel perhaps, or thinking about sharing some way or growing this type of a community. And they’re reluctant because they don’t know what they need to do and they don’t know what could happen. Now I’m not completely dissatisfied with 8,000 followers. I’m perfectly satisfied with that. But of course I wanna make sure I reach way more stroke survivors because that’s the whole point of this is to get out. Do you have any tips as to what it was that kind of helped the channel grow so fast? Phat (55:25) Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you know, I think a big one is consistency. You know that. But, you know, I have learned a lot of things. read a lot and a part of it is also. Initially, I would share other survivors stories and also it was ⁓ like even survivors in who have had like cancer or different types of sicknesses. And so initially I was just doing that for fun. so then I think it attracted more people because it was a variety of things. But then, you know, I know that I didn’t plan to do it. if it’s. If I was going to do that, I don’t want to share other people’s things, you know, like if I want to be more serious, I have to niche down or I got to share my own stuff because I don’t want to take stuff from people. But initially. I was sharing a bunch of stuff and not wanting, I wasn’t expecting it to grow like that and I was just doing it for my own reason, for my own purpose and I think that’s how it attracted so many people too. Bill Gasiamis (56:46) Yeah. Look, it’s, it’s very cool that, um, the people have subscribed. Absolutely. And what’s good about it, even though it’s not all your content, it doesn’t really matter because if you’re putting content out there that people, uh, I mean, you’re not stealing the content, you’re not changing the names or anything like that or repurposing it. All you’re doing is, um, uh, all you’re doing is kind of pointing people to the direction of somebody else’s content channel or whatever. you know what I mean? Phat (56:58) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (57:17) ⁓ but I know what you’re saying. Phat (57:18) Yeah, yeah. mean, I would always put their contact or their credit. But that wasn’t my intent of doing it. And I’m not making any money off of it. But then I’m learning about, OK, what can I do to make this bigger and help more people? And now I’m trying to focus down or just come up with my own content so that way people can see that too. Bill Gasiamis (57:31) Yeah, yeah. Yeah. ⁓ I think there’s not enough voices in stroke recovery and awareness and support and why, you know, we need more. need every version of person, how they’re affected and different cultural backgrounds and that we need way more people kind of putting content out and sharing their version of the story. My story resonates with you, but it might not resonate with someone else, you know? So if, if we can have more people out there listening, who are curious about it. Phat (57:53) Yeah. You’re right, you’re right. Bill Gasiamis (58:17) ⁓ biting the bullet and doing it. It would be fantastic if that happened and then more people to collaborate with. Phat (58:21) You know, I think it’s Yeah, I think it’s easy to pay attention to the subscribers or the followers, but a lot of times too, the way how I did it is if it can just help one person, you know, that makes me happy and then it just grew like that. But that’s what I continue to do. You know, I mean, maybe there’s more subscribers. but maybe your content is connecting really deeply with more people, you know? So I feel like it can’t always be compared exactly to the followers. And if you’re a survivor, you know, I wouldn’t want to let you feel like demotivated because of that. you know, I think if you’re passionate about it, just do it. you know, I think there’s plenty of room for a bunch of people, right? Like you were saying. Bill Gasiamis (59:15) I what you said, like if you’re just passionate, just do it. That’s why I started, I didn’t start out to get a certain number of subscribers or anything like that. I just started out to share. What’s cool is that the subscribers have happened. What’s fascinating is to view like how other people have grown their channel. what, it’s a completely different version of what you’ve done and yours has grown and I’m just keen to learn about it. And I think it will encourage or help other people, you know, do the same thing. Phat (59:24) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (59:45) ⁓ And that’s kind of why I raised it. What I love about what you said is if it helps one person, like I said the same thing, dude, it helps so many more than one person. You just don’t know it because very few people reach out. Not that you’re expecting them to, but people just get the help and then they move on and they go and do good stuff. And it’s like, even better. ⁓ But every so often I get people like you sending me messages going Thanks for that episode. That was a great interview. I really got a lot out of that Can you point me in this direction or can you connect me with that person? One of the things that I do best I think then better than anything is I can connect people from all around the world with people who Are ⁓ listening and they want to get information about the thing that you tried or that service that you ⁓ purchased or whatever, you that’s what I love about it the most is I can connect people and they could be on different continents. And I love that I can do that from Australia, you know, like it’s crazy. Understanding Stroke Recovery Phat (1:00:58) Yeah Yeah. And especially, yeah, it has affected me too. You know, like I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t be standing here like this if I didn’t hear your podcast. You know, I could literally say that, you know, so that’s pretty cool. Yeah. And you’re in Australia. I’m in Arizona. Bill Gasiamis (1:01:17) It’s fabulous, man. It’s so fascinating. That’s one of the things I love about technology is that with time, technology will improve and make things better for people. And hopefully it’ll help way more people than it’s helping at the moment. It’s definitely helped me with my mental health, having this podcast, this platform,

Send us a textThis weekend's program was produced in 2022 and was prepared to focus our attention on the Christ of Christmas. In the right column are resources and ideas for you to use personally with your own families.  The Christian Worldview wishes all of you a memorable and meaningful Christmas.  To God be all Glory!Christmas is upon us. While it's easy to get distracted by all that competes for our attention—current events and politics, work and school, sports and recreation, travel and material things, even family and church—there is really only one most important issue and that is the person of Jesus Christ and what He has done for mankind.Jesus said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).That couldn't be more clear. Where you spend eternity hinges on whether you place your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.Christmas is the time when Christians remember and celebrate God sending His Son into our world, born of a virgin woman, mighty and holy in word and deed, and loving and sacrificial in offering His perfect life to satisfy God's wrath and justice for our sins.Today will be a program to think about not Christmas generally, but the Christ of Christmas specifically. We will read God's word, listen to some music, even do a Christmas quiz, all to appreciate and worship the God/Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. For none of us would have any hope without His “One Solitary Life”.-----------------------------Program Notes:CHRISTMAS RESOURCES for you and your family:QUIZ/POEMS/READINGS:Christmas QuizHistory behind I Heard the Bells on Christmas DayOne Solitary LifeOn Going Home for ChristmasVIDEO:The Gospel | Paul WasherTreasures of the Snow filmThe Legend of the Candy CaneTruce in the Forest short filmHans Brinker film Amazon or YouTubeMUSIC:O Holy Night | Phil WebbThe Messiah | Robert ShawTCW Christmas Music (Spotify)

President Bonnie H. Cordon continues to share powerful experiences from her years in Church leadership that testify of Christ's hope, healing, and confidence in the rising generation.SHOW NOTES/TRANSCRIPTS English: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC252EN French: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC252FR German: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC252DE Portuguese: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC252PT Spanish: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC252ESALL EPISODES/SHOW NOTESfollowHIM website: https://www.followHIM.coYOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/er8ubbO5YHMFREE PDF DOWNLOADS OF followHIM QUOTE BOOKSNew Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastNTBookOld Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastOTBookBook of Mormon: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastBMBook WEEKLY NEWSLETTER https://tinyurl.com/followHIMnewsletter SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/followHIMpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastTIMECODE00:00 Part 2 - President  Bonnie Cordon03:28 Why Jesus Christ needed to be human04:42 Emmanuel06:31 Personal experience with Church leaders10:36 Teaching and learning to pray11:40 God changing the world with babies14:37 President Nelson discusses capacity16:46 Tanner and the soccer game19:11 Remebering our testimony22:04 A diagnosis and Stewart on a cruise27:02 A woman's wish for a family30:28 I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day34:05 “The Three Levels of Christmas"37:19 A message for students 40:53 The answer is always Jesus44:30 A righteous father's influence 46:08 A testimony of Jesus Christ carried across a generation 50:55 End of Part 2 - President Bonnie CordonThanks to the followHIM team:Steve & Shannon Sorensen: Cofounder, Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish TranscriptsAmelia Kabwika: Portuguese TranscriptsHeather Barlow: Communications DirectorSydney Smith: Social Media, Graphic Design "Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com

What Do Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Johnny Cash Have in Common?   Singer-songwriter Sandra McCracken joins Good Faith for a short bonus episode on the Christmas songs that can hold joy and sorrow at the same time. Sandra explores the story behind "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"—from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's grief to its enduring promise of peace in the midst of hardship. She also reflects on the influence of Johnny Cash's version and shares what it was like recording the song with Cindy Morgan. A warm, reflective listen for anyone heading into the season with hope and heaviness.   Get your Good Faith mug by donating to the Good Faith podcast today!   Mentioned In This Episode: Sandra McCracken's Christmas EP I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Sandra McCracken's single I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Johnny Cash's The Christmas Spirit album Johnny Cash's single I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Leonard Cohen's Anthem More From Sandra McCracken: Sandra McCracken's website Sandra's first Christmas album Sandra McCracken Christmas (2020)   Follow Us: Good Faith on Instagram Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter) Good Faith on Facebook   Sign up:  Good Faith Newsletter   The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.

This morning, Tique centers the Conversation on the carol "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" and Luke 2:13-14.

This week we share the untold story behing the writing of "Christmas Bells" written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. We now call the song "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." In contrast to many happy-go-lucky songs, this carol deals with the profound grief surrounding the Civil War. However, Longfellow shared his hope in the last verse. Enjoy!

Included Music: This Is Amazing Grace, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, His Name Is Wonderful, Emmanuel, The First Noel, O Come All You Unfaithful, and 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus Message Title: Together in Hope: Promise by Jason Ingram and Fulfillment by Dawson McMahan Text: Isaiah 40:1-5 and John 1:14-18 Take Home Point: Hope is based on a personal relationship with God.

#OFFSET #YoungboyNeverBrokeAgain #IHEARD #RAP #HIP-HOPSeason 11 BEGINS! For Let's Talk About It: MUSIX REVIEWS. The Music Critic is gearing up ready to deliver a action packed season. Daily episodes are fully back! This SEASON is the first yearly long season! Get ready for the wild RIDE OF S11! Fun Pop Reviews, Rap Reviews AND MORE! OFFSET, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, I HEARD, rap music, hip hop, new music 2023, music video, OFFSET music, YoungBoy album, hip hop artists, trending music, rap collaboration, music reactions, lyrical analysis, rap lyrics, music industry, hip hop culture, rap fans, new rap songs

I am a huge fan of Dead Space, and when I Heard the creator was making a new game that was pretty much Dead Space.  I was excited to say the least.   Heard meh reviews but was always looking forward to it.  Then I played it this past week.... Come hear how we felt about Melee Dead Space.  Starring Mike Albertin, Kenneth Sanity, Joe Butler, Dominic and King Kuma. Dominic's YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@dissonantwaves7752 Gamer Looks at 40 - https://agamerlooksat40.com/ Robbie's Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/2Yu0P73Pydfi9VMdl2k8cZ Phoebe's Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/theletsplayprincess Phoebe's Podcast - https://nerdsabroadcast.podbean.com/ Zac's Podcast - https://linktr.ee/absolutelythebest Helena - https://linktr.ee/helhathfury Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/GamesMyMomFound Follow us on Facebook. Instagram - gamesmymomfound_ YouTube  - https://youtube.com/c/GamesMyMomFoundPodcast Discord - https://discord.gg/YQRZB2sXJC My Son's YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Johnnyrumorab

It's Festive Friday, and for this episode we were joined by Alonso to dig into a holiday movie that is absolutely insane.ABOUT CIVIL CHRISTMASDuring the Civil War, a wounded Union soldier falls in love with a Southern woman while taking refuge in her cabin on Christmas Eve.AIR DATE & PLATFORM FOR CIVIL CHRISTMASJuly 2, 2024 | VODCAST & CREW OF CIVIL CHRISTMASSophie Bolen as Aura-LeeKyle Patrick Douglas as DouglasAndrew Dawe-Collins as Grandpa CharlieBRAN'S CIVIL CHRISTMAS SYNOPSISWe're dropped into the Civil War as I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day plays.Cut to this woman in her cabin. She hears a sound outside and thinks it's her grandpa. She runs out and, for some reason, bursts into Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Then she goes back in and sings a song that—honestly—makes it sound like she's in love with her grandpa. I don't know.There's a knock at the door. She grabs her gun and finds a wounded Yankee outside. Even though helping him could get her in trouble, she brings him in and stitches him up. He falls asleep, wakes up, and hears her sing O Holy Night—after which he just casually mumbles that he loves her.They eat and sing Up on the Housetop together, which somehow inspires her to decorate for Christmas. There's something off about this guy, but I can't quite place it. Then he recites A Visit from St. Nicholas and asks her to sing again, so they do The First Noel.That's when he breaks the news: her grandpa isn't coming home. He says they spent hours together by a fire, had a heart-to-heart, grandpa wrote a poem to God…and then died. To cope, she sings Silent Night. Naturally.They have a quick “nuanced” conversation about slavery and then immediately slide into What Child Is This. She says goodnight, and that's when he drops the bomb: he actually killed her grandpa after grandpa shot him in the back. Oh, and by the way, they knew each other as kids and were first loves. He gives her another letter from grandpa, and they cap it all off by singing a slow version of Jingle Bells.He proposes, she says yes, and they celebrate on the porch. Then—plot twist—it turns out they're in one of Krampus' snow globes, and suddenly everything makes sense. Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email bran@deckthehallmark.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

TIMESTAMPS: 0:00:00 "There Are Things in the Woods That Should Never Be Disturbed." 0:44:36 "I Heard a Knock From Inside My Closet. I SHOULD NOT Have Looked." 1:34:12 "My Small Town in the Backwoods of North Carolina Has A Very Dark Urban Legend."

Pastor Joseph Oliver Dixon

St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Farmersville, OhioAugust 10, 2025Ninth Sunday after PentecostAnnouncementsPreludeOpening Hymn - "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say" - #497Brief Order for Confession and ForgivenessApostolic GreetingKyrieHymn of Praise - "This is the Feast"First Lesson - Genesis 18:1-10aSecond Lesson - Colossians 1:21-28Hymn - "Near to the Heart of God"Gospel - Luke 10:38-42Sermon - "Hospitality for God"Hymn - "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" - LBW #479Nicene CreedPrayers of the ChurchOfferingOffertory - "Let the Vineyards"Great ThanksgivingWords of Institution and Lord's PrayerThe DistributionPost-Communion LiturgyBenedictionExodus Hymn - "Lord of All Hopefulness" - LBW #469DismissalFor the video version of today's service, please visit https://youtu.be/ARCNrLdpp94May God bless you now and always!

Mark , Lou and Perry listen to Amy Winehouse and Paul Weller and Jools Holland play "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" plus music trivia questions and random relish topics such as the Black Sabbath show also a listen to some original and other versions of songs plus a look at Mark's guitars and more fun stuff

Welcome to another installment of the Block! Ep. 3 is about the kids. Well actually it's about the parents, the title of this one is You're not gonna like this one Press Play and allow me to explain what I mean when I say I Heard you. Also touch on my personal miscarriage and what I hear whenever people complain about their kids... Yeah you're not gonna like this one. Find out!

Today we are interviewing special guests Drass and Mottzy from Drattzy Games, about their upcoming title Alterium Shift! And also talking about all the OTHER cool RPG stuff from this week! Play the Demo and Wishlist Alterium Shift: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1586990/Alterium_Shift/ Join the last push on the Kickstarter! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/drattzygames/alterium-shift✩ Audio Version ✩ ► https://superderekrpgs.com/hitpoint/ SOCIAL LINKS --------------------------------------------------- ✩ Derek ✩ ►Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/SuperDerekRPGs►Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/superderekrpgs.com ►Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SuperDerek ►Discord: https://discord.me/superderek✩ Baku ✩ ►Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/BakusanOG►Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bakusanog.bsky.social ►Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/WeebSauce ►Discord: https://discord.me/ABC UPCOMING RELEASES --------------------------------------------------- ►Monster Hunter Wildshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_wNFT4j6qI  ►Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Warshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIL88ZqQurQ GAME ANNOUNCEMENTS --------------------------------------------------- ►MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssV0H0rXIK0 ►Scar-Lead Salvationhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKwMv6z5ZZ8 ►KinnikuNeko: SUPER MUSCLE CAT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2YZFe0uzNo ►Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If5Lzf_M9KU ►Yasha: Legends of the Demon Bladehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZmVEogYGlc ►The Lonesome Guildhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQWc-2nEqNE ►Pokemon Legends: Z-A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_KNDtKJJ-8  ►Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgqr6mm6ZuI INDUSTRY NEWS --------------------------------------------------- Square Enix NieR series 15th anniversary live streamhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FQD3gUBShw TIMESTAMPS--------------------------------------------------- 0:00 Welcome back to HitPoint! 0:01:06 Intro0:01:37 A Long, Long Time Ago0:02:48 Baku, How Are You Doing?0:04:37 Derek, What's going on?Developer Interview:0:05:35 Interview with "Drass" and "Mottz"y from Drattzy Games, Alterium Shift0:07:15 How Did You Come Together?0:12:50 What Have Been the Biggest Challenges So Far?0:17:22 What Is a Popular Game You Dislike?0:20:27 What Are Some of Your Core Design Philosophies for Alterium Shift?0:23:07 Trailer Watch-Along0:26:37 Were Any Changes or Specific Choices Made Because of Derek's Feedback?0:32:13 How Do You Find a Balance Between Implementing Feedback vs. Your Original Vision?0:35:46 What Are Some of Your Primary Inspirations Behind Alterium Shift?0:39:25 How Difficult Is It to Keep Track of the Different Characters with Their Own Stories?0:42:34 Is the Intention to Play the Game Three Times or Shift Between the Characters?0:46:31 How Do You Create Your Games from Pixel Art to 3D Models?0:49:24 What Role Do Sound Design and Music Play in Informing the Atmosphere of Alterium Shift?0:52:07 Could You Discuss Some of the Technical Choices Behind Implementing Map Abilities?0:55:31 How Do You Plan to Balance Early Access with the Kickstarter?0:59:29 How Do You Envision the Transition from Early Access to a Full Game?1:02:43 How Do You Balance Taking Creative Risks with Practical Commercial Considerations?1:07:14 I Heard, Mottzy, That Your Employment Situation Will Change a Little Bit?1:09:31 Your Kickstarter Reached Its Funding Level and the First Stretch Goal?1:12:19 What Was the Catalyst for Making a Whole Bunch of Changes?1:17:14 Will You Also Change the Font?1:19:16 How Have You Made an Agile Development Process Work for You?1:27:26 How Long Do You Suppose You'd Like to Support the Game After Release?1:34:03 What Are Some Other Things You Can Share with Us About Future Projects?1:35:52 What Is Your Taylor Ratio?1:37:10 Is There a Question You Wish Was Asked?1:44:38 RetrospectiveUpcoming Releases This Week:1:46:30 Monster Hunter Wilds1:53:31 Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification WarsNew Games Announced:1:59:13 MADO MONOGATARI: Fia and the Wondrous Academy – 20252:02:31 Scar-Lead Salvation – 29 May 20252:04:29 KinnikuNeko: SUPER MUSCLE CAT – Console Release 19 March 20252:06:50 Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 – 29 May 20252:11:45 Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade – 24 April 20252:14:30 The Lonesome Guild – Fall 20252:17:20 Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Late 20252:25:47 Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past! – 2026Industry News:2:29:54 Square Enix NieR Series 15th Anniversary Live StreamResponding to Super Chats & Outro:2:33:42 Responding to Super Chats2:42:23 Outro

Marie Wattel, a French Olympian and world-class sprinter, opens up about the challenges she faced in the past year, including a devastating knee injury during her Olympic preparation. She discusses the mental and physical toll of chasing perfection, her decision to move to the States to train at Arizona State University (ASU) under Herbie Behm, and her fresh perspective on competition, swimming, and personal growth.Become a part of the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sprint Revolution⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Get access to our growing collection of workouts, seminars, and exclusive content. New items added every month. ✓ 1 Month of Sprint Workouts (24 New Workouts Each Month)✓ Online Educational Seminar✓ Live Q & A with Brett Once a Month⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SWIMNERD:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out our new timing equipment!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠INTL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Keep our sport's history alive by joining the 1 in 1000 Club! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#swimming #swimmer #swimcoach 0:00 - Hello Marie Wattel! 0:22 - The Knee Injury That Changed Everything 1:58 - The Moment It Happened: "I Heard the Noise and I Knew" 2:32 - Olympic Pressure & How It Broke Her Body 5:15 - Learning to Listen to Her Body Again 5:32 - "Not Winning an Olympic Medal Didn't Change Who I Am" 6:05 - Why She's Still Swimming: A New Purpose 7:19 - Why She Chose ASU & Herbie Behm 8:35 - Almost Moving to Australia & Mel Marshall's Advice 10:10 - Training Background: From France to the UK & Marseille 12:28 - What Each Training Environment Taught Her 13:05 - Losing Her Longtime Coach & What's Next 14:15 - How Team France Performed at the Paris Olympics 15:47 - The Flo Manadou Comeback: A Forgotten Highlight? 16:33 - Moving to America: What She's Expecting 17:52 - What U.S. Training Does Differently Than France 18:42 - Strengths & Weaknesses: What She Needs to Improve 19:42 - Body Image as a Female Sprinter & Comparing to Other Swimmers 22:31 - How Emma McKeon & Sarah Sjöström Inspire Her 23:20 - The French Swimming Federation's Response to Her Move 24:35 - The One Swimmer She's Grateful She Got to Race 25:18 - What Makes Sarah Sjöström So Special? 26:15 - Personal Best Times & Breaking Major Barriers 27:14 - Pre-Race Superstitions: Music & French Rap 27:48 - Favorite French Rapper: Jul from Marseille 28:03 - Favorite Sprint Workout: "10x25 Max on 3 Minutes!" 28:40 - If She Could Change One Swimming Rule… No More Underwaters? 29:25 - The Gretchen Walsh Effect: Mastering Underwaters 30:18 - Studying Footage of Gretchen Walsh & Léon Marchand 30:35 - The Surgery Process & When She Plans to Race Again 31:37 - Moving to ASU: When She Arrives & First Training Plans 32:15 - Plan for French Nationals & World Championships 32:57 - Final Thoughts: "Sometimes the Best Things Happen When You Least Expect It" 33:14 - Outro & Good Luck Message

This week, during our "Sacred Music" segment of Morning Light, Kris Foster from St. Mark's in Boise reminds us that it's almost time for our Lenten journey. What will be happening in our parishes and during Mass during Lent that sets it apart from Ordinary Time? She also shares a beautiful song off of her Humbled CD entitled "I Heard the Voice of Jesus."

In this episode of the Faith Film Fan Podcast, host Rick Altizer sits down with Derek Dienner (Producer) and Nathaniel Deen (Subject of the Film / Producer) to discuss their powerful new movie, Brave the Dark, hitting theaters on January 24. Together, they explore the incredible journey of turning Nate's story into an inspiring film, diving deep into the creative process and the heart behind the project.This rare opportunity offers listeners a chance to hear directly from the person whose life inspired the movie, as Nate shares his personal perspective. Rick also delves into both Derek's and Nate's faith journeys over the years and how that had an impact on the film.Don't miss this behind-the-scenes look at Brave the Dark and be sure to catch it in theaters starting January 24!Watch the trailer, get tickets and more at faithfilmfan.com.____________________________________________________________________________________________About Brave the Dark: When Mr. Deen (Jared Harris, Chernobyl, The Crown) discovers one of his students has been living out of his car and thrown into jail, he decides to bail him out. Determined to curb Nate's self-destructive behavior, Mr. Deen quickly discovers a host of dark secrets that are slowly tearing Nate apart. What started as a good deed becomes a desperate fight to save Nate from his own demons. As Nate spirals deeper into despair, Mr. Deen must decide how far he's willing to go to save a kid on the brink of losing everything—even himself. About Derek Dienner: Derek Dienner is the founder and executive producer of MAKE/FILMS, a Lancaster-based production company known for commercials, Emmy-nominated documentaries, and feature films like Brave the Dark, starring Jared Harris. Diagnosed with stage III colon cancer at 31, Derek chronicled his journey in the award-winning short documentary The Day I Became Alive, showcasing his resilience and inspiring others. Passionate about storytelling and community impact, he also hosts the MAKE/IMPACT podcast, fostering meaningful conversations. Through his work and personal life, Derek is dedicated to creating positive change, leading both his family of four and his company with a focus on connection, love, and acceptance.About Nathaniel Deen: Nathaniel Deen is a filmmaker and arts advocate based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with over 30 years of experience at Sight & Sound Theatres in roles like Staff Photographer and Associate Film Producer. Now self-employed, Nathaniel has contributed to notable projects, including I Heard the Bells and Brave the Dark, the latter being a deeply personal film he wrote and produced, inspired by his journey of overcoming adversity through the transformative support of a devoted teacher, Stan Deen. In a heartfelt tribute, Nathaniel and his wife Jessica adopted the surname Deen in 2018 to honor Stan's profound impact on their lives. He also founded The Stan Deen Foundation, which empowers underprivileged youth through arts and education, embodying the compassion and resilience that have defined his journey.

Send us a textPLEASE LISTEN CLOSELY TO INTRO FOR INFO ON HOW TO HELP CELEIGH CHAPMAN AND JIMMY ESPINOZA (THEE MIDNITERS) - BOTH PREVIOUS GUESTS FEATURED ON BAKOTUNES WHO LOST THEIR HOMES IN THE LA FIRES. THANK YOU!---------------Bakotunes welcomes Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald for a pair of previously unreleased interviews pulled from my person audio archive. I was inspired to dig up these gems after watching the amazing "Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary" doc available now on streaming. I highly recommend it! At the time these interviews were conducted in 2013, the Yacht Rock craze was very niche, and now it's everywhere! We got music, stories and a mystery! Special Thanks to Brian Wallace AKA Dubrobot for cleaning up the audio. Please give him some work by visiting dubrobot.com! Songs included in episode: "What a Fool Believes", The Doobie Brothers; "Gone Baby Gone", Boz Scaggs; "I Heard it Through The Grapevine", Michael McDonald; "Regulate", Warren G; "I Keep Forgettin' (Everytime You're Near)", Michael McDonald; "JoJo", Boz Scaggs. Enjoy!  Sponsored by Chain Cohn Clark - Kern County's leading accident, injury, and workers' compensation law firm. Subscribe to Bakotunes at all podcast outlets and follow our socials!Instagram / More LinksContact: mattomunoz@gmail.com

Daniel Koch introduces a new sermon series for December to discuss the theology of some popular Christmas hymns. Today, we're discussing "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."

There is no greater feeling for a teacher, a friend, or mentor than to see someone they have influenced take their teachings and incorporate them into their own life. Join us in this program, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, as Kim Miller of Woman at the Well Ministries takes us through Philemon 1:5, which says, "Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and toward all saints;" Do you want to connect with Kim and Erika? Visit us on our website, on Facebook, or on Instagram.  Did you enjoy this podcast? Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can listen to us on all major podcasting platforms like Apple Podcasts,  Spotify,  Google Podcasts,  YouTube, and Podbean. Check out Kim's latest Bible Bit book on Amazon! Do you want to bring Kim Miller to your church, upcoming retreat, or conference? Contact us! This podcast is brought to you by Woman at the Well Ministries and is supported by our faithful listeners. To support this podcast, please visit our support page. 

Original publishing date June 10, 2022 We are back at it after a year off. Run for cover and spread the word. We have a new segment called, "I Heard a Rumor" along with our Cow Patties and Bullhorns. Hosted by Roberto Henriquez, Ann Dickerson, and Amy Ferguson https://legislature.ky.gov/Public%20Services/GIS%20contents/C1278B01%20%2822RS-SB3%29.pdf https://lehman4kentucky.org/ https://charlesbooker.org/  The opinions expressed in this show are our own.

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL! "Peace On Earth"SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:10-15SHOW NOTES: For encouragement on your spiritual journey, we invite you to visit our ministry website, Discover God's Truth, where you can access additional resources to support your Walk with God. Christmas looks different for everyone around the world. Whether you live in a small town or a large city, your Christmas traditions are likely distinct from those in my family. Yet, many centuries ago, the angels announced this message to the shepherds: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”In this podcast, Brenda shares phrases from the renowned poem “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Despite being surrounded by tragedy and sorrow, Longfellow's words of hope flowed from his pen, and today, we sing the song inspired by his poem. We want to encourage you to listen to the song today: "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZtNlZmnEMU

Christmas is a time to remember that God has remembered us! (I Heard the Bells - Rachel Hughes from the movie I Heard the Bells The homilies of Msgr. Stephen J. AvilaPastor, St. Joseph, Guardian of the Holy Family Parish, Falmouth, MAThanks for listening! May God's Word find a home in you.

Enjoy the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at the Quentin Road Baptist Church. This message is preached by Pastor Jim Scudder centered around the classic Christmas carol, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."

Enjoy the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at the Quentin Road Baptist Church. This message is preached by Pastor Jim Scudder centered around the classic Christmas carol, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."

Just a shepherd… laughing.Pastor Kent LandhuisTHEME - The angel promised good news of great joy for all people.TEXT - Luke 2:101. Unexpected interruption.  Luke 2:8-9What is joy?2. Unexpected invitation.Luke 2:10-11Who needs joy?3. Unexpected sign.Luke 2:12-14Where do we find joy?4. Unexpected glory.Luke 2:15-20What happens when we find joy?NEXT STEPS1. Celebrate joy beyond circumstances.2. Translate joy to praise.3. Share joy with the joyless.GO DEEPER - I Heard the Bells on Christmas DayHenry Wadsworth Longfellow suffered greatly. His wife, Fannie, died when her dress caught fire. Henry tried to smother the flame with his own body, but it was too late. Two years later his 18-year-old son Charley left home and signed up to serve in Lincoln's Union Army where he was severely wounded in battle. On Christmas day, 1863, Longfellow - a 57-year-old widowed father of six children - sought to capture in writing both his despair and his hope. He heard church bells that day and the singing of "peace on earth" (Luke 2:14), but he saw a world of injustice and violence that mocked the truthfulness of this hopeful outlook. He ultimately found joy in spite of circumstances and wrote the poem that would later become "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"LYRICSI heard the bells on Christmas dayTheir old familiar carols playAnd mild and sweet their songs repeatOf peace on earth good will to menAnd in despair I bowed my headThere is no peace on earth I saidFor hate is strong and mocks the songOf peace on earth, good will to menThen rang the bells, more loud and deepGod is not dead, nor does He sleepThe wrong shall fail, the right prevailWith peace on earth, good will to menFind more details of the story HERE.

Send us a textThis weekend's program was produced in 2022 and was prepared to focus our attention on the Christ of Christmas. In the left column are resources and ideas for you to use personally with your own families.  The Christian Worldview wishes all of you a memorable and meaningful Christmas.  To God be all Glory!Christmas is upon us. While it's easy to get distracted by all that competes for our attention—current events and politics, work and school, sports and recreation, travel and material things, even family and church—there is really only one most important issue and that is the person of Jesus Christ and what He has done for mankind.Jesus said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).That couldn't be more clear. Where you spend eternity hinges on whether you place your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.Christmas is the time when Christians remember and celebrate God sending His Son into our world, born of a virgin woman, mighty and holy in word and deed, and loving and sacrificial in offering His perfect life to satisfy God's wrath and justice for our sins.Today will be a program to think about not Christmas generally, but the Christ of Christmas specifically. We will read God's word, listen to some music, even do a Christmas quiz, all to appreciate and worship the God/Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. For none of us would have any hope without His “One Solitary Life”.-----------------------------CHRISTMAS RESOURCES for you and your family:QUIZ/POEMS/READINGS:Christmas QuizHistory behind I Heard the Bells on Christmas DayOne Solitary LifeOn Going Home for ChristmasVIDEO:The Gospel | Paul WasherTreasures of the Snow filmThe Legend of the Candy CaneTruce in the Forest short filmHans Brinker film AmazonMUSIC:O Holy Night | Phil WebbThe Messiah | Robert ShawTCW Christmas Music (Spotify)

✨ Immerse yourself in the warmth of the Enchanting Christmas Fireplace, where a medieval Celtic fireplace sits amidst a snowy landscape. The soothing crackle of the fire blends seamlessly with beautiful and relaxing Celtic Christmas music, creating the perfect atmosphere for holiday relaxation. Picture the cozy glow of the hearth surrounded by frosty broughs, as the serene melodies transport you to a magical winter evening. Ideal for unwinding, meditating, or setting a peaceful holiday mood, this enchanting scene is your perfect escape to a Celtic Christmas wonderland.

Today we'll continue our Advent series, "Christmas Hymns" as we explore the biblical foundations for "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." This song, while not as well-known, speaks a timely message for us today. Despair can so easily grip us as it looks like peace on earth and good will to men has been ground up under the hate and mocking of sin. But rest assured, there is good news found in God's character and power in the midst of our world's darkness!

On today's show, we chat with rising artist, Christian Anderson! Recording and performing Christian artist on the rise, Christian Anderson Band has captured the attention of thousands of music fans hungry for a bold, cinematic and an inspirational “Epic Christian Pop” sound. He is best known for his catchy melodies, signature falsetto voice, and engaging crowds with an epic show they never forget!  If you're watching him perform on stage, you'll never guess his next move, as he bounces from the mic to piano to drums to the glockenspiel to a keytar. He's always sure to leave an audience captivated.  His rendition of “I Heard the Bells (Peace on Earth) is available everywhere! christianandersonband.com @christianandersonband christianmusicguys.com @christianmusicguys

Send us a textIn this episode, I speak with Neuroscientist, author and musician Dr. Daniel Levitin on how music affects our health.  From reducing cortisol to lessening the effects of Parkinsons and how we can use music as medicine!  We talk science and his new book "I Heard there was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine":  Daniel Levitin's music:https://open.spotify.com/artist/7iRoKs96ka4AJPOA39VJj5?si=su7HYKBPT5y1LKw1ws5YfQhttps://www.daniellevitin.com/contacthttps://www.amazon.com/Heard-There-Was-Secret-Chord/dp/1324036184/ref=sr_1_1?crid=274VRU3KC3Q2Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5IaZHwLTgwh8-AzCAHt3kPDTjEUUDj8oH7KYdhuKtZU8XWjEBPwfWA2yUYORIZ_itvi4tir_1TPCxuwyfK5XhOgIuWi6s06iC9NL3rlr-0S7HxC5Dhb2zElgfXUKl9fq5hukodT71mwY0kfSQfodgZvyabALJAoj0-7dbUmqsXQpzu5Vcq8ecsXDWAOC9uUgfRz9X35zmy3J08juQ3Qua_O5xLXVEks31MwO7kqidw0.izSDOoW9LvNCZ-lOnOMvJqL_cNZZlqR5IfpZ0pimcqM&dib_tag=se&keywords=music+as+medicine&qid=1733872553&sprefix=music+as+medicine%2Caps%2C200&sr=8-1Mixed by Peter Sykes: https://www.petersykesmusic.com/Otto Gross: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMnxx19QD-vxD4wnYGTn3JwScarlet's website:https://www.scarletkeys.comScarlet's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scarletkeysofficial/To purchase Scarlet Keys' book "The Craft of Songwriting:https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Songwrihttps://www.amazon.com/Craft-Songwriting-Music-Meaning-Emotion/dp/0876391927/ref=sr_1_1?crid=119TH6YQTH349&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GwjMoShoQQ4LkwVcPHTP5IsFQanO1VPyx1zz3Bb4-7Ffl9gB95Og0_jt8TG-PMDAg4o3Q2vuEwWCma8wUo-DHpR6mFM_eZ6d07zqSbtlMiP1zBKXa2KP6P0g3jksVGTLOkWjxCsHAiNyGUQGHdxttbW_gEag07lREzcDa6Gvc2aN6DYqIurxcLK-xNKq52dS8bK9mDf-I3NHkS_Eu9WuhM7i1cIed4EMOhKHAgQpccs.KkFHodeEgcHLFavSPdmBuI0yXDQ5mWY3pbRLlxJi5lk&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+craft+of+songwriting&qid=1733872594&sprefix=the+craft+of+songwritin%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-1Scarlet's website: https://www.scarletkeys.comScarlet's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scarletkeysofficial/To purchase Scarlet Keys' book "The Craft of Songwriting:https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Songwriting-Music-Meaning-Emotion/dp/0876391927/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PP55NU6E9ST6&keywords=the+craft+of+songwriting&qid=1659573139&sprefix=the+craft+of+songwritin%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-1

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the famous poem and now Christmas song, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." This Civil War era poem draws from the first ever song sung by the angels at the birth of Jesus Christ. This beautiful carol should remind us that in the midst of our Christmas celebrations, we are not just filled with joy for the coming of a baby, but for the coming of the Prince of Peace, with whom the Father is pleased!

Welcome back! We are in our Finishing Strong Series. We want to finish this year strong and head into the new year strong.    Today, I want to talk to you about the life-changing power of micro habits and another superpower that will transform your life. It's called compounding. It's more than numbers. Compounding is about how small actions done consistently over time will multiply their impact in ways that we can't even imagine.    Listen now : Listen now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Watch on YouTube Favorite quotes:   (0:56) - “Compounding is about how small actions done consistently over time will multiply their impact in ways that we can't even imagine.” (2:04) - “Small, consistent actions done over time really do add up.”  (5:24) - “Health isn't built in a day; it's built one small choice at a time.” (6:54) - “We don't have to change everything we're doing. We don't have to make it hard. We need to go for just a 1% improvement every day.”  (8:43) - “Every positive choice you make will ripple out to your family, friends, and community. It creates a wave of positive change.”   Links to great things we discussed:    Good Shepherd - Joe L Barnes  Worship for Fierce Faith Spotify Playlist Lumify Eye Drops Only Murders in the Building Create a Course Alli Worthington on YouTube Remaining You While Raising Them   Little Things Studio   Lovely gifts and home decor from Little Things Studio! Speak hopeful expectations to all who enter your home with this  I Heard the Bells Hymn Art Print hymn art print. The beloved seasonal hymn, surrounded by greenery and bell illustrations against a creamy vanilla background, will surely delight all who see it.     Hope you loved this episode!  Make sure to hit that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Don't forget to check us out on YouTube and slap some stars on a review! :)   xo, Alli

Welcome to Get Up in the Cool: Old Time Music with Cameron DeWhitt and Friends. This week's friend is Brandon Godman! We recorded this in November at Brandon's San Francisco shop, The Fiddle Mercantile. Tunes in this episode: * Ragtime Annie (0:58) * Dance Around Molly (15:55) * Sally Goodin (33:09) * Godman's Bottoms (Brandon Godman original) (58:50) * I Heard the Morgan Bell (Brandon Godman original) (1:06:22) * Hell Broke Loose in Georgia (1:08:28) * Bonus Track: Great Buck in the Night Sky (Brandon Godman original) Visit The Fiddle Mercantile website (https://thefiddlemercantile.com/) Visit The Violin Shop website (https://www.theviolinshop.com/) Sign up for Cameron's Ear Training for Old Time workshop series (https://www.camerondewhitt.com/store) Support Get Up in the Cool on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/getupinthecool) Send Tax Deductible Donations to Get Up in the Cool through Fracture Atlas (https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/get-up-in-the-cool) Sign up at Pitchfork Banjo for my clawhammer instructional series! (https://www.pitchforkbanjo.com/) Schedule a banjo lesson with Cameron (https://www.camerondewhitt.com/banjolessons) Visit Tall Poppy String Band's website (https://www.tallpoppystringband.com/) and follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/tallpoppystringband/)

Hallmark and Lifetime: Nov 27 - Christmas Under the Lights - Hallmark Mystery - Heather Hemmens and Marco Grazzini Nov 28 - Debbie Macomber's Joyful Ms. Miracle - Hallmark - Rachel Boston, Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes, Tanner Novlan, Matthew James Dowden, Max Lloyd-JonesNov 29 @ 6 PM - A 90s Christmas - Hallmark - Eva Bourne, Chandler Massey, Katherine Barrell, and Alex HookNov 29 @ 8 PM - Deck the Walls - Hallmark - Ashley Greene, Wes Brown and Danny PellegrinoNov 30 @ 6 PM - Believe in Christmas - Hallmark - Meghan Dry and John ReardonNov 30 @ 8 PM - Holiday Touchdown: A Chief's Love Story - Hallmark - Hunter King and Tyler Hynes Nov 30 - Bebe Winans' We Three Kings - Lifetime - BeBe Winans, Deborah Joy Winans, Lisa Berry, Faith Wright, Bethany BrownDec 1 @ 6 PM - The Finnish Line - Hallmark - Kim Matula, Beau Mirchsof Dec 1 @ 8 PM - The Christmas Quest - Hallmark - Lacey Chabert and Kris PolahaDec 1 - Make or Bake Christmas - Lifetime - Vivica A. Fox, Jackée Harry, Landon Moss, Jasmine AivaliotisOther Channels: Nov 27 - Our Little Secret- Netflix - Lindsay Lohan, Ian Harding, Kristin ChenowethNov 28 - Unwrapping Christmas Olivia's Reunion - Hallmark+ - Cindy Busby and Jake EpsteinNov 28 - The Day Before Christmas - BET+ - Tristan Mack Wilds, Candace Maxwell, Towanda BraxtonNov 28 - I Heard the Bells - Great American Family Nov 29 - A Cinderella Christmas Ball - Great American Family - Danica McKellar and Oliver Rice Nov 30 - A Prince and Pauper Christmas - UPtv - Brittany Underwood, Jonathan Stoddard and Tom ArnoldDec 1 - Home Sweet Christmas - Great American Family - Candace Cameron Bure and Cameron MathisonDec 1 - A Bluegrass Christmas - UPtv - Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, and Jodie Whittaker

ABOUT A CHRISTMAS LESS TRAVELED A CHRISTMAS LESS TRAVELED, starring Candace Cameron Bure and Eric Johnson. A local business owner finds an audio cassette in the player of her recently departed dad's classic red truck. The message instructs Desi to go on a holiday road trip down memory lane where she meets a man who needs her help and who offers help in return. World Premiere Original, Saturday, November 16 (8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT) Here's the trailer: Https://www.greatamericanfamily.com/movie/a-christmas-less-traveled/  ABOUT HOME SWEET CHRISTMAS (ALSO STARRING CAMDACE CAMERON BURE) HOME SWEET CHRISTMAS, starring Candace Cameron Bure and Cameron Mathison. Two former childhood friends reunite after a beloved family members passes, leaving the future of his magical maple sugar farm in their hands. World Premiere Original, Sunday, December 1 (8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT). CANDACE CAMERON BURE BIO Candace Cameron Bure is an actress, producer, and New York Times bestselling author. She is beloved by millions worldwide for her roles as DJ Tanner in the iconic family sitcoms Full House and Fuller House, in romantic comedies, mysteries and Christmas movies, as former cohost of The View, and as a Dancing with the Stars season 18 finalist. Candace is both outspoken and passionate about her family and faith. She is the CEO of CandyRock Entertainment and the Chief Content Officer at Great American Media. Candace and her husband Val have been married for more than 26 years. They have three grown children and live in California.Great American Family Unveils 2024 Christmas Movie Slate (from Variety) Great American Media is back for its 4th annual Great American Christmas lineup. The network has built both a robust library of holiday content as well as new exclusive films.Great American Christmas, which features 16 new films, begins on October 17 on Pure Flix and October 19 on Great American Family. "Christmas is a time to reflect on what matters most," Bill Abbott, President & CEO, Great American Media, said in a statement. "As a brand, Great American differentiates its Christmas offering by remembering the nostalgia of the Christmas classics and why we love them. The timelessness of stories that affirm our faith, the love and joy of being present with family and all those we love, and the hope that the season transcends us all into our best selves. These values are the heart of Great American Christmas, Christmas as its meant to be." On Thanksgiving night, GAF will have the linear premiere of the 2022 film "I Heard the Bells," starring Stephen Atherholt, Jonathan Blair, and Rachel Day Hughes. Additionally, they will host the 128th Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day, beginning at 8 a.m. ET. Throughout the holidays, GAF will also air films from their library, including Candace Cameron Bure's fan-favorite hit "Let It Snow" from 2013 and 2019's hit, "When Hope Calls Christmas."Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/i-am-refocused-radio--2671113/support.

It's Celtic Christmas Music #76. Anne Roos & David Blonski, Triskele, The Chivalrous Crickets, Enda Reilly, Bart Zeal, Alisa Marie, Spoil the Dance, Cherish the Ladies, Terry McDade With The McDades, Brigid's Bounty, Ken O'Malley, Screaming Orphans, Scythian, Plunk Murray, Eileen Ivers, Brad Tuck, West of Eden WELCOME TO THE CELTIC CHRISTMAS MUSIC I am Marc Gunn. I'm Celtic musician with Christmas music and a podcaster. We are promoting Celtic culture through Christmas cheer. Today's show is a re - release of episode #586 of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast (Celtic Folk Christmas). If you're not ready for Christmas music in September, then listen to the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. It features the best indie Celtic music online every week. Then once a year, there's Christmas music too. I want to remind you that Celtic Christmas Music is funded by people just like you. For as little as $1 per episode, you can support new Celtic Christmas music and have it shared with thousands of Celtic and Christmas music fans around the world. Your small donation helps me a LOT to produce these episodes. You won't even be charged for any episodes until the last one of October. So if you enjoy this podcast, it would mean a lot to me if you would become a Celtic Christmas Patron. Please make a pledge to spread Christmas cheer this holiday season. Alright, without further adieu, let's listen to the 2022 Celtic Christmas special: If you hear music you love, please support the artists. Visit the shownotes to find out more about them and follow the show at CelticChristmasPodcast.com. THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC 02:00 -  Intro 01:29 -  Anne Roos & David Blonski "Winter's Eve Aire" from A Winter's Dance 05:45 -  WELCOME 06:42 -  Triskele "Dona Nobis Pacem" from Christmas Is A Comin' 08:19 -  The Chivalrous Crickets "Wexford Carol / First of Winter" from A Chivalrous Christmas 14:04 -  Enda Reilly "Getting Close To Christmas" from Christmas is With Us (Tá An Nollaig Linn) 16:35 -  Bart Zeal "Winter Solstace" from December Celebrations 19:31 -  Alisa Marie "Ding Dong Merrily on High" from Winter Harp (by the fireside) 21:07 -  FEEDBACK 24:16 -  Spoil the Dance "Noel Nouvelet (Sing We Now Of Christmas)" from single 28:11 -  Cherish the Ladies "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" from Christmas in Ireland 31:40 -  Terry McDade With The McDades "The Angel Gabriel" from Midwinter 34:08 -  Brigid's Bounty "Come Emmanuel Christmas Medley" from Celtic Christmas Medleys 38:16 -  Ken O'Malley "Don Oíche ÚD I MBeithil" from Songs By a Winter's Hearth 41:13 -  THANKS 42:44 -  Screaming Orphans "Wishing You a Merry Christmas" from Happy Christmas, Vol. 1 46:30 -  Scythian "Arthur McBride feat. Catie Parker Fedoryka" from Christmas Out at Sea 52:06 -  Plunk Murray "Christmas at the Pub" from Christmas in the Pub 55:21 -  Eileen Ivers "Children Go" from Scatter the Light 1:00:00 -  Brad Tuck "The Lights of Port de Grave" from single 1:03:48 -  CLOSING 1:05:57 -  West of Eden "Next Stop Christmas (with Stefan Andersson)" from Next Stop Christmas Celtic Christmas Music was produced by Marc Gunn. The show was edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs. The show is supported by Christmas music lovers just like yourself over on Patreon. Join others to spread Christmas Cheer! Sign up for just $1 per episode. Visit our website to subscribe to the podcast. You'll find links to all of the artists played in this episode. Finally, please tell one friend about this podcast. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to support any creative endeavor. Promote Celtic culture through Christmas music at CelticChristmasPodcast.com. Nollaig Shona Daoibh! #celticchristmas #celticchristmasmusic

¡Prepárate para un viaje musical épico a través del tiempo! En este episodio de Vinyl Radio, exploramos los éxitos más importantes del Billboard Hot 100 de agosto de 1987, cuando la música pop y el rock dominaban las ondas de radio. Desde las baladas poderosas hasta los himnos llenos de energía, te llevaremos a una era inolvidable con un Top 10 que definió a toda una generación.

Support our channel & Become a Partner ⇨  https://www.missiondelafe.org/ Submit Your Testimony ⇨ https://www.missiondelafe.org/get-involvedSpeak with a leader near you who can help you  ⇨ https://bit.ly/483VdDA Listen on Podcast Spotify Podcast ⇨ https://spoti.fi/3RBKdq3Apple Podcast ⇨ https://apple.co/3evzCuuContact Tanya GrossEmail ⇨ tanya@freetosoarnow.comFacebook ⇨ https://www.facebook.com/tanya.hale.77?mibextid=LQQJ4dMusic ⇨ https://on.soundcloud.com/zgHDyx1PnmkAR1YS8Credits:Directed by Eric Villatoro Interviewed by Travis MitchellEdited By Joshua GayleAudio Mixed by Paul Nicholas Production Assistant: David Pauta, Travis MitchellTestimony Recorded in FloridaDelafé Testimonies is a global evangelistic project with the mission of creating the world's largest archive of Jesus testimonies. Our vision is to save souls, build community, and set people free through the testimony of Jesus.Connect with ushttps://www.facebook.com/delafetestimonieshttps://www.instagram.com/delafetestimonies/Chapters00:00 Miracle Birth01:09 Growing Up in Two Different Worlds03:03 Alcohol and Drug Addiction as a Child06:38 Crack, Cocaine, Heroin, Ecstasy Addiction12:52 Getting Baptized & Struggling With Sin14:42 Jesus Set Me Free from the Physical Bondage!!20:32 Falling Into Sin Once Again (Divorce, Witchcraft)24:43 I Heard the Voice of God Once Again26:54 Marrying My Best Friend28:26 Jesus Encounter29:27 Prophetic Worship Ministry30:58 Jesus Helped Me Forgive and Heal35:08 What This Part if You Doubt Jesus Can Heal You!37:10 Who is Jesus to You?38:10 Prayer39:38 Last Words

This week, Amber, Robin, and Shannon are discussing historical mysteries. Titles mentioned include: Eleanor Kuhns, A Simple Murder (Will Rees #1) Walter Mosley, Devil In a Blue Dress (Easy Rawlins #1) Louise Hare, Miss Aldridge Regrets (Canary Club Mysteries #1) Nelly H. Steele, Death of a Duchess (Duchess of Blackmoore #1) Lev A. C. Rosen, The Bell In the Fog (Evander Mills #2) Naomi Hirahara, Clark and Division (Japantown Mysteries #1) June Hur, The Silence of Bones Elizabeth Peters, Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody #1) Harini Nagendra, The Bangalore Detectives Club (The Bangalore Detectives Club #1) Amanda Flower, I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died (Emily Dickinson Mysteries #2) K.J. Charles, Death in the Spires Chanel Cleeton, The Cuban Heiress You can always contact the Book Bistro team by searching @BookBistroPodcast on facebook, or visiting: https://www.facebook.com/BookBistroPodcast/ You can also send an email to: TheBookBistroPodcast@gmail.com For more information on the podcast and the team behind it, please visit: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/book-bistro

What If Jesus Was Serious | Week 1 | Selective Hearing | Pastor Tyler Sollie | Life Center Tacoma Matthew 5:1-2 (CSB) If Jesus was serious... then He actually EXPECTS us to DO what He SAID. Skye Jethani Quote What have I HEARD from Jesus? Has my HEARING led to LEARNING? Has my LEARNING turned into LIVING? John Ortberg Quote 1 Samuel 15:22 (CSB)

For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a two-episode look at the song “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”. This week we’re looking at the career of Marvin Gaye from 1963 through 1970, as well as his duet partners Mary Wells, Kim Weston, and Tammi Terrell, whose tragically short life comes with a great many content warnings. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a twenty-minute bonus episode, on “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by Iron Butterfly And if you just can’t get enough of me talking, I’ve also guested this week, with Tilt and Gary from The Sitcom Club, on our friend Tyler’s podcast Goon Pod, talking about the 1974 film Man About The House. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ (more…)

We're joined by podcaster, actor and retired rapper Lil Frex to talk about the Drake vs. Kendrick beef, basketball, and sports betting. Subscribe to "That's what I Heard w/ Lil Frex" on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxLohewLT_F6R0pVEhEbtYg SEE MIKE IN EUROPE THIS WEEK: London 5/11 Amsterdam 5/12 Berlin 5/14 Madrid 5/16 Tickets at https://mikerecinecomedy.com Subscribe to our Patreon for a bonus episode every week and access to the entire OFS archive: https://patreon.com/outforsmokes

For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the first part of a two-episode look at the song “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”. This week we take a short look at the song’s writers, Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, and the first released version by Gladys Knight and the Pips. In two weeks time we’ll take a longer look at the sixties career of the song’s most famous performer, Marvin Gaye. This episode is quite a light one. That one… won’t be. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode, on “Bend Me Shape Me” by Amen Corner. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Resources Mixcloud will be up with the next episode. For Motown-related information in this and other Motown episodes, I've used the following resources: Where Did Our Love Go? The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound by Nelson George is an excellent popular history of the various companies that became Motown. To Be Loved by Berry Gordy is Gordy's own, understandably one-sided, but relatively well-written, autobiography. Women of Motown: An Oral History by Susan Whitall is a collection of interviews with women involved in Motown. I Hear a Symphony: Motown and Crossover R&B by J. Andrew Flory is an academic look at Motown. The Motown Encyclopaedia by Graham Betts is an exhaustive look at the people and records involved in Motown's thirty-year history. Motown: The Golden Years is another Motown encyclopaedia. And Motown Junkies is an infrequently-updated blog looking at (so far) the first 693 tracks released on Motown singles. For information on Marvin Gaye, and his relationship with Norman Whitfield, I relied on Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye by David Ritz. I’ve also used information on Whitfield in  Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations by Mark Ribowsky, I’ve also referred to interviews with Whitfield and Strong archived at rocksbackpages.com , notably “The Norman Whitfield interview”, John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 1 February 1977 For information about Gladys Knight, I’ve used her autobiography. The best collection of Gladys Knight and the Pips’ music is this 3-CD set, but the best way to hear Motown hits is in the context of other Motown hits. This five-CD box set contains the first five in the Motown Chartbusters series of British compilations. The Pips’ version of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” is on disc 2, while Marvin Gaye’s is on disc 3, which is famously generally considered one of the best single-disc various artists compilations ever. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before I start, a brief note — this episode contains some brief mentions of miscarriage and drug abuse. The history of modern music would be immeasurably different had it not been for one car breakdown. Norman Whitfield spent the first fifteen years of his life in New York, never leaving the city, until his grandmother died. She’d lived in LA, and that was where the funeral was held, and so the Whitfield family got into a car and drove right across the whole continent — two thousand five hundred miles — to attend the old lady’s funeral. And then after the funeral, they turned round and started to drive home again. But they only got as far as Detroit when the car, understandably, gave up the ghost.  Luckily, like many Black families, they had family in Detroit, and Norman’s aunt was not only willing to put the family up for a while, but her husband was able to give Norman’s father a job in his drug store while he saved up enough money to pay for the car to be fixed. But as it happened, the family liked Detroit, and they never did get around to driving back home to New York. Young Norman in particular took to the city’s nightlife, and soon as well as going to school he was working an evening job at a petrol station — but that was only to supplement the money he made as a pool hustler. Young Norman Whitfield was never going to be the kind of person who took a day job, and so along with his pool he started hanging out with musicians — in particular with Popcorn and the Mohawks, a band led by Popcorn Wylie. [Excerpt: Popcorn and the Mohawks, “Shimmy Gully”] Popcorn and the Mohawks were a band of serious jazz musicians, many of whom, including Wylie himself, went on to be members of the Funk Brothers, the team of session players that played on Motown’s hits — though Wylie would depart Motown fairly early after a falling out with Berry Gordy. They were some of the best musicians in Detroit at the time, and Whitfield would tag along with the group and play tambourine, and sometimes other hand percussion instruments. He wasn’t a serious musician at that point, just hanging out with a bunch of people who were, who were a year or two older than him. But he was learning — one thing that everyone says about Norman Whitfield in his youth is that he was someone who would stand on the periphery of every situation, not getting involved, but soaking in everything that the people around him were doing, and learning from them. And soon, he was playing percussion on sessions. At first, this wasn’t for Motown, but everything in the Detroit music scene connected back to the Gordy family in one way or another. In this case, the label was Thelma Records, which was formed by Berry Gordy’s ex-mother-in-law and named after Gordy’s first wife, who he had recently divorced. Of all the great Motown songwriters and producers, Whitfield’s life is the least-documented, to the extent that the chronology of his early career is very vague and contradictory, and Thelma was such a small label there even seems to be some dispute about when it existed — different sources give different dates, and while Whitfield always said he worked for Thelma records, he might have actually been employed by another label owned by the same people, Ge Ge, which might have operated earlier — but by most accounts Whitfield quickly progressed from session tambourine player to songwriter. According to an article on Whitfield from 1977, the first record of one of his songs was “Alone” by Tommy Storm on Thelma Records, but that record seems not to exist — however, some people on a soul message board, discussing this a few years ago, found an interview with a member of a group called The Fabulous Peps which also featured Storm, saying that their record on Ge Ge Records, “This Love I Have For You”, is a rewrite of that song by Don Davis, Thelma’s head of A&R, though the credit on the label for that is just to Davis and Ron Abner, another member of the group: [Excerpt: The Fabulous Peps, “This Love I Have For You”] So that might, or might not, be the first Norman Whitfield song ever to be released. The other song often credited as Whitfield’s first released song is “Answer Me” by Richard Street and the Distants — Street was another member of the Fabulous Peps, but we’ve encountered him and the Distants before when talking about the Temptations — the Distants were the group that Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Al Bryant had been in before forming the Temptations — and indeed Street would much later rejoin his old bandmates in the Temptations, when Whitfield was producing for them. Unlike the Fabulous Peps track, this one was clearly credited to N. Whitfield, so whatever happened with the Storm track, this is almost certainly Whitfield’s first official credit as a songwriter: [Excerpt: Richard Street and the Distants, “Answer Me”] He was soon writing songs for a lot of small labels — most of which appear to have been recorded by the Thelma team and then licensed out — like “I’ve Gotten Over You” by the Sonnettes: [Excerpt: The Sonnettes, “I’ve Gotten Over You”] That was on KO Records, distributed by Scepter, and was a minor local hit — enough to finally bring Whitfield to the attention of Berry Gordy. According to many sources, Whitfield had been hanging around Hitsville for months trying to get a job with the label, but as he told the story in 1977 “Berry Gordy had sent Mickey Stevenson over to see me about signing with the company as an exclusive in-house writer and producer. The first act I was assigned to was Marvin Gaye and he had just started to become popular.” That’s not quite how the story went. According to everyone else, he was constantly hanging around Hitsville, getting himself into sessions and just watching them, and pestering people to let him get involved. Rather than being employed as a writer and producer, he was actually given a job in Motown’s quality control department for fifteen dollars a week, listening to potential records and seeing which ones he thought were hits, and rating them before they went to the regular department meetings for feedback from the truly important people. But he was also allowed to write songs. His first songwriting credit on a Motown record wasn’t Marvin Gaye, as Whitfield would later tell the story, but was in fact for the far less prestigious Mickey Woods — possibly the single least-known artist of Motown’s early years. Woods was a white teenager, the first white male solo artist signed to Motown, who released two novelty teen-pop singles. Whitfield’s first Motown song was the B-side to Woods’ second single, a knock-off of Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” called “They Call Me Cupid”, co-written with Berry Gordy and Brian Holland: [Excerpt: Mickey Woods, “They Call Me Cupid”] Unsurprisingly that didn’t set the world on fire, and Whitfield didn’t get another Motown label credit for thirteen months (though some of his songs for Thelma may have come out in this period). When he did, it was as co-writer with Mickey Stevenson — and, for the first time, sole producer — of the first single for a new singer, Kim Weston: [Excerpt: Kim Weston, “It Should Have Been Me”] As it turned out, that wasn’t a hit, but the flip-side, “Love Me All The Way”, co-written by Stevenson (who was also Weston’s husband) and Barney Ales, did become a minor hit, making the R&B top thirty. After that, Whitfield was on his way. It was only a month later that he wrote his first song for the Temptations, a B-side, “The Further You Look, The Less You See”: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “The Further You Look, The Less You See”] That was co-written with Smokey Robinson, and as we heard in the episode on “My Girl”, both Robinson and Whitfield vied with each other for the job of Temptations writer and producer. As we also heard in that episode, Robinson got the majority of the group’s singles for the next couple of years, but Whitfield would eventually take over from him. Whitfield’s work with the Temptations is probably his most important work as a writer and producer, and the Temptations story is intertwined deeply with this one, but for the most part I’m going to save discussion of Whitfield’s work with the group until we get to 1972, so bear with me if I seem to skim over that — and if I repeat myself in a couple of years when we get there. Whitfield’s first major success, though, was also the first top ten hit for Marvin Gaye, “Pride and Joy”: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Pride and Joy”] “Pride and Joy” had actually been written and recorded before the Kim Weston and Temptations tracks, and was intended as album filler — it was written during a session by Whitfield, Gaye, and Mickey Stevenson who was also the producer of the track, and recorded in the same session as it was written, with Martha and the Vandellas on backing vocals. The intended hit from the session, “Hitch-Hike”, we covered in the previous episode on Gaye, but that was successful enough that an album, That Stubborn Kinda Fellow, was released, with “Pride and Joy” on it. A few months later Gaye recut his lead vocal, over the same backing track, and the record was released as a single, reaching number ten on the pop charts and number two R&B: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Pride and Joy”] Whitfield had other successes as well, often as B-sides. “The Girl’s Alright With Me”, the B-side to Smokey Robinson’s hit for the Temptations “I’ll Be In Trouble”, went to number forty on the R&B chart in its own right: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “The Girl’s Alright With Me”] That was co-written with Eddie Holland, and Holland and Whitfield had a minor songwriting partnership at this time, with Holland writing lyrics and Whitfield the music. Eddie Holland even released a Holland and Whitfield collaboration himself during his brief attempt at a singing career — “I Couldn’t Cry if I Wanted To” was a song they wrote for the Temptations, who recorded it but then left it on the shelf for four years, so Holland put out his own version, again as a B-side: [Excerpt: Eddie Holland, “I Couldn’t Cry if I Wanted To”] Whitfield was very much a B-side kind of songwriter and producer at this point — but this could be to his advantage. In January 1963, around the same time as all these other tracks, he cut a filler track with the “no-hit Supremes”, “He Means the World to Me”, which was left on the shelf until they needed a B-side eighteen months later and pulled it out and released it: [Excerpt: The Supremes, “He Means the World to Me”] But the track that that was a B-side to was “Where Did Our Love Go?”, and at the time you could make a lot of money from writing the B-side to a hit that big. Indeed, at first, Whitfield made more money from “Where Did Our Love Go?” than Holland, Dozier, or Holland, because he got a hundred percent of the songwriters’ share for his side of the record, while they had to split their share three ways. Slowly Whitfield moved from being a B-side writer to being an A-side writer. With Eddie Holland he was given a chance at a Temptations A-side for the first time, with “Girl, (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)”: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)”] He also wrote for Jimmy Ruffin, but in 1964 it was with girl groups that Whitfield was doing his best work. With Mickey Stevenson he wrote “Needle in a Haystack” for the Velvettes: [Excerpt: The Velvettes, “Needle in a Haystack”] He wrote their classic followup “He Was Really Sayin' Somethin’” with Stevenson and Eddie Holland, and with Holland he also wrote “Too Many Fish in the Sea” for the Marvelettes: [Excerpt: The Marvelettes, “Too Many Fish In The Sea”] By late 1964, Whitfield wasn’t quite in the first rank of Motown songwriter-producers with Holland-Dozier-Holland and Smokey Robinson, but he was in the upper part of the second tier with Mickey Stevenson and Clarence Paul. And by early 1966, as we saw in the episode on “My Girl”, he had achieved what he’d wanted for four years, and become the Temptations’ primary writer and producer. As I said, we’re going to look at Whitfield’s time working with the Temptations later, but in 1966 and 67 they were the act he was most associated with, and in particular, he collaborated with Eddie Holland on three top ten hits for the group in 1966. But as we discussed in the episode on “I Can’t Help Myself”, Holland’s collaborations with Whitfield eventually caused problems for Holland with his other collaborators, when he won the BMI award for writing the most hit songs, depriving his brother and Lamont Dozier of their share of the award because his outside collaborations put him ahead of them. While Whitfield *could* write songs by himself, and had in the past, he was at his best as a collaborator — as well as his writing partnership with Eddie Holland he’d written with Mickey Stevenson, Marvin Gaye, and Janie Bradford. And so when Holland told him he was no longer able to work together, Whitfield started looking for someone else who could write lyrics for him, and he soon found someone: [Excerpt: Barrett Strong, “Money”] Barrett Strong had, of course, been the very first Motown act to have a major national hit, with “Money”, but as we discussed in the episode on that song he had been unable to have a follow-up hit, and had actually gone back to working on an assembly line for a while. But when you’ve had a hit as big as “Money”, working on an assembly line loses what little lustre it has, and Strong soon took himself off to New York and started hanging around the Brill Building, where he hooked up with Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, the writers of such hits as “Save the Last Dance for Me”, “Viva Las Vegas”, “Sweets for My Sweet”, and “A Teenager in Love”.  Pomus and Shuman, according to Strong, signed him to a management contract, and they got him signed to Atlantic’s subsidiary Atco, where he recorded one single, “Seven Sins”, written and produced by the team: [Excerpt: Barrett Strong, “Seven Sins”] That was a flop, and Strong was dropped by the label. He bounced around a few cities before ending up in Chicago, where he signed to VeeJay Records and put out one more single as a performer, “Make Up Your Mind”, which also went nowhere: [Excerpt: Barrett Strong, “Make Up Your Mind”] Strong had co-written that, and as his performing career was now definitively over, he decided to move into songwriting as his main job. He co-wrote “Stay in My Corner” for the Dells, which was a top thirty R&B hit for them on VeeJay in 1965 and in a remade version in 1968 became a number one R&B hit and top ten pop hit for them: [Excerpt: The Dells, “Stay in My Corner”] And on his own he wrote another top thirty R&B hit, “This Heart of Mine”, for the Artistics: [Excerpt: The Artistics, “This Heart of Mine”] He wrote several other songs that had some minor success in 1965 and 66, before moving back to Detroit and hooking up again with his old label, this time coming to them as a songwriter with a track record rather than a one-hit wonder singer. As Strong put it “They were doing my style of music then, they were doing something a little different when I left, but they were doing the more soulful, R&B-style stuff, so I thought I had a place there. So I had an idea I thought I could take back and see if they could do something with it.” That idea was the first song he wrote under his new contract, and it was co-written with Norman Whitfield. It’s difficult to know how Whitfield and Strong started writing together, or much about their writing partnership, even though it was one of the most successful songwriting teams of the era, because neither man was interviewed in any great depth, and there’s almost no long-form writing on either of them. What does seem to have been the case is that both men had been aware of each other in the late fifties, when Strong was a budding R&B star and Whitfield merely a teenager hanging round watching the cool kids. The two may even have written together before — in an example of how the chronology for both Whitfield and Strong seems to make no sense, Whitfield had cowritten a song with Marvin Gaye, “Wherever I Lay My Hat, That’s My Home”, in 1962 — when Strong was supposedly away from Motown — and it had been included as an album track on the That Stubborn Kinda Fellow album: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “Wherever I Lay My Hat, That’s My Home”] The writing on that was originally credited just to Whitfield and Gaye on the labels, but it is now credited to Whitfield, Gaye, and Strong, including with BMI. Similarly Gaye’s 1965 album track “Me and My Lonely Room” — recorded in 1963 but held back – was initially credited to Whitfield alone but is now credited to Whitfield and Strong, in a strange inverse of the way “Money” initially had Strong’s credit but it was later removed. But whether this was an administrative decision made later, or whether Strong had been moonlighting for Motown uncredited in 1962 and collaborated with Whitfield, they hadn’t been a formal writing team in the way Whitfield and Holland had been, and both later seemed to date their collaboration proper as starting in 1966 when Strong returned to Motown — and understandably. The two songs they’d written earlier – if indeed they had – had been album filler, but between 1967 when the first of their new collaborations came out and 1972 when they split up, they wrote twenty-three top forty hits together. Theirs seems to have been a purely business relationship — in the few interviews with Strong he talks about Whitfield as someone he was friendly with, but Whitfield’s comments on Strong seem always to be the kind of very careful comments one would make about someone for whom one has a great deal of professional respect, a great deal of personal dislike, but absolutely no wish to air the dirty laundry behind that dislike, or to burn bridges that don’t need burning. Either way, Whitfield was in need of a songwriting partner when Barrett Strong walked into a Motown rehearsal room, and recognised that Strong’s talents were complementary to his. So he told Strong, straight out, “I’ve had quite a few hit records already. If you write with me, I can guarantee you you’ll make at least a hundred thousand dollars a year” — though he went on to emphasise that that wasn’t a guarantee-guarantee, and would depend on Strong putting the work in. Strong agreed, and the first idea he brought in for his new team earned both of them more than that hundred thousand dollars by itself. Strong had been struck by the common phrase “I heard it through the grapevine”, and started singing that line over some Ray Charles style gospel chords. Norman Whitfield knew a hook when he heard one, and quickly started to build a full song around Strong’s line. Initially, by at least some accounts, they wanted to place the song with the Isley Brothers, who had just signed to Motown and had a hit with the Holland-Dozier-Holland song “This Old Heart of Mine”: [Excerpt: The Isley Brothers, “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You)”] For whatever reason, the Isley Brothers didn’t record the song, or if they did no copy of the recording has ever surfaced, though it does seem perfectly suited to their gospel-inflected style. The Isleys did, though, record another early Whitfield and Strong song, “That’s the Way Love Is”, which came out in 1967 as a flop single, but would later be covered more successfully by Marvin Gaye: [Excerpt: The Isley Brothers, “That’s the Way Love Is”] Instead, the song was first recorded by the Miracles. And here the story becomes somewhat murky. We have a recording by the Miracles, released on an album two years later, but some have suggested that that version isn’t the same recording they made in 1966 when Whitfield and Strong wrote the song originally: [Excerpt: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] It certainly sounds to my ears like that is probably the version of the song the group recorded in 66 — it sounds, frankly, like a demo for the later, more famous version. All the main elements are there — notably the main Ray Charles style hook played simultaneously on Hammond organ and electric piano, and the almost skanking rhythm guitar stabs — but Smokey Robinson’s vocal isn’t *quite* passionate enough, the tempo is slightly off, and the drums don’t have the same cavernous rack tom sound that they have in the more famous version. If you weren’t familiar with the eventual hit, it would sound like a classic Motown track, but as it is it’s missing something… [Excerpt: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] According to at least some sources, that was presented to the quality control team — the team in which Whitfield had started his career, as a potential single, but they dismissed it. It wasn’t a hit, and Berry Gordy said it was one of the worst songs he’d ever heard. But Whitfield knew the song was a hit, and so he went back into the studio and cut a new backing track: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine (backing track only)”] (Incidentally, no official release of the instrumental backing track for “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” exists, and I had to put that one together myself by taking the isolated parts someone had uploaded to youtube and synching them back together in editing software, so if there are some microsecond-level discrepancies between the instruments there, that’s on me, not on the Funk Brothers.) That track was originally intended for the Temptations, with whom Whitfield was making a series of hits at the time, but they never recorded it at the time. Whitfield did produce a version for them as an album track a couple of years later though, so we have an idea how they might have taken the song vocally — though by then David Ruffin had been replaced in the group by Dennis Edwards: [Excerpt: The Temptations, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] But instead of giving the song to the Temptations, Whitfield kept it back for Marvin Gaye, the singer with whom he’d had his first big breakthrough hit and for whom his two previous collaborations with Strong – if collaborations they were – had been written. Gaye and Whitfield didn’t get on very well — indeed, it seems that Whitfield didn’t get on very well with *anyone* — and Gaye would later complain about the occasions when Whitfield produced his records, saying “Norman and I came within a fraction of an inch of fighting. He thought I was a prick because I wasn't about to be intimidated by him. We clashed. He made me sing in keys much higher than I was used to. He had me reaching for notes that caused my throat veins to bulge.” But Gaye sang the song fantastically, and Whitfield was absolutely certain they had a sure-fire hit: [Excerpt: Marvin Gaye, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] But once again the quality control department refused to release the track. Indeed, it was Berry Gordy personally who decided, against the wishes of most of the department by all accounts, that instead of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” Gaye’s next single should be a Holland-Dozier-Holland track, “Your Unchanging Love”, a soundalike rewrite of their earlier hit for him, “How Sweet It Is”. “Your Unchanging Love” made the top thirty, but was hardly a massive success. Gordy has later claimed that he always liked “Grapevine” but just thought it was a bit too experimental for Gaye’s image at the time, but reports from others who were there say that what Gordy actually said was “it sucks”. So “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” was left on the shelf, and the first fruit of the new Whitfield/Strong team to actually get released was “Gonna Give Her All the Love I’ve Got”, written for Jimmy Ruffin, the brother of Temptations lead singer David, who had had one big hit, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” and one medium one, “I’ve Passed This Way Before”, in 1966. Released in 1967, “Gonna Give Her All the Love I’ve Got” became Ruffin’s third and final hit, making number 29: [Excerpt: Jimmy Ruffin, “Gonna Give Her All the Love I’ve Got”] But Whitfield was still certain that “Grapevine” could be a hit. And then in 1967, a few months after he’d shelved Gaye’s version, came the record that changed everything in soul: [Excerpt: Aretha Franklin, “Respect”] Whitfield was astounded by that record, but also became determined he was going to “out-funk Aretha”, and “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” was going to be the way to do it. And he knew someone who thought she could do just that. Gladys Knight never got on well with Aretha Franklin. According to Knight’s autobiography this was one-sided on Franklin’s part, and Knight was always friendly to Franklin, but it’s also notable that she says the same about several other of the great sixties female soul singers (though not all of them by any means), and there seems to be a general pattern among those singers that they felt threatened by each other and that their own position in the industry was precarious, in a way the male singers usually didn’t. But Knight claimed she always *wished* she got on well with Franklin, because the two had such similar lives. They’d both started out singing gospel as child performers before moving on to the chitlin circuit at an early age, though Knight started her singing career even younger than Franklin did. Knight was only four when she started performing solos in church, and by the age of eight she had won the two thousand dollar top prize on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour by singing Brahms’ “Lullaby” and the Nat “King” Cole hit “Too Young”: [Excerpt: Nat “King” Cole, “Too Young”] That success inspired her, and she soon formed a vocal group with her brother Bubba, sister Brenda and their cousins William and Eleanor Guest. They named themselves the Pips in honour of a cousin whose nickname that was, and started performing at talent contests in Atlanta Chitlin’ Circuit venues. They soon got a regular gig at one of them, the Peacock, despite them all being pre-teens at the time. The Pips also started touring, and came to the attention of Maurice King, the musical director of the Flame nightclub in Detroit, who became a vocal coach for the group. King got the group signed to Brunswick records, where they released their first single, a song King had written called “Whistle My Love”: [Excerpt: The Pips, “Whistle My Love”] According to Knight that came out in 1955, when she was eleven, but most other sources have it coming out in 1958. The group’s first two singles flopped, and Brenda and Eleanor quit the group, being replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and an unrelated singer Langston George, leaving Knight as the only girl in the quintet. While the group weren’t successful on records, they were getting a reputation live and toured on package tours with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and others. Knight also did some solo performances with a jazz band led by her music teacher, and started dating that band’s sax player, Jimmy Newman. The group’s next recording was much more successful. They went into a makeshift studio owned by a local club owner, Fats Hunter, and recorded what they thought was a demo, a version of the Johnny Otis song “Every Beat of My Heart”: [Excerpt: The Pips, “Every Beat of My Heart (HunTom version)”] The first they knew that Hunter had released that on his own small label was when they heard it on the radio. The record was picked up by VeeJay records, and it ended up going to number one on the R&B charts and number six on the pop charts, but they never saw any royalties from it. It brought them to the attention of another small label, Fury Records, which got them to rerecord the song, and that version *also* made the R&B top twenty and got as high as number forty-five on the pop charts: [Excerpt: Gladys Knight and the Pips, “Every Beat of My Heart (Fury version)”] However, just because they had a contract with Fury didn’t mean they actually got any more money, and Knight has talked about the label’s ownership being involved with gangsters. That was the first recording to be released as by “Gladys Knight and the Pips”, rather than just The Pips, and they would release a few more singles on Fury, including a second top twenty pop hit, the Don Covay song “Letter Full of Tears”: [Excerpt: Gladys Knight and the Pips, “Letter Full of Tears”] But Knight had got married to Newman, who was by now the group’s musical director, after she fell pregnant when she was sixteen and he was twenty. However, that first pregnancy tragically ended in miscarriage, and when she became pregnant again she decided to get off the road to reduce the risk. She spent a couple of years at home, having two children, while the other Pips – minus George who left soon after – continued without her to little success. But her marriage was starting to deteriorate under pressure of Newman’s drug use — they wouldn’t officially divorce until 1972, but they were already feeling the pressure, and would split up sooner rather than later — and Knight  returned to the stage, initially as a solo artist or duetting with Jerry Butler, but soon rejoining the Pips, who by this time were based in New York and working with the choreographer Cholly Atkins to improve their stagecraft. For the next few years the Pips drifted from label to label, scoring one more top forty hit in 1964 with Van McCoy’s “Giving Up”, but generally just getting by like so many other acts on the circuit. Eventually the group ended up moving to Detroit, and hooking up with Motown, where mentors like Cholly Atkins and Maurice King were already working. At first they thought they were taking a step up, but they soon found that they were a lower tier Motown act, considered on a par with the Spinners or the Contours rather than the big acts, and according to Knight they got pulled off an early Motown package tour because Diana Ross, with whom like Franklin Knight had something of a rivalry, thought they were too good on stage and were in danger of overshadowing her. Knight says in her autobiography that they “formed a little club of our own with some of the other malcontents” with Martha Reeves, Marvin Gaye, and someone she refers to as “Ivory Joe Hunter” but I presume she means Ivy Jo Hunter (one of the big problems when dealing with R&B musicians of this era is the number of people with similar names. Ivy Jo Hunter, Joe Hunter, and Ivory Joe Hunter were all R&B musicians for whom keyboard was their primary instrument, and both Ivy Jo and just plain Joe worked for Motown at different points, but Ivory Joe never did) Norman Whitfield was also part of that group of “malcontents”, and he was also the producer of the Pips’ first few singles for Motown, and so when he was looking for someone to outdo Aretha, someone with something to prove, he turned to them. He gave the group the demo tape, and they worked out a vocal arrangement for a radically different version of the song, one inspired by “Respect”: [Excerpt: Gladys Knight and the Pips, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”] The third time was the charm, and quality control finally agreed to release “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” as a single. Gladys Knight always claimed it had no promotion, but Norman Whitfield’s persistence had paid off — the single went to number two on the pop charts (kept off the top by “Daydream Believer”), number one on the R&B charts, and became Motown’s biggest-selling single *ever* up until that point. It also got Knight a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female — though the Grammy committee, at least, didn’t think she’d out-Aretha’d Aretha, as “Respect” won the award. And that, sadly, sort of summed up Gladys Knight and the Pips at Motown — they remained not quite the winners in everything. There’s no shame in being at number two behind a classic single like “Daydream Believer”, and certainly no shame in losing the Grammy to Aretha Franklin at her best, but until they left Motown in 1972 and started their run of hits on Buddah records, Gladys Knight and the Pips would always be in other people’s shadow. That even extended to “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” when, as we’ll hear in part two of this story, Norman Whitfield’s persistence paid off, Marvin Gaye’s version got released as a single, and *that* became the biggest-selling single on Motown ever, outselling the Pips version and making it forever his song, not theirs. And as a final coda to the story of Gladys Knight and the Pips at Motown, while they were touring off the back of “Grapevine’s” success, the Pips ran into someone they vaguely knew from his time as a musician in the fifties, who was promoting a group he was managing made up of his sons. Knight thought they had something, and got in touch with Motown several times trying to get them to sign the group, but she was ignored. After a few attempts, though, Bobby Taylor of another second-tier Motown group, the Vancouvers, also saw them and got in touch with Motown, and this time they got signed. But that story wasn’t good enough for Motown, and so neither Taylor nor Knight got the credit for discovering the group. Instead when Joe Jackson’s sons’ band made their first album, it was titled Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5. But that, of course, is a story for another time…

As per tradition (at least from days of yore when we did episodes weekly), we're using the week of Easter to add some more traditional Christmas music to our list. And it just so happens that both of this episode's songs are from the same album, 2012's Holidays Rule! Both songs were also composed by guys named Henry who were better known for other things, which I guess is also kind of a fun coincidence? Calexico's take on King Henry VIII's "Green Grows the Holly" is a breath of fresh air, but Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" as performed by The Civil Wars is just kinda... air. This week's ranking music is "The Holly and the Ivy" performed by Los Campesinos!

Comedian, writer, and artist Julie Mitchell and I get on like gangbusters in this episode that easily could have gone twice as long. The whole conversation felt like unhinging a release valve for me, despite taking on one of my toughest challenges yet as a host: Julie has a definitive coma moment, but it's too raw and unresolved for her to go into detail. How do you talk about a moment that changed you when you can't talk about the moment itself? You talk about the changes!Content warning: musical improv, rape jokes, Long COVID, Palestine, big "T" vs. little "t" trauma, vulnerability requires anonymity, Maya Shetreat, the Psychedelic Assembly, crowdwork in standup comedy, Pigeon Feathers, finally getting the movie Magnolia.If you believe in This Is Your Afterlife and want fun bonus episodes, become a patron for $5 or $15/month at patreon.com/davemaher. Follow Julie @juliepoptart on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.Subscribe to her Substack—Girl, Uninterrupted—at juliepoptart.substack.com. And read her movie reviews on her blog, I Heard the Book Was Better!Donate to the Chicago Abortion Fund via my page to provide life-saving healthcare to folks who need abortions.Follow this show on IG: @thisisyourafterlife, and get more info at thisisyourafterlife.com. Have thoughts on the show? Email thisisyourafterlifepodcast@gmail.com.Follow me @thisisdavemaher on Instagram and Twitter.All music by This Is Your Afterlife house band Lake Mary.Check out my other podcast, Genre Reveal Party!, where I analyze TV and movies with my friend, writer and cultural critic Madeline Lane-McKinley.

This is a rebroadcast of a program that first aired December 24, 2022.This weekend's program was first broadcast in December 2022 and was prepared to focus our attention on the Christ of Christmas. In the left column are resources and ideas for you to use personally with your own families.  The Christian Worldview wishes all of you a memorable and meaningful Christmas.  To God be all Glory!Christmas is upon us. While it's easy to get distracted by all that competes for our attention—current events and politics, work and school, sports and recreation, travel and material things, even family and church—there is really only one most important issue and that is the person of Jesus Christ and what He has done for mankind.Jesus said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).That couldn't be more clear. Where you spend eternity hinges on whether you place your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.Christmas is the time when Christians remember and celebrate God sending His Son into our world, born of a virgin woman, mighty and holy in word and deed, and loving and sacrificial in offering His perfect life to satisfy God's wrath and justice for our sins.Today will be a program to think about not Christmas generally, but the Christ of Christmas specifically. We will read God's word, listen to some music, even do a Christmas quiz, all to appreciate and worship the God/Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. For none of us would have any hope without His “One Solitary Life”.-----------------------------------CHRISTMAS RESOURCES for you and your family:QUIZ/POEMS/READINGS:Christmas QuizHistory behind I Heard the Bells on Christmas DayOne Solitary LifeOn Going Home for ChristmasVIDEO:The Gospel | Paul WasherTreasures of the Snow filmThe Legend of the Candy CaneTruce in the Forest short filmHans Brinker film AmazonMUSIC:O Holy Night | Phil WebbThe Messiah | Robert ShawTCW Christmas Music (Spotify)

Have you ever heard the song "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"? Have you listened to the lyrics carefully? It's not exactly the blissful naiveté of "Deck the Halls". It's much more real and raw than that. Today, Fr. Mike is here to remind us that although "hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men," the truth is that "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good-will to men."