Podcasts about john is

Patrick opens with a heartfelt conversation with Josh, a new Catholic convert from Los Angeles, about the Church's role in a rapidly changing culture and the ongoing impact of the Second Vatican Council. Drawing from decades of study and experience, Patrick explains how historical and cultural forces from the 1960s continue to affect Catholic life today and offers practical advice to new converts about staying spiritually grounded and resisting the pull of online negativity. The episode also touches on timely topics like pharmacy vaccination incentives and the spread of AI-generated misinformation, all while Patrick encourages listeners to focus on faith and community amid modern challenges. Josh – If Vatican 2 happened in the mid-60s, would it have been different especially with the huge cultural shift that happened? (01:05) CVS staff get perks like beach days and donuts for hitting vaccine goals (19:45) John - Is giving the peace sign at mass wrong? (24:08) AI speech on YouTube falsely attributing to Pope Leo XIV (34:16) Kimberly - My daughter died within 18 hours of getting a vaccine shot. Jesus helped me get through this. I had to learn not to become a prisoner. (39:24) Joe - What did the early Christians think of Peter being the Foundation stone of the Church? (43:41) Brian – There is a girl who says she will text me but never does. I see her every time I go to Church. (48:31)

Patrick takes a look at thought-provoking topics such as the ethics of sterilization, choosing a Bible, and respecting statues in Catholicism. He responds to listener emails about community support and the complexities of remarriage for widows. Join Patrick as he continues to explore faith, society, and the everyday challenges we face. Mike (email) - I’m noticing a dramatic uptick in transgender rage bait stories and discussions ever since “liberation day” tanked the markets (00:41) Any recommendations for a good bible? Patrick recommends the Catholic Edition from Ignatius Press and the Ignatius Press Study Bible (04:02) David (email) – How do I know if someone is trying to scam me? (07:21) Candice (email) – Can a non-repentant non-Catholic on death row receive communion before his execution? (12:52) Madonna - I am a Catholic woman (widow) and met a man who is divorced. I’m not sure about his religion, baptism or if his marriage was valid in the eyes of the church. Before I even take one step forward, I need to know what the church considers a non-valid marriage. (19:56) Hazel (email) – Can I go to an Easter party on Holy Saturday? (25:17) Maria – Mary is not God, so how can she receive our prayers? (27:25) Linda - We have statue of Our Lady. A seer came from Medjugorje and saw Mary come out of this statue. People are praying at this statue outside of chapel. is this ok? Is this holding Mary above Christ. (31:15) Patrick and Cyrus read a few funny emails that came in during the break. (36:10) Alice (email) – Medjugorje was approved. (No, it wasn’t) (40:03) John - Is having a vasectomy a sin? If so, I didn’t know. (42:25)

(4:26) Bible Study: 1 John 4:11-18 The Holy Spirit has you and has given us his very lifeforce (23:24) Letters: Why the psalm says "CD" in my USCCB Reading, why aren't people jailed for abortion, did Mary die, Religion of the Romans, Eastern Liturgy, (37:09) Word of the Day: Pass By (43:49) Phones: Carolyn: Will we come back to Intinction? Zabet: I watch different masses in different states. One of the priests doesn't sit the whole time. why do we sit during mass? John: Is protestant confessions valid and how does it work?

Patrick explains that the Bible does not argue against Mary's perpetual virginity, but rather is silent on the issue, neither confirming nor denying that she had children other than Jesus. He points to several pieces of evidence, such as only Jesus ever being referred to as the son of Mary, Jesus entrusting Mary to the care of Saint John rather than a sibling, and some of the "brothers of Jesus" mentioned being sons of a different Mary. Patrick believes there is ample biblical evidence refuting the idea that Mary had other children besides Jesus.   Steve - Terms of Service Agreement w/Disney.  Many of them contain a clause that you are agreeing to financially and personally be responsible if anything may happen to that company. (01:17) Tzvi - What is the Catholic belief about the Virgin Mary, about her perpetual Virginity and the rationality behind that belief? (05:52) Joe - Why is there a new document from the Vatican regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide when there are already statements and documents written in the past about this? (16:11) Nathaniel – I need a book recommendation for a Mormon who is dating my daughter and he is considering becoming Catholic? (27:31) Zach – Regarding the church's teaching on valid baptism: the Church requires the party to do what the Church does, how does that apply to a believer's baptism? (41:37) John - Is there any theology behind the idea that people in hell would want to exist in hell as opposed to not existing as well? (45:57)

Father Matthew Spencer dives deep into the intersection of faith and societal responsibilities, exploring the impact of disruptive protests and the sacredness of participating responsibly in society. Recognizing individual dignity while promoting the common good is crucial. As we move through this world, it's our shared tapestry of experiences, beliefs, and responsibilities that craft not just the individual, but the whole of society.    Nathaniel - What are the Churches guidelines on doing Eucharist processions? (20:28) John - Is there a purgatory for non-Catholics? (28:37) Victor - What is the proper translation for the 5th Commandment in the bible? (36:29) Rebecca - Can demons enter into your dreams to cause nightmares? (46:23)

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the evolving real estate landscape and unsure about how to navigate the changes, then you are not alone! Imagine the frustration of trying to understand new commission structures and feeling left in the dark about the impact of NAR lawsuits. It's time to gain clarity and take control of your real estate journey. Let's explore how to thrive in this changing environment together.In this episode, you will be able to:Discover the evolving real estate commission structures and how to navigate NAR lawsuit changes.Uncover the strategies for successful real estate marketing in changing markets.Explore the benefits of taking on dual roles as a realtor and investor in the real estate industry.Learn the impact of NAR lawsuits on real estate and gain insights for adapting to the changes.Master the art of negotiating realtor commissions in buyer agreements for better outcomes.My special guest is John Marion. John IS an experienced realtor and investor based in Atlanta, has weathered the ups and downs of the real estate market for over a decade. His journey began during the market crash of 2007-2008, where he transitioned from the nonprofit sector to real estate investing. With a strong foothold in fix-and-flips, distressed properties, and representing investors as a licensed realtor, John offers a wealth of knowledge on the industry's nuances. His dual role as an investor and realtor provides a unique vantage point for understanding the evolving landscape of real estate commissions, making him a valuable asset in navigating the impact of NAR lawsuits. John's insights bring a seasoned perspective to the discussion, shedding light on the changing dynamics of real estate.Connect with John at Alpha Dog Capital.Watch the original video HERE!Book a call with Scott HERE!The key moments in this episode are:00:00:02 - Introduction and Lawsuit Overview 00:01:00 - John's Real Estate Journey 00:07:27 - Lawsuit Details 00:10:58 - Impact on Buyers' Agents 00:12:24 - Realtors' Response 00:12:51 - Real Estate Commission Changes 00:13:45 - Impact on Buyers 00:17:07 - Labor Intensity in Real Estate 00:21:12 - Open Houses and Lead Generation 00:24:56 - Disadvantages of Unrepresented Parties 00:25:47 - Misconceptions about realtors and investors 00:26:25 - The value of realtors in real estate transactions 00:27:40 - Importance of investor-friendly realtors 00:29:29 - The impact of market shifts on buyer representation 00:31:12 - The role of MLS and realtor dues 00:38:52 - The Impact of Property Condition 00:39:28 - The Role of Realtors 00:41:59 - Squatter Legislation 00:45:23 - Future of Real Estate Services 00:48:54 - Human Connection in Real Estate 00:51:18 - Connecting with John Marion 00:51:31 - Conclusion and Thank You Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Note Closers Show community today:WeCloseNotes.comThe Note Closers Show FacebookThe Note Closers Show TwitterScott Carson LinkedInThe Note Closers Show YouTubeThe Note Closers Show VimeoThe Note Closers Show InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest

Patrick talks with a grief stricken widow who seeks solace in knowing her husband's spirit lives on. Patrick also tackles the delicate balance of reverence and worship etiquette, addressing the need for respect within the church walls, including appropriate attire and behavior. He also explores the incorporation of sacred music into liturgy, reconciling tradition with contemporary practices. Amidst these poignant discussions, Patrick shares practical wisdom on navigating family conflicts, and offers guidance to those seeking to deepen their connection with the Catholic faith. Patty - A friend asked me if it was bad to hang decorative crosses in the bathroom. (02:30) John - Is there anything the catechism teaches about modesty at church? (03:56) Aaron - I am exploring Calvinism and other religions. What is the most respectful way to attend a Catholic mass especially while not believing that communion is the body and blood of Christ? Lynn - I lost my husband three years ago and I am still grieving. Can he see me and does he know that I'm still sad? (14:57) Cindy - I was in adoration and someone came in who was disruptive and I wanted to reach out to her but I didn't think it was my place. Would that have been alright if I had gone and talked to her? (22:32) John - My older brother can only eat through a feeding tube. Is there any way that he can receive communion? (30:07) Patrick shares what he did when he didn't trust one of his daughters' boyfriends and he had to put an end to that relationship (34:35) Claudia - I am on a new Liturgist committee and we want to be open to other opinions, but our music director is Lutheran. How do I graciously tell him that is not the direction we are going in?

This week on the blog, a podcast interview with screenwriter and author Neal Marshall Stevens about his new book on horror, “A Sense of Dread (Getting Under The Skin of Horror Screenwriting).”LINKSA Free Film Book for You: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cq23xyyt12Another Free Film Book: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/x3jn3emga6Fast, Cheap Film Website: https://www.fastcheapfilm.com/Neal's book at Michael Wiese Productions: https://mwp.com/product-author/neal-marshall-stevens/Neal on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0139605/Brian Forrest's Blog: https://toothpickings.medium.com/Eli Marks Website: https://www.elimarksmysteries.com/Albert's Bridge Books Website: https://www.albertsbridgebooks.com/YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/BehindthePageTheEliMarksPodcastNeal Stevens Transcript JOHN: Neal, you have a really long and storied history in the horror cinema. Can you remember the very first horror movie that had an impact on you? NEAL: Well, actually, looking back, the first movie that scared the hell out of me wasn't a horror movie. It was actually a Disney movie called Johnny Tremaine. It was a kid's movie. And there was a scene in that movie, Johnny Tremaine was a kid during the Revolutionary War who knew Paul Revere, who, as you may remember, was a silversmith. And there's a scene in that movie, the British are coming and Paul Revere has got this urn of molten silver.It gets knocked onto a table. Johnny Tremaine trips and puts his hand face up into the molten silver and fries his hand. And I'm sure I know I, every kid in the audience goes like (sound effect.) But that's actually not the scariest part of the movie. Later on, surgeons are unwrapping his burnt hand, and they look down and they react in horror.His fingers have healed together, stuck together. We don't see it and they say, “Oh, we're going to have to cut his fingers apart,” which also happens off screen. And again, in our imagination, imagining no anesthesia back then, it's a revolutionary war. So, poor Johnny Tremaine has to have his healed together fingers cut apart. The memory of what that must be like has lasted. I must have been like five or six when I saw it. My parents dragged me to see Johnny Tremaine, it's a happy Disney movie. I'm 67 years old, so it's been over a half a century since I saw this movie and was appropriately traumatized by those images. So, Disney knew how to scare little kids. That's for sure. JOHN: He sure did. Wow. That's a horrible story. NEAL: Yeah. As for official horror movies that scared the hell out of me, again, we used to watch Phantasmic Features on the TV in Boston. I remember a movie called Teenagers from Outer Space. They weren't actually teenagers. They were all in their thirties. But anyway, these invaders had a skeleton ray that as they would aim it at someone, it would flash and you're instantly reduced literally to a skeleton. And they were, they didn't care who, so as soon as they come out of their spaceship, there's a barking dog—bzzzt!—and the dog falls down, reduced to bones. They didn't care. They would use it as a woman's climbing out of a swimming pool—bzzzt!—skeleton floating in the pool. The casualness with which completely innocent people are reduced to skeletons. Again, absolutely horrifying. Couldn't have been much older than nine or ten when I watched this movie. But the fact that human flesh has reduced the skeletons, but also the casual innocence of which people are reduced to flesh is stripped off their bones. It's terrifying to me. BRIAN: I wonder how you parlayed that early sense of, “Oh, I like horror movies” into, “I want to create horror as a genre. “ NEAL: Well, I was one of a whole generation of kids who got super eight cameras and made, you know, we made stop motion movies and made monster movies in their basements. Pursuant to that, I was writing scripts when I was 13 years old. I guess people now do it with phones. We didn't have cell phones back when I was a kid, but we had super eight cameras and then, you know, a little cartridge things that we'd slug in. And so, I made tons of those little stop motion movies down in my basement. BRIAN: Do you still have some of them? NEAL: I guess I may have them somewhere. I think I have an old creaky super eight projector somewhere. I don't think you can get a bulb for it anymore. BRIAN: I've got one up there. I wonder if it would work? NEAL: Yeah. That's the big question. I wonder if it would work? Heaven only knows. JOHN: But that's a great way to learn visual storytelling. NEAL: Yeah. When I ultimately went to NYU grad film and, and all the films that we shot the first year were all silent. First silent film then silent with sound effects, but you weren't allowed to use sync sound until you got to second year, if you made it that far. JOHN: Did you make it that far? NEAL: Yes, I did. I actually graduated. Back at NYU, it was a very rough program at the time. They cut the student enrollment in half going from first to second year. So it was, it was a rough program back then. JOHN: That's brutal. NEAL: Yeah. JOHN: So, you leave film school with something under your arm that you've shot. Where does that lead you? NEAL: It certainly didn't get me much in the way of employment at the time. I ended up going right back to NYU. I ran their equipment room of all things for something like six years. But during all those six years I was writing. They had like a computer that they used to turn out the schedules. And then when I weren't writing schedules, I was using that computer to write my screenplays using WordStar. If anyone remembers that old program. God, it was horrible, but it was free, because they had the equipment room. And eventually I sent some stuff to Laurel Entertainment, which is the company that did Tales From the Dark Side. And they had an open submission program. If you signed a release form, you could send them stuff. And I'd gone in and I'd met Tom Allen, who was their senior story editor. I had a screenplay and I went in and talked about it. He liked it. It wasn't for them, but then he invited me to submit ideas for their new series, their follow-up series to Tales from the Dark Side, which is a thing called Monsters. And I went in, and I pitched some ideas, and they bought one. And it turned out to be their premier episode of Monsters. And shortly after that, tragically, Tom Allen passed away. And the VP, Mitch Galen, invited me in and said, “Would you like to take over and be our senior story editor on Monstersand our other projects?” And meanwhile, you know, for the second part of that whole series, I was still working in the equipment room at NYU and also working as a senior story editor on Monsters and being their creative consultant and reading hundreds of scripts for Laurel Entertainment. And then eventually I quit the equipment room, and I went and I worked for them full time and wrote a bunch of episodes for Monsters. And I was a story editor on The Stand and The Langoliers— which wasn't so good—but on a bunch of other projects, it was just an enormous learning experience. And The Stand I think turned out really well. Other stuff, The Langoliers, did not work out really well. And a bunch of other projects that were not horror. BRIAN: Why do you think some things, especially, let's talk about Stephen King, why do you think some of those things adapted well and some didn't? NEAL: Well, The Langoliers was not, it wasn't that great. Wasn't that strong a project. And I think the idea, trying to make that and stretch that out into a mini-series. wasn't that strong. It wasn't that strong, the material wasn't really there. I think there are times when staying faithful to the material is the right approach. It certainly was the right approach with The Stand. Working with The Langoliers, you know, there were certainly elements of The Langoliers that were strong. And other stuff that was really just so-so. And I think if you'd had the willingness to step aside and do something different with it, it would probably have ended up—especially because they were expanding it into a mini-series—being just devoted to the original material, I think, ended up with a product that was really thin. Plus, we had hired a special effects company that the Langoliers themselves were just horrible. It was really substandard, honestly. So, it did not work out very well. BRIAN: I'm guessing with all these different projects you had to work on, you probably had to start dealing with types of horror and genres of horror that weren't in your comfort zone. Maybe not even what you wanted to do. What kind of learning curve was that for you? NEAL: You end up having to deal with a lot of different kinds of horror, especially with, you know, working in Monsters, where you just were turning stuff out tremendously fast. But also, I grew up with a certain kind of horror.I was never a huge fan of slasher stuff. I missed that whole era of horror. Certain kinds of movies appealed to me. That particular kind of transgressive material never really clicked. JOHN: Why do you think that is with you? NEAL: Because this simple act of repetitive bloodletting, for me, it always felt thin. I mean, it's not that I objected to explicit violence or explicit gore. I mean, I think that Dawn of the Deadunquestionably is one of the most brilliant horror movies ever made. And there certainly, George Romero didn't pull back from explicit violence. Or a movie like Hellraiser, the same deal. It's a question of how the filmmaker employs the use of graphic violence to elevate the material. What I've told people when you watch a movie like Dawn of the Dead, the first 10 or 15 minutes of that movie—which by the way, I saw when it virtually when it first came out and saw it in the theater—you had never seen anything like that opening scene in terms of graphic violence from being bitten and heads being blown off and all the rest. You were just put through the ringer, watching that opening. And after that opening, the movie was never that violent again. He never showed anything like that again.And you didn't have to, because you—having seen that opening scene, you were—you were so blown out of your seats. You said, “I'm watching a movie where anything could happen to anyone.” And that was a kind of really intelligent and that kind of thoughtful use of violence is what George Romero was always able to do. It was understanding how graphic images can affect the psychology of the viewer. JOHN: Do you think it's also that with Romero's films, they're actually about something, whereas a slasher film is really just about a body count, but with Romero, he always had another thing going. NEAL: Well, of course, I mean, no movie that isn't about anything is ever going to really, from my perspective, be worth watching. But I mean, even a movie like Hostel, which is exceptionally violent and harrowing, is certainly about something. And I think Eli Roth's movies, which get a really bad rap, are very much about something. He's got something to say with his depictions of violence and his images. Not necessarily to my taste. I certainly wouldn't say that he's not, he's making movies that are certainly about something. He's not a dumb filmmaker by any stretch of the imagination. JOHN: So, you work on Monsters, and then what happens? NEAL: I worked on Monsters. I worked there for around six years, and then they were acquired by a big studio, and they were shut down. And so, I was out of work. I'd known a woman named Debbie Dion from Full Moon. I figured, well, I'll give that a shot. I'll call her up and see, maybe I could write for a Full Moon. And so, I gave her a shot. I, you know, reintroduced myself and said, you know, “I'm looking to see if I could get some job, maybe writing features for Full Moon Entertainment, Charlie Band's company.” And they said, “Well, we pay around $3,000 for a feature.” And I said, “Well, I got paid more than that for writing an episode of Monsters. That doesn't seem like such a good deal.” And then my unemployment insurance ran out. BRIAN: Suddenly it's a very good deal. NEAL: Sounds like suddenly a very good deal. But, you know, I made it very clear that money buys one draft, and if you want to rewrite, you got to pay me again, because I knew what development was like, where they just expect draft after draft after draft, and I'd say, “I can't do that, that doesn't make any sense.” And also, having worked for Monsters, I had learned to write really fast. I could write a pass on a Monsters episode in two days, so I knew that I could write fast, because these were 80-page scripts. And so, I started writing for Full Moon, and over the course of like the next few years, I wrote something like... 50 or 60 features for Charlie Band. And a lot of them got made, because they're not wasting money on movies that don't get made. Tons of them got made. And in the midst of doing that, I was, you know, whenever I got a break writing a full movie, I would write spec scripts, you know, in the hopes I could sell something of my own that wasn't for $3,000. I didn't have an agent at that point. I didn't have a manager at that point. And so, I'm not really good making cold calls to people. It's not my thing. I just like to sit, write my scripts. I'd come home one day, and I saw my wife was on the phone having this long conversation with someone. When she was done, I said, “Well, who was that?” “Oh yeah. I called up to order something.” I said, “So she's really good at getting on the phone and talking to people and calling them.” And so, I convinced her to be my manager. So, she agreed. She changed, you know, she went out under her maiden name. She managed to get an option on a science fiction script that I'd written that, I mean, it was ultimately bought. It was never made. And then I decided, you know what? Horror is really my bread and butter writing for Charlie Band. But I don't really have a horror spec. And most of what was out those days in horror didn't really scare me that much. I should really write a script that would scare me. So, I wrote a script called Deader, which I thought had all the stuff in it that I thought was really scary. And Judy went out with that script, sent it to a bunch of people, sent it to some folks at Stan Winston's company, as they had a development deal. The producer that she talked to really liked it, asked if he could sort of slip it to some people. He did, he sent it to someone, a producer at Dimension, it's based in New York, and he really liked it. And they showed it to Bob Weinstein. Bob Weinstein called us on Sunday. Am I half awake? Talk to Judy. Because they didn't know that Judy was my wife. He said, “This is the best goddamn script I've read. I'm like three quarters away. Come in on Monday and we'll talk about it.” So, we came in on Monday and they bought the script. And of course, at that point, it sort of went all over town. And for a very short period of time, it was like the flavor of the month and everyone loved me. And I got myself an agent and got myself like three pictures. And as I was a really big, big to-do. From that, I also got 13 Ghosts. I had like a really big opinion of myself after, after that sale. JOHN: Has that been tempered since then? NEAL: I kind of got the opinion that like, wow, selling scripts is easy. People wanted to hire me because that script was super hot and was all over town. I learned subsequently there are flavors in writers, and I was like that flavor of the month. That fades and then you have to really do a lot more work to get things sold. That was a hard lesson to learn. But I've managed to keep working over the years. I've written many scripts, sold some, and it's been a decent career. BRIAN: I was just wondering, you were having all the success writing screenplays, when did you decide to make a jump to writing a book? NEAL: Over the last five or six years, I've been teaching. A woman that I knew from NYU, actually, Dorothy Rumpolsky had been instrumental in starting a screenwriting program at David Lynch Institute for Cinematic Studies. And she realized at one point that she had a number of students who wanted to work in a horror. She remembered me back from NYU many years ago. So, she got in touch with me and wanted to know if I was interested in mentoring those students. And I said, absolutely. I done some other online teaching at other places. And so, the way it works is, you fly out for an opening few days where you meet the students. And then you fly back to where you come from. They go back to where they come from. And it's all done remotely, the mentoring. And so, I've been doing that now for five or six years. And during that kind of get together, you meet a bunch of guest lecturers and other teachers, other mentors. And a number of those people had written books for Michael Wiese productions. And, in the course of chatting, they suggested, well, you, you know, “You have a kind of encyclopedic knowledge of horror and horror cinema. That might be a good book for Michael Wiese. Give them a call and see if you can come up with a pitch and an interesting take on it.” And so I did, and I called them and they responded. And so we were off to the races. JOHN: The book is really, maybe delightful is the wrong word, but it's a captivating book because as you read through it—you have outlined breaking down our different types of fears—you can immediately in your mind go, “Oh, that's what that movie was doing. Oh, that was that. That's what was happening there.” What was your research process like? NEAL: I think that the research kind of developed over the decades as I studied what made movies scary and what was working, not only in the movies that I was watching, but in the movies that I was writing. I mean, in the same way that when you work as a screenwriter, it becomes almost second nature to try to figure out what was working and what wasn't. Talking to fellow filmmakers and screenwriters, you have to say, “How many times do you watch a movie?” And a lot of times I will watch a movie 8, 10, 20 times. And there's a process that works when you watch a movie that many times, where you say “Certain things will work every time you watch a movie.”In the same way that you can watch a comedy and you can laugh every single time as certain things comes up. And other times, you start seeing the nuts and bolts and say, “Well, this is always working and here they're just connecting stuff.” And you start saying, “Ah, I get it. I see what they're doing. I see how they're taking this piece that works and this other piece that works and they couldn't quite, they kind of, they found some connective tissue to stick it together. I see exactly what they're doing.” And you start understanding—whether you're watching a comedy or you're watching a drama or you're watching a scary movie—they knew exactly how to make this thing scary. And this is how they're doing it. And they understood exactly how to make this thing scary. And it's like, ah, this is what they're using. Whether it is a spider crawling on someone, that's always going to work. Or, “Oh, I see, this is just a jump scare.” And the jump scare is, I understand, that's just, because a big bang, a loud noise, a hand reaching in from, that's just, that's always going to work. It's going to work no matter what. It's just a kind of placeholder scare, because they couldn't think of anything better. And there are movies where it's just jump scares. And you can always use a jump scare. You can sneak up on a cat and jab it and it'll jump. It's an instinctive response. And if a movie is just relying on jump scares, you know it's because they don't have anything better. They haven't got any deeper than just having the phone ring and they turn up the soundtrack. You can always get an audience to jump by putting a loud sound on the soundtrack. JOHN: Is there an example you can think of though, where there is a jump scare that you think is a genuinely good, effective jump scare? NEAL: I can think of a movie that has two really excellent jump scares. John Carpenter's The Thing. When the doctor's giving the electric shock to the guy's chest, and the chest opens and slams shut on his hand. Didn't expect it.That's a super great jump scare. It is perfectly integrated into that scene. Everyone jumps, but it's also a brilliant continuation of that scene. Second jump scare, when MacReady is testing everyone's blood. And saying, “We're going to do you next,” puts the needle in, and that thing jumps out of the Petri dish.Fantastic jump scare. We didn't see it coming. Everyone jumps. And it's again, it's perfectly integrated into that scene. So, two brilliant jump scares in what's already an incredibly brilliant movie. BRIAN: I remember watching the commentary on Jaws and Spielberg said he got greedy with his jump scares. He had the moment towards the end of the film, you remember that Jaws comes out of the water while it's being chummed. And he said he got this great reaction from the audience, and he wanted one more. And he went back, and he added in the scene earlier where the corpse face comes through the hole. And he said he never got the audience to react as well to the shark after he added in that corpse face coming through the hole of the ship. And I wondered, do you think there's a point of diminishing returns with jump scares in one movie? NEAL: I think there absolutely is. I mean—and I have no end of admiration for Jaws. I think it may be one of the most brilliant movies ever, and it certainly has stood the test of time. JOHN: So, we've each come armed with some movies here that I thought it would be fun to talk about them with you, so that you could sort of delve into the different types of fear that are outlined in the book and we'll just sort ofcheckerboard back and forth here. I'm going to start with one of my favorite sense of dread movies, and that's Don't Look Now, with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, directed by Nick Roeg which I saw way too young. First R rated movie I saw. I remember I knew that it was supposed to be really scary, and I went with my older brother, and we were standing in line and the seven o'clock show was letting out. And I said to my brother, “Well, it can't be that scary. They're not saying anything.” Not realizing that they had all been stunned into silence about the last five minutes of that movie. So, what are your thoughts on Don't Look Now and where does that fit? NEAL: When I talk about the sense of dread, which is what my book is about, it's the notion of those aspects of our lives that we think of as safe and secure and dependable and sacred being suddenly or unexpectedly penetrated by the unknown or the unnatural, the unexpected. And you have to say, well, what are the things that we depend on? We depend on our homes. We depend on our families. And so that relationship of parent and child, what violates that? And the loss of a child, loss is already wrenching. And so, this sense of parents having lost a child, but then this notion that, well, maybe not, maybe the child is still out there somewhere, is so deeply disturbing. And so this weird, this quest, this pursuit in them. And meanwhile, in the background, you have the sense of a killer, of killings going on. This really disturbing notion of the woman's half decayed body being pulled out of the water is just as an image is—and again, the notion of human body being reduced to mere flesh—it's deeply disturbing. And nakedness, coupled with decay, it's deeply disturbing. And all of this sort of happening in the background. We don't quite know how these pieces connect. The notion that the search for the child and the notion that there's a killer on the loose. We know, because the nature of cinematic storytelling is telling us that somehow these things are going to connect, because, I mean, in the real world, there are countless thousands of things drifting around that don't necessarily hook up. But we know that one thing is going to collide with another. And so, there's this growing sense of profound unease, because we know, somehow, this child in this Red Riding Hood cape is wandering around, it's like, is this the child? Is the child going to become embroiled in this? But what we don't, certainly don't expect is the ending that confronts us in the finale, which is so incredibly, the reversal is so terrifying and so hits us in the face of that sense of innocence—revealed in such a terrifying way—is the essence of dread. Where we expect to find innocence, we find a nightmare. JOHN: What's great about what Nick Roeg did there was—if you read Daphne du Maurier's short story—he basically shot the last paragraph of that short story. Cinematically, he figured out the way that she's laying out what's going on with Donald Sutherland's character at that moment. He figured out a way to make it cinematic. So, like you say, all the pieces suddenly fall into place in those last few seconds. And, like you said, we've been brought to this place, we had no idea that that's where it was going to turn. Neal, tell me about Enemy from Space, and what you like about that. NEAL: Enemy from Space is the second of the three Quatermass movie, adaptations of the serial. It's in the same vein as Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and all these other movies about human beings who are being invaded and infested by alien forces. In this case, over the past few years—but in the context of the story—there have been rains of these tiny little meteorites. Anyone who finds them, they crack open and what's inside infests human beings. And you can find these tiny little burn marks, these V shaped marks on them. And the parasites take them over and make them into these kind of human slaves. And the premise is they serve this larger being, this kind of group entity, and they proceed to start building these atmosphere plants, with the goal ultimately to turn the earth into a colony for these beings that come from outer space. But the notion of these human beings, they have infiltrated our government, infiltrated our community, and they gradually take people over, scary enough. And they have built this enormous plant that looks, he says, this looks just like this proposed lunar base with these giant atmospheric domes. A group of people managed to infiltrate one of these bases and he looks inside, manages to get close enough to look inside one of these domes and inside are the parasites. When they're released, they grow together into this thing that looks like a giant blob. That's what it looks like outside of the human hosts. And a bunch of these guys are trapped inside of the atmosphere of plant. And they realize this thing, they can't survive outside the human body. They need methane to breathe, because that's what their home planet is like. “What we need to do is we need to pump oxygen into this dome to kill this thing. That'll destroy it.” And voices come over to say, “Look, this guy's crazy. There's nothing inside this dome. You send some representatives over, we'll show you anything you want.” And Quatermass says, “You're crazy if you go over there, you're going to be infected. You're going to be taken over.” But they managed to divide, they send the guys over and Quatermass is pleading with them, “Listen, they're going to get on this speaker. They're going to tell you that everything is fine, but you can't listen. Don't listen to them, whatever you say.” And then they hear this sound. This hideous sound of screaming coming down the pipes, the pipes that they've been sending oxygen down to the dome. They say, “What the hell is that? What's going on?” And then they look, they see the pressure has gone way up. There's something wrong. And the pipe is burst, the pipe that's sending oxygen to this dome. And they say, “What is it? What's happened?” And they look and something is dripping down through the pipe. And they say, “What is it?” It's blood. They took the guys that they sent, and they pushed them into the pipe. They say those pipes have been blocked with human pulp in order to keep the oxygen from coming into the dome. That is one of the most, again, all you see is just these drops of blood coming out of the cracked pipe, but that has resonated as one of the most terrifying moments from any movie that I saw, again, as a little kid. I've seen the movie recently and it's still incredibly terrifying. And again, the architecture of this web of pipes, the cold black and white architecture, is horrifyingly chilling. And the notion of human beings being reduced to mere flesh, being used as material for blocking a pipe. And the pipe's only like, it's like this big. So, you can imagine this person shoved into a pipe is hideous. JOHN: It is available on YouTube if anybody wants to watch it after that. Brian, do you want to ask about folk horror? BRIAN: Actually, I was going to jump ahead just because of what Neal was just talking about. I thought this would dovetail nicely into a question I had about a fear of contagion. And you can wrap body horror into this. Movies like The Thing or 28 Days Later, or probably The Quatermas Experiment as well. How does that fear of our own bodies being infected or watching another body change or be infected in unnatural ways? How does that—I don't want to use the word appeal—but how does that appeal to our sense of dread? NEAL: Well, I think you also have to run back to one of the most common— whether it's psychological or physiological—which is obsessive compulsive disorder. You say, well, what exactly is obsessive compulsive disorder? We have built in grooming behaviors, whether it's cleaning our hands, we clean our skin. That's wired into us. And when you turn the dial up too far, that turns into obsessive compulsive, obsessive hand cleaning or scratching, itching, hair pulling, all that stuff. It's wired in behavior, in the same way that dogs will scratch, we will scratch. And so, all of that, we react to it in the same way that if you see a spot of dirt on someone's forehead, it's almost impossible to “Clean that thing off. Get rid of that thing.” I mean, we're built in a certain way to respond to distortions, infections, invasions, in the same way that if someone's eye is cocked to one side, we react to it. Someone's face is distorted. We react to it negatively. We have to work not to respond to it. It may be a bug, but it may be a feature, because we are built to respond to a diseased or distorted members of our community. It's a survival trait. And so, in some ways, horror movies respond to that. Distorted human beings, Hunchback of Notre Dame or Igor or anyone else who are distorted, deformed, limbless creatures—Freaks—are employed in horror movies in a variety of different ways. BRIAN: And it's a very different thing from seeing an arm chopped off versus seeing an arm with three hands that are all operating. Both of them is something happening to your body that you might revolt towards, but it's a very different reaction though, right? NEAL: It is, but it's—in a sense—it's all variations of the same thing. There's a central human norm, and that which varies from the human norm beyond a certain point triggers a reaction that says, “That's not the way it's supposed to be.” And it's just, eyes are too close together, eyes are too far apart, eyes are too big, or there's an extra one. There's one missing. We recoil from it. We recoil from something that is too different, too far off the norm. And of course, in strictly social terms, you can say, but why, why should we? We shouldn't really respond in that way to others who are too different. But we do respond that way, and it comes with the programming in a very real degree. JOHN: How does that connect, then, to another movie on your list, The Island of Lost Souls, from 1932? NEAL: I think it's central to that list. The notion of the difference between that which is human and that which is animal. And Moreau, who experiments with making animals into human beings, but not really. And the sort of terrifying revelation when our hero and the woman—who we know to be an animal woman, but she looks fundamentally human—escape out into the woods and come across the animal person village. And the realization to what extent Moreau has been experimenting. It's not just tens or dozens. The animal people just come flooding out of the woods. And it's just hundreds. And the extent and the depth and the kind of nightmarish quality, they're all different. They're all horrible. And it's just like, what has Moreau been doing? He experiments with these animals, gets them to a certain state, and then he just discards them and moves on to something else. This utterly careless, sadistic god of this army of nightmares. And you sort of see when they do their, you know, “Are we not men?” And you just see row upon row upon row of these hideous nightmare faces. And you just say, “My God, what has this guy been doing for years? Just making these monsters.” JOHN: It's a classically creepy movie. I do want to ask you about the classic ghost story movie, The Haunting, and what that says about our fears. If you can, maybe tie that into Ghostwatch, because there's a similar sort of thing going on there. NEAL: They're both intriguing. They both are opening us up to this notion of unseen nightmare forces, especially the original Haunting, which shows us nothing. All you ever see: Doorknob turning. A face that may or may not be in the wall. This horribly loud banging on the door. A moment where someone thinks that her hand is being held, but there's no one there. It is simply this notion of a house that is born bad, but never really fully explained. Again, you have this idea of the world itself that should be well behaved, that should be governed by comprehensible natural laws. But there's something deeper and darker and incapable of truly being understood, nevermind being controlled. And if you just prod it a little bit too much, you're going to open it up to forces that are utterly destructive and utterly malevolent. And in both of these cases, you have this man of science and his team that are going to find out. “We're going to find out for sure whether there really are ghosts, whether there really is a supernatural, whether it really is life after death. We're going to nail this down for science.” Yeah, don't do that. Don't do that. These are things that are, that are not meant to be explored, not meant to be examined. Go back. BRIAN: I'm reminded of Van Helsing's sign off on the original Dracula, where he said, “Just remember, there really are such things in this world.” NEAL: Yeah. Yeah. And, and the same thing is true in some ways on a much more terrifying scale with Ghostwatch, where it's just, it's this kind of, “It's all just fun and Halloween, we're going to explore this. It's the most haunted house in Britain.” And it's broadcasters whose faces everyone knew at the time, and they were playing themselves. Going to this haunted house where you had these poltergeist phenomena. And we're all going to, “We're going to do it live and call in with your own experiences about being haunted.” And it all just goes so horribly wrong. JOHN: Now, Neal, I just watched that for the first time this week. Heard about it for years. I had no idea that those were real broadcasters. I thought they were really good actors. But to someone in Britain watching that, those are faces they saw all the time? NEAL: Yeah. Those are real broadcasters. They had their own shows. They were real, the real deal. JOHN: Wow. I highly recommend renting it because—it'll test your patience a little tiny bit, because it is quite banal for quite a while, as they lead you into it. But now this new bit of information that these are all faces that that audience who saw it, quote unquote, live that night, it's as terrifying as I imagined the Orson Welles' War the Worlds would have been. Because it seems very real. NEAL: And apparently the way they did it, is that there was a number you could call in. And if you called in that number, they would tell you, it's like, “Don't worry, this is all just a show.” But so many people were calling in, they couldn't get through. BRIAN: This really is War of the Worlds. NEAL: So, they never were able to get to that message that would tell them, don't worry, it's all just a show. So apparently it panicked the nation, because part of the premise was at a certain point, the ghost that was haunting the house got into the show. And so, the studio itself became haunted. It was really spectacularly well done. JOHN: It is. It's great. Let's just sort of wrap up here real quick with Neal, if you have any advice for beginning screenwriter about how to best create a really powerful and effective horror screenplay, any little tips. NEAL: Well, first of all, and I touched on this before, jump scares don't work on the page. You need the loud bang. You need the hand reaching in from the side. You describe that and it doesn't work. So, you have to rely on creating that sense of dread. And while writing screenplays, you have to keep things tight. The concept, the idea—in the same way comedy screenplays have to be funny—scary screenplays have to be scary. It has to be scary on the page. If it's not scary on the page, you're not going to sell the screenplay. And that's the fundamental trick. You got to make it scary on the page. JOHN: Excellent advice. All right, let's just quickly, each one of us, tell our listeners a recent favorite horror film that you've seen in the last couple years.I'll start with you, Brian. BRIAN: Just last night, I saw Haunting in Venice. And it worked because I had seen the other Kenneth Branagh/Agatha Christie adaptations, and I was very familiar with, and you know, you already know generally that kind of detective whodunit story: it's going to be very, you know, using logic and rationality.And when they had this episode that was sort of a one off—sort of a departure from that usual way that mysteries are solved—it was very effective. I think if I'd seen it without having already watched a bunch of Agatha Christie adaptations, I would have said, “Oh, that's an okay Halloween movie.” But having seen those other ones, it was an excellent Halloween movie. JOHN: Excellent. That's on my list. The movie I would recommend, which really surprised me, my wife literally dragged me to it because it was a French film called Final Cut, which is a French remake of a Japanese film called One Cut of the Dead. At about the 30-minute mark, I was ready to walk out, and I thought, why are we watching this? And then they took us on a ride for the next hour that, it's a really good ride. It's called Final Cut. BRIAN: And this is not to be confused with the Robin Williams Final Cut from... ? JOHN: Not to be confused with that, no. Or if you can go back to the original and watch the Japanese version. But what's great about the French version is they are literally remaking the Japanese version, to the point where they've made all the characters have Japanese names. Which the French people struggle with enormously. It's a highly effective film. Neal, how about you? Take us home. NEAL: Okay. It's not a new movie, but I just saw it very recently. It is a Chilean stop motion animated film called The Wolf House. It describes the adventures of a young Chilean woman who escapes from a repressive German colony and ends up in this bizarre house in which she blends into the walls. She's escaped with two pigs who grow up with her in this house, but again, nothing, no way in which I describe it is going to convey to you how deeply disturbing and chilling this movie is. It really is quite indescribably bizarre and disturbing and just well worth your time to watch. It's not quite like any other movie I've ever seen.

Special Guest Host Fr. Matthew Spencer tackles the deep question of what part of Jesus' divine knowledge did he give up when he became man, answers what a good age for children to have smart phones and explains the anointing of the sick. Kathy - What God knowledge did Jesus give relinquish when he became man? John - Is it bad to watch or participate in a violent sport? i.e. MMA, Boxing or Football? Lila - My grandchildren don't believe in confession to a priest. How can I show them that confession is biblical? Ron - What is a good time to give children smart phones? Pat - What should the congregation do with their hands during Mass? Will God be mad at me when I get to heaven because I didn't take better care of my health? John - Is the apostolic blessing needed when you get the anointing of the sick? Ed - Should we only pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet when people are sick or dying or can it be prayed for peace in the world? What time should I pray the Angelus?

In this episode we have another special guest - John from ‘Can You Roll A Crit'. John Is a fantastic tournament player and runs the superb ‘ Can You Roll A Crit' youtube channel and podcast. How will he get on with our questions, only one way to find out! Once Upon a Kill Team - https://www.instagram.com/onceuponakillteam/ Jason - https://www.instagram.com/citizendisco/  Seán - https://www.instagram.com/uberstrata_makes/  If you want to support this podcast - https://ko-fi.com/onceuponakillteam Friends of the Show: Nightfire Gaming - https://www.youtube.com/c/NightfireGamingYT Battle brothers tabletop - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGpI8Wp6rrHEewoWELV0jg  GFN gaming - https://www.youtube.com/c/GFNGaming 3's To Wound - https://www.youtube.com/c/3StoWound Can You Roll A Crit - https://www.youtube.com/@CanYouRollaCrit

Patrick answers listener questions about the Brown Scapular, understanding the Trinity, is rock music sinful, and is it okay to work at a job that has connections to nuclear weapons - Diana - In my workplace we have a lot of different religions but we come together with civil dialog. What are common beliefs we can hold between Baptists and Catholics? Jeff - What are your thoughts about Haka done by a New Zealand Rug Bee team? Is that morally permissible? Jodi - A friend of mine wore a scapular in junior high and was told if he wore it a year he would go to heaven. When talking with him he said he hadn't been to confession in years because he had worn the scapular. Dusty - How can I understand the Trinity better? German - Is the distortion of the guitar in rock music something that might offend God or is it the Lyrics of Rock music that is offensive? John - Is it okay to work at a job that supports the nuclear infrastructure in the USA?

This week John Dalton, President of Power Advisory joins the podcast to provide an overview of the electricity markets in Atlantic Canada, including the provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.  We also cover Quebec's role in supplying electricity to the region.  Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked John:  Is the Muskrat Falls hydro project operating yet? What is the final cost of Muskrat Falls?  Considering the high cost, do you expect other large hydro projects to be built in Eastern Canada?  What is the latest on the Atlantic Loop and Quebec to US transmission projects? Are the incentives and financing in Canada's Budget 2023 enough to get transmission projects started? What was the historical agreement between Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec for supplying electricity from Churchill Falls and how has that shaped the relationship between the two provinces on electricity?  Will Atlantic Canada have small modular reactors (SMRs) operating by 2035? Is renewable power generation (wind or solar) expected to grow in Atlantic Canada? Do you think Atlantic Canada will reach net zero electricity by 2035? Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ To see a transcript of this podcast, visit the link (scroll part way down the page):Atlantic Canada: Is Net Zero Electricity by 2035 Possible? (arcenergyinstitute.com)Check us out on social media:Twitter: @arcenergyinstLinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research InstituteInstagram: @arcenergyresearchinstituteYou Tube: @arcenergyresearchinstitute9600Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas PodcastApple PodcastsGoogle podcastsAmazon musicSpotify

Welcome to January 18th, 2023 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate having a way with words and silly old bears. You may not immediately recognize the name Peter Mark Roget, but chances are you've read his book. Or at least parts of it. In 1852, he published his Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, which is still in use today. Over the years, Roget's publication has been a lifesaver for writers trying to avoid overusing the same words. And oddly enough, the word “thesaurus” is derived from the Greek word for “treasure.” Others have published thesauri over the years, but on National Thesaurus Day we celebrate the original tome. Marlo: Did you say tomb? Anna: No, no, no, no; "tome." You know, like the writing or the publication. Marlo: Oh, okay I got you. John: Is a "thesauri" a kind of dinosaur? Marlo: I wonder if anyone ever went up to Peter said, "Hey, I've read your entire book!" Anna: What's another word for cretin? Marlo: Good question. Alan Alexander Milne was born on this day in 1882. His father ran a private school where one of Alan's teachers was H.G. Wells. The boy would grow up to be an author himself, though not in the science fiction genre favored by his teacher. Alan tried his hand at playwriting but found his true calling in children's books. Inspired by visits to the London Zoo, he discovered his most loveable character through a black bear named Winnie. His son, Christopher Robin named his own teddy bear Winnie and the charm of this 1926 series was born. Today the books have been translated into more than 50 languages! On National Winnie the Pooh Day we celebrate the classic legacy of the gentle adventures in the Hundred Acre Woods. I'm Anna Devere and I'm Marlo Anderson. Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summary: In the ninth episode of Season 10 of the Propcast, host Louisa Dickins is joined by Eric Duchon, Global Head of ESG for Blackstone Real Estate and John Fitzpatrick, Chief Technology Officer of Alternative Asset Management Technology at Blackstone, the world's largest alternative asset manager. John featured previously in Season 2 of The Propcast. Eric and John share where Blackstone is on ESG and why they are seen as one of the leaders in this space. They talk about what Blackstone is focusing on as a business when it comes down to strategy, investment and innovation across their diverse and global portfolio. In this episode you will hear how Blackstone ensures attractive returns for their investors whilst making a positive impact on the communities in which they invest. Resources: LMRE Global Recruitment and Search Consultancy LMRE YouTube Interviews Companies Mentioned: Sphera Schneider Electric EQ Office Willis Tower Aquicore Shout Outs: Don Anderson StuyTown Kenneth Caplan Kathleen McCarthy Baldwin  Jonathan Gray  Key Insights From This Episode:     We believe that ESG is a real source of value and a way to mitigate risk in our portfolio - Eric   What drove me into this space is the use of passion to drive change, whilst driving value - Eric We do need the technologies that help us automate and optimise our buildings but this also requires the people that know what they're doing - Eric Technology is important, but having a clear strategy is the starting place that people should have if they want to achieve their ESG targets - John About Our Guests: Eric Duchon: Eric Duchon is Global Head of ESG for Blackstone Real Estate. As part of the Real Estate Asset Management team, he partners with the firm's central ESG team and Portfolio Operations to initiate, manage, implement and report ESG initiatives across the global Real Estate portfolio. Prior to joining Blackstone in November 2020, Mr. Duchon was at LaSalle Investment Management where he was a Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainability. Prior to LaSalle, Mr. Duchon spent over 9 years at Cushman & Wakefield as the Director of Sustainability Strategies. Mr. Duchon received a BBA from Emory University – Goizueta Business School and a Masters in Real Estate Development Degree from New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate. John Fitzpatrick: John Fitzpatrick is Chief Technology Officer of Alternative Asset Management Technology at Blackstone. He handles all aspects of technology across Blackstone's Real Estate and Private Equity businesses and assists our portfolio companies with managing their technology programs and strategy. He is also involved in the firm's balance sheet investments in targeted, early stage, technology-related opportunities. Prior to his current role, Mr. Fitzpatrick oversaw various initiatives across the entire Technology and Innovations group. Before joining Blackstone in 2011, Mr. Fitzpatrick worked at Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, for seven years where he was most recently the Head of Product. He received a BS in Finance from St. John's University and currently serves on the Blackstone Charitable Foundation's Leadership Council. About Blackstone: Blackstone is the world's largest alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $941 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. About Our Host Louisa Dickins Louisa is the co-founder of LMRE, which has rapidly become the market leading global PropTech recruitment platform and search consultancy with operations across North America, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia-Pacific. To promote the industry she is so passionate about, Louisa set up the Global podcast ‘The Propcast' where she hosts and invites guests from the built environment space to join her in conversation about innovation. About LMRE LMRE is globally recognised for leading the way in Real Estate Tech & Innovation talent management. From the outset our vision was to become a global provider of the very best strategic talent to the most innovative organisations in PropTech, ConTech, Smart Buildings, ESG, Sustainability and Strategic Consulting. At LMRE we are fully committed at all times to exceed the expectations of our candidates and clients by providing the very best advice and by unlocking exclusive opportunities across our global network in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Timestamps: [2:06] Eric: What is your role at Blackstone? I lead ESG for Blackstone Real Estate globally, this means myself and my team work with all the departments at Blackstone to ensure we are implementing our ESG priorities as they are aligned with our fiduciary duty to add value to our portfolio and deliver great returns to our investors. We are finding ways to continue delivering value and ensuring that we are improving the environmental, social and governance performance of our companies and our assets. [4:44] John: What are your responsibilities in your role at Blackstone and how have they changed? My responsibility is alternative asset management technology, this involves everything under our private equity and real estate umbrellas, it's more than half of the AUM at Blackstone and really fits within ESG. [5:35] Eric: What does ESG mean to Blackstone and how has it changed since you joined in 2020? There were great initiatives happening across Blackstone when I joined with regards to ESG however, the firm needed a more programmatic approach which is what we have done over the last 2 years. We're focused on 3 main areas; diversity, decarbonisation and good governance. This guides everything that our ESG teams do and how we continue to integrate this more programmatic approach into our portfolio. [7:40] John: How does your team assist with the ESG part of Blackstone? If you want to hit targets and goals then you need to be able to get the data and track it to see your progress over an extended period of time.  It's our job to collect that data in the most streamlined fashion so we can process that content in real time to ensure we are driving towards those targets [9:05] John: Are there any more climate focused ESG investments across your portfolio that you could share with us? The data and insights that we have got from Sphera have helped us improve and learn in this space and helped our ESG technical ecosystem. [9:42] Eric: How do these investments assist with your portfolios? We worked to develop a framework which sets out Blackstone Real Estates ESG priorities across 6 pillars, these set the tone for how we engage with the portfolio companies in order for them to develop their 3 year strategic ESG roadmaps. [13:31] John: How do you tackle the technology gaps in businesses across your portfolio? We use our data initiatives to help them implore technology and try to make the transition as seamless as possible. We can then analyse and track their data and help them achieve their targets. We tend to make investments in solutions that have a competitive advantage or a unique data set like Sphera.  [17:11]  Eric: What are the main barriers when it comes down to reducing carbon across your portfolios? A couple of years ago the social aspect of ESG was focused around  health, wellness and community engagement. Today, it is more focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. When we look at PropTech solutions for ESG one of the main barriers is being able to identify what the strengths and weaknesses are. There are some really good processes in place but humans are still necessary to ensure the quality data flows through. We need to ensure that we have the right people that understand the technologies and can drive action from it. [20:45] John: Is there anything you would like to mention that you have seen in terms of barriers? Technology is important but having a clear strategy is the starting place that people should have if they want to achieve their ESG targets. [23:00] Eric: What is the balance between automation and optimisation, and reducing carbon footprint?  We need the technologies that help us automate and optimise our buildings but this also requires the people that know what they're doing. When our US office portfolio company EQ office implemented Aquicore, it really improved our insight into the daily operations of all the operating equipment. This allowed us to recognise better start-stop sequences in the building. L – Touch on the main lessons you have learnt throughout your career within this space? Eric: You need to stay nimble in everything that you do, different things come at you everyday and you need to be able to take them in your stride. M - Please give a mention to anyone / product / service. John: Jonathan Gray, President at Blackstone, he is committed to ESG and doing it the right way.  R – What has been the most  rewarding  aspect of working in ESG? Eric: Whether you're reducing carbon emissions, whether you're ensuring that folks from under-resourced communities are getting better opportunities working with our portfolio companies. That to me is what drove me into the space connecting the passion to drive change. E - What are you excited about in the future of the ESG space? John: The innovation that is coming down the pipe, some of the best and brightest minds are in this space that are really passionate about this topic so the landscape in a few years time is going to look vastly different. Sponsors Launch Your Own Podcast A Podcast Company is the leading podcast production and strategic content company for brands, organisations, institutions, individuals, and entrepreneurs. 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This week on the blog, a podcast interview with Dawn Brodey and Brian Forrest, talking about the various film versions of “Frankenstein” and “Dracula.”Dawn gave me 4.5 films to revisit: The 1931 version of Frankenstein, Frankenweenie (the feature and the short), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and Young Frankenstein.Meanwhile, Brian assigned me the original Nosferatu, the 1931 Dracula, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula, Dracula in Istanbul and Bram Stoker's Dracula. LINKSDawn's podcast (HILF): http://dawnbrodey.com/ - showsBrian's Blog and Vlog, Toothpickings: https://toothpickings.medium.com/ A Free Film Book for You: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cq23xyyt12Another Free Film Book: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/x3jn3emga6Frankenstein (1931) Trailer: https://youtu.be/BN8K-4osNb0Frankenweenie Trailer: https://youtu.be/29vIJQohUWEMary Shelley's Frankenstein (Trailer): https://youtu.be/GFaY7r73BIsYoung Frankenstein (Trailer): https://youtu.be/mOPTriLG5cUNosferatu (Complete Film): https://youtu.be/dCT1YUtNOA8Dracula (1931) Trailer: https://youtu.be/VoaMw91MC9kAbbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (Trailer): https://youtu.be/j6l8auIACycHorror of Dracula (Trailer): https://youtu.be/ZTbY0BgIRMkBram Stoker's Dracula (Trailer): https://youtu.be/fgFPIh5mvNcDracula In Istanbul: https://youtu.be/G7tAWcm3EX0Fast, Cheap Film Website: https://www.fastcheapfilm.com/Eli Marks Website: https://www.elimarksmysteries.com/Albert's Bridge Books Website: https://www.albertsbridgebooks.com/YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/BehindthePageTheEliMarksPodcastDawn and Brian TRANSCRIPT John: [00:00:00] Before we dive into the assignment you gave me—which was to watch stuff I hadn't seen and also rewatch stuff I had seen to get a better idea of who's done a good job of adapting these books—let's just jump in and talk a little bit about your area of expertise and why you have it. So, I'm going to start with you, Brian. I was very surprised after working with you a while to find out that you had a whole vampire subset in your life. Brian: A problem, you can call it a problem. It's fine. John: Okay. What is the problem and where did it come from? Brian: I was just vaguely interested in vampires for a while. When I was in my screenwriting days, someone had encouraged me to do a feature length comedy about vampires, and that led me to do a lot of reading. And then I just kind of put it aside for a while. And then I was, I had just finished a documentary for Committee Films and they said, do you have any other pitches? And I thought, and I said, you know, there's still people who believe in vampires even today, that could be really interesting. And I put together a pitch package. Then, the guy in charge of development said, [00:01:00]this is what we need to be doing. And then it stalled out. Nothing ever happened with it. And I said, what the hell. I could do this on my own. I could fly around and interview these people. And I did, I spent a couple years interviewing academics and some writers. And along the way, I started finding all these very intriguing moments in the history of either vampire lore or fiction or even just people who consider themselves vampires today. And all these things would connect to each other. It was a lattice work of vampires going back hundreds of years. It didn't fit the documentary, unfortunately, but I found it way too interesting. And I said, I need some kind of outlet for this. And so I started writing about it on Tooth Pickings. And that eventually put me in touch with people who were more scholarly, and it opened up a lot more conversations. And now I can't get out. I'm trapped. John: Well, the first sign is recognizing there's a problem. [00:02:00] Okay. Now, Dawn, you had a different entryway into Frankenstein. Dawn: Yeah, well, I was a theater major and a history minor at the University of Minnesota. Go Gophers. And, this was in the late nineties, early two thousands, when there were still a lot of jobs for people who had degrees and things like this. Or at least there was a theory that this was a reasonable thing to get educated in. And then I graduated in 2001, which was months after 9/11, when all those jobs went away. And so, I had this education so specific and what was I gonna do? And gratefully the Twin Cities is a great place for finding that kind of stuff. And one of my very first jobs out of college was at the Bakkan museum. So, the Bakkan museum was founded by Earl Bakkan, who is the inventor of the battery-operated pacemaker. And he has always, since childhood, been obsessed with the Frankenstein movie that came out in 1931. And he attributes [00:03:00]his great scientific invention and many others to a science fiction in general. And to the spark of the idea that comes from sources like this. So, when he opened the museum, he insisted that there'd be a grand Frankenstein exhibit. And that means going back to the book, and that meant going back to the author, Mary Shelley, who wrote the novel Frankenstein, she started writing it when she was 16.And so, I was hired because—boom, look at me—my degree is suddenly colliding, right? So, I was hired by the Bakkan museum to create a one-woman show about the life of Mary Shelley, where I would play Mary Shelley and would perform it within the museum and elsewhere. And through the course of that research, I read the novel for the second time, but then I read it for my third, fourth, fifth onwards and upwards. Because the show was about 45 minutes long, I referenced, you know, the novel, the books, the popular culture, the science behind it. And the deep dive just never stopped. And so long after I was required to do the research and the show was done and up, I just kept reading. [00:04:00] And it gave me the opportunity to meet experts in this field and the peripheral field, as I would sort of travel with this show and be an ambassador for the museum and stuff like that. And, yeah, it still curls my toes. John: All right, so with that background. I'm going to just be honest right here and say, I've read Dracula once, I've read Frankenstein once. So that's where I'm coming from, and both a while ago. I remember Frankenstein was a little tougher to get through. Dracula had a bit more of an adventure feel to it, but something I don't think has really been captured particularly well in all the movies. But they both have lasted and lasted and lasted.Why do you think those books are still, those ideas are still as popular today? Dawn: I will say that I think Frankenstein, it depends on what you mean by the idea. Because on the surface, just the idea of bringing the dead to life, is, I mean, the Walking Dead franchise is right now one of the most popular franchises. I mean, I think we are really pivot on this idea. And I remember saying to a friend once that the part in [00:05:00]Revelation where the dead rise is like the only part of the Bible that I don't question. It's like, oh, the dead will get up. You know, we always just seem to be real sure that at some damned point, they're getting up. And so I think that that is part of why that it sticks in our brains. But then the story around Frankenstein—especially as it was written in 1818—has so many universal and timeless themes, like ambition and what is right and wrong. And the question that Jurassic Park posed in 1995 and continues to—1993 around there—and continues to pose, which is: just because science is capable of doing something, should it do something? And how do we define progress? Surely the very idea of being able to beat death and not die seems to be kind of the ultimate goal. And here is someone saying, okay, so let's just say, yeah. We beat death and everyone goes, oh shit, that'd be terrible. [00:06:00] You know? And then also, I always love the idea of the creature, the monster, Frankenstein's creature himself, who has a lot of characteristics with which people have identified throughout history. Some people say, for example, that Mary Shelley's whole purpose for writing Frankenstein was a question of: didn't God do this to us, make us these ugly creatures that are imperfect and bumbling around and horrifying? And then once he realized that we weren't perfect, he fled from us in fear or fled. He just keeps going and every generation has a new media that tells the story a little bit better, a little bit different, and yeah, there we are. John: I will say that for me, the most memorable part of the book was the section where the monster is the narrator and is learning. And I think with the exception of Kenneth Branagh's film, it it's something that isn't really touched on that much. There's a little bit in Bride of Frankenstein, of him going around and learning stuff. But the sort of moral questions that he [00:07:00] raises as he's learning—what it is to be human—are very interesting in the book. And I wish they were in more of the movies, but they're not. So, Brian on Dracula, again, we have dead coming to life. Why do we love that so much? Brian: Well, it's one of the questions that made me want to make a film about it myself: why has the vampire been so fascinating for hundreds of years? Why does it keep coming back? You know, it ebbs and flows in popularity, but it never leaves. And it keeps seeming to have Renaissance after Renaissance. Dracula specifically, I think one of the interesting things about that novel is how many different lenses you can look at it through and not be wrong.People have looked at it through the lens of, is this thing an imperialist story? Is it an anti-imperialist story? Is it a feminist story? Is it an anti-feminist story? And you can find support for any of those views reading Dracula. And I think that some of it might be accidental; there's times where Dracula is catching up to whatever the cultural zeitgeist [00:08:00] is right now. And we look at Dracula and we say, oh, he was thinking about this back then. Or maybe Bram Stoker was just very confused and he had a lot of different ideas. John: All right, let's explore that a little deeper. You each gave me an assignment of some movies to watch or to re-watch that you felt were worth talking about, in relation to your subject of Frankenstein or Dracula. I'm going to start with Frankenweenie, just because I had not seen it. And in going through it, I was reminded—of course, as one would be—of watching Frankenweenie, I was reminded of Love, Actually. Because I came to the realization after years of Love, Actually being around that it—Love, Actually—is not a romantic comedy. It is all romantic comedies, all put into one movie. And Frankenweenie is all horror films. Condensed, beautifully and cleverly into one very tasty souffle. [Frankenweenie Soundbite] John: I stopped at a certain point making note of the references to other horror films. Just because there are so many of them. But the idea that it references everything from Bride of Frankenstein to Gremlins. They do a rat transformation that's right out of American Werewolf in London. The fact that they have a science teacher played by Martin Landau doing the voice he did as Bela [00:10:00] Lugosi in Ed Wood. I mean, it's a really good story that they just layered and layered and layered and layered. What was it about that movie that so captivated you? Dawn: Well, so much of what you just said. And also it seems to me the epitome of the accessibility of the story of Frankenstein. The idea that if anyone can think of any moment in which if I could bring someone back to life. But what I love about it too, is that the novel Frankenstein that is not Victor Frankenstein's motivation. It generally tends to be the motivation of almost every character, including the Kenneth Branagh character--at some point, he, when Elizabeth dies, his wife dies for the second time, he says, yes, I'm going to try to bring her back. But it is so not the motivation of the scientist in the book. It is just ambition. He just wants to do something no one else has done. And lots of people die around him and he really never, ever says to himself at any point in the novel, I wish I could bring them back, I'm going to bring them back. That's never, that's never part of it. He just wants to be impressive. And so, I love [00:11:00] that it starts with that pure motivation of wanting to bring the dead to life; just wanting to bring your dog back, so that it's so accessible for everyone watching it. Who wouldn't wanna try this? But then, even in that scene with the teacher, when he shows the frog. And he's demonstrating that if you touch a dead frog with electricity, its legs shoot up, which give the kid the first idea of bringing his dog back. Which is like a deep cut in, in the sense that that's nothing -- Mary Shelley herself and her friends were watching experiments exactly like that before she wrote the book: galvanism and animal magnetism were these really popular public demonstrations happening in London and elsewhere where they would do just that. But because electricity itself was so new, I mean, it blew people's hair back you know, that these dead frogs were flopping around. It was the craziest thing. And a lot of them were thinking to themselves, surely it is only a matter of time before we can, we're gonna have our dead walking around all the time. So, it was so circulating and so forward. [00:12:00] So it's not just movie references and it's not just Frankenstein references. That movie really includes source deep source references for how Frankenstein came to be. And I just love it. John: Which brings me to Frankenstein, the 1931 version, in which Colin Clive has a similar point of view to what you were talking about from the book. He just wants, you know, he wants to be God. [Frankenstein soundbite] John: What I was most impressed with about that movie or a couple things was: it starts, it's like, boom. We're in it. First scene. There there's no preamble. There's no going to college. There's no talking about it, right? It's like, they're starting in the middle of act two. And I think a lot of what we think of when it comes to Frankenstein comes from that movie, [00:13:00] that the stuff that James Whale and his cinematographer came up with and the way they made things look, and that's sort of what people think of when they think of Frankenstein. Now, as you look back on that movie, what are your thoughts on the, what we'll call the original Frankenstein? Dawn: Yeah. Well, I love it. You'll find with me and Frankenstein that I'm not a purist. Like I love everything. Like I have no boundaries. I think this is great. One of the things that 1931 movie did was answer—because it had to, anytime you take a novel and make it a movie, you take a literary medium and make it a visual medium, there's obviously going to be things that you just have to interpret that the author left for you to make for yourself individual. And in this instance, that individual is the cinematographer. So, we're gonna get their take on this. And one of the real ambiguous things that Mary Shelley leaves for you in the novel is the spark of life. What is the spark of life? She does not in any [00:14:00]detail describe lightning or static or any of the recognizable or, or future developments of how electricity would've been. Brian: I was shocked when I first read that book and saw how little space was devoted to that, that lab scene. It's blink of an eye and it's over. Dawn: “I gathered the instruments of life around me that I may infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my.” Period. I just, what I love is what I love about film in general is that they went, oh, spark being all right, girl, it's a dark and stormy night and you know, and there's chains and there's bubblers and there's a thing. And the sky opens. I mean, God bless you, like way to just take that thought. Make it vivid, make it, build a set, make us believe it. And it's so, so pervasive that in Frankenweinie, you know, which of course is about Frankensein. [00:15:00] Like that is one that they do: he's got the white robe that ties in the back and the gloves. And in Young Frankenstein, it's the, you know, that lab scene. And so I love that. And the other thing that they had to do was describe the look of the creature, make the creature—Frankenstein's monster himself—look so like something. Because she, similarly in the novel, says that he is taller than a regular man, has dark hair and yellow watery eyes. That's all we know about what the Frankenstein looks like. And so, in 1931, Boris Karloff with the bolts. And it's black and white, remember, we don't think his skin is green. That he turned green at some point is kind of exciting, but of course he was just gray, but just dead flesh, you know, rotten, dead walking flesh is what's frightening. And, I just thought that the movie did that so well, John: I think the makeup was kind of a green/gray, and that when color photos came out of it, that's why someone went, oh, [00:16:00] it's green, but it wasn't green. Brian: I thought I saw a museum piece of, you know, an actual makeup bit that Jack Pierce did and I thought it was greenish. Dawn: Yeah. Greenish/gray. I think, yeah, the rots, just kind of trying to capture the sort of rotten flesh. Brian: It's just like the bride's hair was red. Dawn: That's right. That's right. My day job here in Los Angeles is as a street improviser at Universal Studios, Hollywood. And two of their most treasured characters of course are Frankenstein and Dracula. So, while most people might separate them, John, they are usually arm and arm where I work every day. And the bride has recently come back to the theme park as a walking character, and they gave her red hair. We don't mess around. John: That's excellent. But you mentioned Dracula, let's jump into the 1931 Dracula. There's a connection point between the two that I want to mention, which is the amazing Dwight Frye, who is Fritz, I believe in Frankenstein. And I'm not the first one to mention his naturalistic [00:17:00] acting kind of putting him above everybody else in that movie. Famously, when he's running up the stairs, stopping to pull his socks up at one point. He's just really, really good in that. And then you see him in Dracula as the, essentially the Harker character. I think he was called Harker -- Brian: Yeah. Well, he's Renfield in Dracula. They merged those two characters. I thought it was a smart move for a first attempt at the film. Yeah. And Dwight Frye, he's in a lot of other Universal horrors, too. Dwight Frye often doesn't get the credit. He somehow was not the leading man he should have been. John: I don't know why that is. He turns up again as an assistant in Bride of Frankenstein. He's a towns person in Frankenstein meets the Wolfman. And then he tragically died on a bus ride to an auto parts job that he took because he wasn't getting any acting work, which was too bad. A really, really good actor. Brian: There is another intersection besides the fact that they were both produced by Junior. Lugosi was put into the [00:18:00] short, the trial film they shot for Frankenstein. I can't call it a short film, because it was never intended for release. But they shot a cinematic test reel and they had Lugosi play the monster, but he was under a sheet the whole time. I think he may have been able to pull the sheet off. It's a lost film. We don't know for sure. We just have kind of the recollections of a few crew people. John: I've never heard of that. I would love to see that. Brian: I would too. I think a lot of people would really love to see it, but it was as much a kind of a testing ground for Lugosi— whether they wanted him to be the monster—as it was for some of the techniques, the things they wanted to try in the film. And what I understand is the producer saw the test reel and they said, yes, we love this look, this is the look we want you to give us. And then it's whatever version of Lugosi not getting that part you want to believe: whether Lugosi turned it down or the producers didn't like him or something. But he ended up not taking that part. John: But he is of course always known as Dracula. So, what are your thoughts on their adaptation? Which [00:19:00]again is not the first adaptation but is the kind of first official? Brian: Yeah. The first to bear the name Dracula, although, well, I'll back up a second. Because some releases of Nosferatu called it Dracula. He would be named as Dracula in the subtitles, you know, because that's an easy thing to do in silent film, you can just swap that out however you want to. But yes, it's the first authorized official film adaptation. John: Well, let's back up to Nosferatu, just for a second. Am I wrong in remembering that the Bram Stoker estate—Mrs. Stoker—sued Nosferatu and asked that all prints be destroyed? And they were except one print remained somewhere? Brian: Close. That is the popular story that she sued Prana Films. She won the lawsuit. All films were set to be destroyed. Now there's a guy named Locke Heiss and a few others who've been doing some research on this. And they will tell you that there's no proof that a single print was ever destroyed. It's a more fun story to say that, you know, this one was snuck away and now we have the film. But there was no real enforcement mechanism for having all the theaters [00:20:00]destroy the film. Who was going to go around and check and see if they actually destroyed this film or not? Nobody, right? So maybe some people destroyed it. Maybe Prana Films destroyed their remaining copies. But the exhibitors kept all of theirs and there's different versions and different cuts that have been found. So, we know that some of these reels went out in different formats or with different subtitles or even different edits. And some of them have made their way back to us. John: There's some really iconic striking imagery in that movie. That haunts me still. Brian: What I always tell people is see the film with a good live accompaniment, because that still makes it hold up as a scary film. If you see a good orchestra playing something really intense when Orlok comes through that door. It feels scary. You can feel yourself being teleported back to 1922 and being one of those audience people seeing that and being struck by it. John: What do you think it would be like to have [00:21:00] seen that or Dawn to have seen the original Frankenstein? I can't really imagine, given all that we've seen in our lives. If you put yourself back into 1931, and Boris Karloff walks backwards into the lab. I would just love to know what that felt like the first time. Dawn: You know, what is so great is I was fortunate enough to know Earl Bakkan who saw the movie in the theater in Columbia Heights, Minnesota when he was 10 years old.And he went, he had to sneak in. People would run outta this, out of the theater, screaming. I mean, when they would do the close up of Frankenstein's Monster's face, you know, women would faint. And of course that was publicized and much circulated, but it was also true. People were freaking out. And for Earl Bakkan—this young kid—the fear was overwhelming, as you said. And also in this theater, I was lucky enough, I did my show in that theater for Earl and his friends on his 81st birthday. So, I got to hear a [00:22:00] lot of these stories. And they played the organ in the front of the curtain. Brian: Is this the Heights theater? Dawn: Yes, the Heights. Brian: Oh, that's an amazing space. Dawn: So, they played the organ in there and it was like, oh my God. And it was so overwhelming. So, I'm glad you asked that question because I was really fortunate to have a moment to be able to sort of immerse myself in that question: What would it have been like to be in this theater? And it was moving and it was scary, man. And yeah, to your point, Brian, the music and the score. I mean, it was overwhelming. Also, I think there's something that we still benefit from today, which is when people tell you going in this might be way too much for you, this might scare you to death. So just be super, super careful. And your heart's already, you know… John: And it does have that warning right at the beginning. Dawn: Yeah. Versus now when people sit you down, they're like, I'm not gonna be scared by this black and white movie from 1931. And then you find yourself shuffling out of the bathroom at top speed in the middle of the night. And you're like, well, look at that. It got me. Brian: That reminds me, there [00:23:00] was a deleted scene from the 1931 Dracula that was a holdover from the stage play. Van Helsing comes out and he breaks the fourth wall and he speaks directly to the audience. And he says something to the effect of—I'm very much paraphrasing—about how we hope you haven't been too frightened by what you've seen tonight, but just remember these things are real. And then black out. And they cut that because they were afraid that they were really going to freak out their audience. Dawn: It's like a war of the world's thing, man. It's oh, that's so great. I love that. [Dracula Soundbite] John: So, Brian, what is your assessment of the 1931 version? As a movie itself and as an adaptation of Stoker's work? Brian: The things they had to do to try to adapt it to film, which they borrowed a lot of that from the stage play. They used the stage play as their guide point, and I think they made the best choices they could have been expected to make. You know, there's a lot of things that get lost and that's unfortunate, but I think they did a decent job. I don't find the 1931 version scary. I like Bela Lugosi. I think he's a great Dracula. I think he set the standard. With the possible [00:25:00]exception of the scene where the brides are stalking Harker slash Renfield, I don't think the imagery is particularly frightening. The Spanish version, I think does a little bit better job. And you know the story with the Spanish version and the English version? Dawn: We actually talk about it on the back lot tour of Universal Studios. Because they shot on the same sets in some cases. Brian: Yeah. My understanding is that Dracula shot during the day, Spanish Dracula would shoot at night. So, they got to benefit maybe a little bit by seeing, okay, how is this gonna be shot? How did Todd Browning do it? Okay. We're gonna do it a little bit differently. It's a little bit of a cheat to say they move the camera. They do move the camera a lot more in the Spanish version, but the performances are a little bit different. I'm going to, I can't get her name out. The actress who plays the ingenue in the Spanish Dracula, I'm not going to try it, but you can see her kind of getting more and more crazed as time goes on and her head is more infected by Dracula. You see these push-ins that you don't see in the English version. There's blocking [00:26:00] that's different. I put together a short course where I was just talking about how they blocked the staircases scene. The welcome to my house, the walking through spider web. And how it's blocked very differently in the two versions. And what does that say? What are these two directors communicating differently to us? In one, Harker slash Renfield is next to Dracula. In one, he's trailing behind him. In one, we cut away from the spider web before he goes through. And in the other one, we see him wrestle with it. That's not really what you asked, John. Sorry, I got off on a tear there. John: I agree with you on all points on the differences between the two films. Although I do think that all the Transylvania stuff in the English version is terrific: With the coach and the brides. The Spanish version, the biggest problem I have is that their Dracula looks ridiculous. Brian: He's not Bela Lugosi. You're right. John: He looks like Steve Carell doing Dracula and there is no moment, literally no moment [00:27:00] where he is scary, whereas Lugosi is able to pull that off. Brian: There's a lot of people who have observed that the Spanish Dracula would be a superior film were it not for Bela Lugosi being such an amazing Dracula in the English version. John: He really, really nailed it. Brian: And since he learned his lines phonetically, he could have done the Spanish Dracula. Just write it out for him phonetically, because he didn't speak English very well. John: If we could just go back, you know, cause a lot of things in history we could change, but if we could just be at that meeting and go, Hey, why not have Bela do it? Okay. So then let's jump ahead, still in Dracula form, to Horror of Dracula. From 1958. With Christopher Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. [Soundbite from Horror of Dracula] Brian: For some people, Lee is the ultimate Dracula, and I think that's a generational thing. I think he's great. He's got the stage presence and I love Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. I don't like the film as a whole. It feels like I'm watching a play with a camera set back. It doesn't work for me the way it works for other people. That is personal taste. Don't come after me. John: It does, however, have one of the greatest, ‘Hey, we're gonna kill Dracula' scenes ever, with Peter Cushing running down the table and jumping up and pulling down the drapes and the sun. Brian: Oh, right. Interesting. Because in Dracula, the book, the sun is not deadly, remotely really. But that's [00:29:00]the influence of Nosferatu being pasted onto the Dracula cannon, that the sunlight is deadly to Dracula. Dawn: I remember having this fight very enthusiastically in the nineties when Bram Stoker's/Winona Ryder's Dracula came out and I was already sort of a literary nerd. And they were like, hey, they have a scene with him walking around during the day. And I was like, yeah, nerds. That's right. That's cuz vampires can walk around during the day.I was very already, like, you don't know anything, go back to history. Brian: And there's a seventies version where he's out on a cloudy day, but he is not hurt either. There suggestions in the book that he's more powerful at night. Dawn: He's a creature of the night. I always understood he had to wear sunglasses. He was sort of like a wolf. Like they show him as a wolf during the day; it can happen, but it's not great. Brian: I like the way they did it in the Gary Oldman version. He's suited up. He's got the sunglasses on. There's not a whole lot of skin exposed. But he's not [00:30:00] going to turn into smoke. John: Well, okay. Let's talk about that version and Kenneth Branagh's version of Frankenstein. Dawn: Ug. John: I'm not going to spoil anything here, when I say it doesn't sound like Dawn cared it. Dawn: You open this, you opened this can of worms. John, sit down for a second. Listen. He calls it: Mary Shelly's fucking Frankenstein. I inserted the fucking. I'm sorry, I wasn't supposed to say that. He calls it. He calls it. How dare you, Kenneth, Brannagh, call this Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. So that was A-number one. But I went into it all excited: It's Kenneth Brannagh. Love him. He calls it Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and he starts with the ship captain out at sea, just like the book. And so I pull up my little, you know, security blanket and I'm like, oh, Kenneth Brannagh, do this to me, buddy. Do it to me buddy. Show me Mary Shelley Frankenstein as a movie. [00:31:00] And then he just fucks it up, John. And he doesn't actually do that at all. It's a total lie. He screws up every monologue. He makes up motivations and then heightens them. And it's dad. The acting is capital B, capital A, capital D across the board. Everybody sucks in this movie. It looks bad. The direction is bad, and it has nothing to do. He tries to bring Elizabeth back to life. This is a huge departure from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Thank you very much, Mr. Brannagh, that's all I have to say for now. John: All right, I was fooled by the fact that he started at, at the north pole. Dawn: That's because he's tricking us, John. That's because it's the whole movie is a lie. John: Okay with that same mindset, what do we think of Bram Stoker's Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola? Dawn: I love that one. Brian: I'm afraid that I don't have, I can't match Dawn's intensity in either respect. Um, except I thought Robert DeNiro [00:32:00] was really good in Frankenstein. Dawn: But that's no, he's not. you're wrong. Your opinion is valid and wrong. Yeah, I'm kidding for listeners who don't know me. I am, I am kidding. Of course. Everybody's opinion is valid except for that one. Yeah. The movie, everything about that movie is bad. John: He is, I think, miscast. Dawn: And Helen Bonan Carter is one of the finest actresses of not just our generation, but of all time. And she sucks in this movie. John: Right. So. Bram Stoker's Dracula. Brian: Bram Stoker's Dracula. [Soundbite: Bram Stoker's Dracula] Brian: Also produced by Branagh. And I assume that is the connection, why they both start with the author's name. I always call it Coppola's Dracula because it gets too confusing to make that distinction. I thought it was a decent movie, but it didn't feel like Dracula. It felt like someone who had heard of Dracula and wrote a good script based on what they had heard. So many divergences that bothered me, although I think it's aged better than it felt the first time. I remember seeing it when it first came out in the nineties and not thinking much of it. And I think audiences agreed with me and it seems like it's been kinder, that audiences have been kinder to it as it's gotten older. John: Okay. Dawn, you love it. Dawn: I loved it. I loved it. It, you know what though? That was one of [00:34:00] those movies that unlike, unlike Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, I can't look at with like an adult critical eye because I, what year did it come out? Was it like 90, 92? I'm like middle school getting into high school and like Winona Ryder was everything. Vampires are everything. I mean, Gary Oldman is the, is a great actor and it's so sexy, very sexy. The sex is Primo. And so I remember loving it, very moving. I don't remember comparing it as certainly not as viciously to the novel because I read Dracula after I had seen the movie. And so there's always that inherent casting where Nina is always going to be Winona Ryder. But I do remember really loving the Gothic convention of the letter and that the movie did seem to utilize and to great effect how letter writing can build suspense and give us different perspectives in a, in a unique cinematic way. Brian: [00:35:00] The two or three biggest stakes that film puts in the ground are not to be found in the book. So there's no love story in the book. There's no Vlad in the book. John: Can I interject there? Isn't that basically, didn't they just rip that off of Dark Shadows, The idea of my long lost love is reincarnated in this woman. I must connect with her. Brian: That is a good question, John. I'm glad you asked that because I call it the doppelganger love interest. Right? We first see that, the first time I know of it happening, I'm sure there's an earlier precedent, is in The Mummy, but then Dark Shadows does it. But that's not where Stoker, I mean, that's not where Coppola and a screenwriter claimed to have gotten the idea. They claimed to have gotten it from Dan Curtis's Dracula in 74. John: Dan Curtis, who produced Dark Shadows, with Barnabas Collins, falling in love with his reincarnated love. Brian: But Dan Curtis's Dracula comes out two years after Blacula. That has a reincarnated love interest. John: Not only does the Blaclua [00:36:00] have a reincarnated love interest, but if I'm remembering movie correctly at the end, when she says I don't want to go with you. He goes, okay. And he's ready to go home. It's like, sorry to bother you. Brian: No, uh, in Blacula, he commits suicide John: Oh, that's it? Yeah. He walks out into the sun. Brian: He goes home in a different way. John: Yes. He's one of my favorite Draculas, the very stately William Marshall. Brian: Yeah, absolutely. That is a favorite of mine. John: Anyway, you were saying stakes in the ground from Coppola's Dracula. Brian: Well, the, the love story, the equating Dracula with Vlad the Impaler. And I felt like they did Lucy really bad in that movie. They had her turn into a wanton harlot, which is not in keeping with the book. Some things are okay, but they really said these are the building blocks of our story and that bugged me. But Anthony Hopkins I liked, so, all right. Dawn: Alright, but see, this [00:37:00] the itch that still that still makes me wanna scratch though: why say Bram Stoker's Dracula? Why say Mary Shelley's Frankenstein? I mean, because I think you heard the venom, obviously. If they took Mary Shelley's name off that thing, you can make Frankenweenie. And I will love, like, I love Frankenweenie. Do your Frankenstein homage all day, all the time. But when you call, when you say it's Bram Stoker's, I think that this is what has been frustrating historians like me and getting high school students Ds in English class ever since. Because it just creates the false perception that you've basically read the book. Right. Or that you, if you know the thing you know the book and it's just a cheap ploy. And I don't like it. Brian: I think, somebody correct me on this, that there, there had been a plan to do a reboot of the Universal monster franchise, and these two movies were supposed to be the reboot of it. [00:38:00] And then they would've then done HG Wells' Invisible Man. John: The Mummy killed it. They've tried to reboot it several times. And that was the first attempt. Brian: Yeah, I've heard that called the dark universe. They were trying to do their own MCU. Dawn: Yeah. Well, at Universal Studios, there is of course in, in LA, in general, there's the property wars, you know? What what's, who has what? And sometimes those get really blurred. Like why does Universal Studios have Harry Potter? When we can see Warner Brothers from the top of our wall/ And that's obviously, you know, those things happen. But when it comes to like the IP or intellectual property, those original monsters are so valuable and they always are at Halloween. And then it's like, sort of, how can we capitalize on this? And yeah. And it's cross generational. Brian: All they really own right now is the look right? They own Jack Pierce's makeup job from Frankenstein. Dawn: But I think that that's exactly the point; [00:39:00] the delusion of what is it that you own if you own, you know, Frankenstein, whatever. But yes, there was definitely an interest to sort of revamp all of the original Universal Monsters they call them and it's the Mummy, Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Invisible Man. John: It's everybody who shows up in Mad Monster Party. Dawn: Exactly. [Soundbite: Mad Monster Party] Dawn: But yeah, The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise, was a tremendous flop. And I think that sort of took the wind out of everybody's sails. John: Let me ask you this, Dawn. If Mel Brooks had titled his movie, Mary Shelley's Young Frankenstein, instead of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, would you have a problem with that? Dawn: Yeah, no, but no, I would not have had a problem, because that would've been irony and juxtaposition. Not just a straight lie. John: So that brings us to some comedies. Young Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein, which I was very surprised and a little unnerved to [00:40:00] realize a few years back, Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein was made a mere 10 years before I was born. And I had always assumed it was way back then. And it's like, no, it wasn't all that way back then. It was pretty, pretty recently. Brian: That happened to me when I realized that Woodstock was only six years before my birth. And it always seemed like ancient history. John: Is that the common thing, Madame Historian? That people kind of forget how recent things were? Dawn: Oh yeah. Remember Roe V. Wade. Sorry, too soon. Brian: We're recording this on that day. Dawn: Yeah, absolutely. I think that it happens to everybody so much faster than you think it's going to. I remember looking around in the nineties feeling, well, surely the seventies was ancient history, you know, because they had That Seventies Show, which debuted as like a period piece. I am still very young and hip and happening and [00:41:00] they are in production for That Nineties Show right now. And I said to my husband, That Nineties Show. I was like, Jesus, I guess that's 20 years because I was in the nineties they did That Seventies Show. And he goes, no baby that's 30 years. And I was like, I'm sorry. I said, I'm sorry, what? He goes, the nineties was 30 years ago. And I just had to sit down and put my bunion corrector back on because these feet are killing me. John: All right. Well, let's just talk about these two comedies and then there's a couple other things I wanna quickly hit on. What are our thoughts on, let's start with Young Frankenstein? [Soundbite: Young Frankenstein] Dawn: I told you I'm not an idealist and we're not a purist about Frankenstein, but I am an enthusiast. So that is why I told you to watch Kenneth Branagh's movie, even though I hate it so much. And that is also why I love Young Frankenstein, because I think that it is often what brings people into the story. For many, many people, it introduces them to the creature. They may know literally nothing about Frankenstein except for Young Frankenstein. And that's actually fine with me because I'm a comedian myself. And I believe that parody is high honor. And often when you parody and satirize something, especially when you do it well, it's because you went to the heart of it. Because you got right in there into the nuggets and the creases of it. And there is something about Young [00:43:00] Frankenstein as ridiculous as it is that has some of that wildness and the hilarity and The Putting on the Ritz. I did find out from my Universal Studios movie history stuff, that that scene was very nearly cut out. Mel Brooks did not like it. And he just didn't like that they were doing it. And of course it's the one, I feel like I'm not the only one who still has to make sure that my beverage is not only out of my esophagus, but like aside, when they start doing it. [Soundbite: Young Frankenstein] Brian: And I understand they were about to throw away the sets from the 1931 Frankenstein when Mel Brooks or his production designer came up and said, Stop stop. We want to use these and they were able to get the original sets or at least the set pieces. John: I believe what it [00:44:00] was, was they got Kenneth Strickfaden's original machines. Ken Strickfaden created all that stuff for the 1931 version and had been used on and off, you know, through all the Frankenstein films. And it was all sitting in his garage and the production designer, Dale Hennessy went out to look at it because they were thinking they had to recreate it. And he said, I think it still works. And they plugged them in and they all still worked. Brian: Oh, wow. Dawn: Oh man. It's alive. John: Those are the original machines. Dawn: I didn't know that. That's fantastic. John: At the time when I was a young kid, I was one of the few kids in my neighborhood who knew the name Kenneth Strickfaden, which opened doors for me. Let me tell you when people find out, oh, you know of the guy who designed and built all those? Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I know all that. One of my favorite stories from Young Frankenstein is when they sold the script. I forget which studio had said yes. And as they were walking out of the meeting, Mel Brooks turned back and said, oh, by the way, it's gonna be in black and white, and kept going. And they followed him down the hall and said, no, it can't be in black and white. And he said, no, it's not gonna work unless it's in [00:45:00] black and white. And they said, well, we're not gonna do it. And they had a deal, they were ready to go. And he said, no, it's gonna stay black and white. And he called up Alan Ladd Jr. that night, who was a friend of his, and said, they won't do it. And he said, I'll do it. And so it ended up going, I think, to Fox, who was more than happy to, to spend the money on that. And even though Mel didn't like Putting on the Ritz, it's weird, because he has almost always had musical numbers in his films. Virtually every movie he's done, he's either written a song for it, or there's a song in it. So, it's weird to me. I've heard Gene Wilder on YouTube talk about no, no, he didn't want that scene at all, which is so odd because it seems so-- Brian: I never thought about that, but you're right. I'm going in my head through all the Mel Brooks films I can remember. And there is at least a short musical interlude in all of them that I can think of. John: But let's talk then about what's considered one of the best mixes of horror and comedy, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein [00:46:00] [Soundbite: Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein] Brian: As with comedies of that age, it, it starts off slow, but then it starts to get very funny as time goes on. And all the comedy is because of Abbot and Costello. They are the, [00:47:00] the chemistry they have on screen. I don't know how much of that was actually scripted and how much of it was just how they rolled with each other. But it works really well. Not much of the comedy is provided by the monsters or the supporting cast or even there's maybe a cute, a few sight gags. But wouldn't you say most of the comedy is just the dynamics between them? John: It is. The scary stuff is scary and it's balanced beautifully at the end where they're being chased through the castle. The monsters stayed pretty focused on being monsters and Abbot and Costello's reactions are what's funny. Dawn: If I may, as someone who has already admitted I haven't seen much of the movie, it's feels to me like it may be something like Shaun of the Dead, in the sense that you get genuinely scared if zombie movies scare, then you'll have that same adrenaline rush and the monsters stay scary. They don't have to get silly. Or be a part of the comedy for your two very opposing one's skinny, one's fat, you know, and the way that their friendship is both aligning and [00:48:00]coinciding is the humor. Brian: I believe there is one brief shot in there where you get to see Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman all in the same shot. And I think that might be the only time that ever happens in the Universal Franchise. During the lab scene, does that sound right John? John: I think you really only have Dracula and the Wolfman. I'll have to look it up because the monster is over on another table-- Brian: Isn't he underneath the blanket? John: Nope, that's Lou Costello, because it's his brain that they want. And so they're fighting over that table. And then just a little, I have nothing but stupid fun facts. There's a point in it, in that scene where the monster gets off the table and picks up someone and throws them through a window. And Glenn Strange, who was playing the monster at that point -- and who is one of my favorite portrayers of the monster, oddly enough -- had broken his ankle, I believe. And so Lon, Chaney, Jr. put the makeup on and did that one stunt for him, cuz he was there. Brian: He did that as Frankenstein's monster? John: Yes. Frankenstein. Brian: I didn't know that. Yes, I [00:49:00] did not know that. So he plays both of those roles in that movie? John: Yes. Let me just take a moment to defend Glenn Strange, who played the monster three times: House of Dracula, House of Frankenstein, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. In House of Frankenstein, he is following up the film before that, which was Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, in which, in this very convoluted universe, Lugosi is playing the monster, even though he didn't wanna do it in 31. Because his brain in Ghost of Frankenstein had been put into the Monster's body. So, in Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, it is Lugosi as the Frankenstein monster. It is Lon Chaney Jr., who had played the monster in Ghost of Frankenstein, now back to playing Larry Talbot. So, it is Wolfman versus Frankenstein. And the premise of the script was he's got Ygor's brain and it's not connecting properly. He's gone blind. They shot that. They had tons of dialogue between the two characters of Larry Talbot pre-wolfman, and the monster, Bela Lugosi. And the executives thought it sounded silly. So they went in and they cut [00:50:00] out all of Lugosi's dialogue out of the movie. So now you have a blind monster stumbling around with his arms in front of him, but he doesn't talk. And if you look at the movie, you can see where he's supposed to be talking and they cut away quickly. And it's really convoluted. Glenn Strange who then has to play the monster next, looks at that and goes well, all right, I guess I'm still blind. I guess I'm still stumbling around with my arms in front of him. Which is the image most people have of the Frankenstein monster, which was never done by Boris in his three turns as the monster. So with, in that regard, I just think Glenn Strange did a great job of picking up what had come before him and making it work moving forward. Anyway, a couple other ones I wanna just hit on very quickly. Brian asked me to watch Dracula in Istanbul. Under the circumstances, a fairly straightforward retelling of the Dracula story. I would recommend it--it is on YouTube--for a couple of reasons. One, I believe it's the first time that Dracula has actual canine teeth. Brian: Yes. John: Which is important. But the other is there's the scene where he's talking to Harker about, I want [00:51:00] you to write three letters. And I want you to post date the letters. It's so convoluted, because he goes into explaining how the Turkish post office system works in such a way that the letters aren't gonna get there. It's just this long scene of explaining why he needs to write these three letters, and poor Harker's doing his best to keep up with that. That was the only reason I recommend it. Brian: That movie is based on a book called Kazıklı Voyvoda, which means The Warrior Prince and it was written in, I wanna say the 1920s or thirties, I wanna say thirties. It's the first book to equate Dracula and Vlad the Impaler, which I've come back to a couple times now, but that's significant because it was a Turkish book and the Turks got that right away. They immediately saw the name Dracula like, oh, we know who we're talking about. We're talking about that a-hole. It was not until the seventies, both the [00:52:00] fifties and the seventies, that Western critics and scholars started to equate the two. And then later when other scholars said, no, there, there's not really a connection there, but it's a fun story. And it's part of cannon now, so we can all play around with it. John: But that wasn't what Bram Stoker was thinking of? Is that what you're saying? Brian: No. No, he, he wasn't, he wasn't making Dracula into Vlad the Impaler. He got the name from Vlad the Impaler surely, but not the deeds. He wasn't supposed to be Vlad the Impaler brought back to life. John: All right. I'm going to ask you both to do one final thing and then we'll wrap it up for today. Although I could talk to you about monsters all day long, and the fact that I'd forgotten Dawn, that you were back on the Universal lot makes this even more perfect. If listeners are going to watch one Dracula movie and one Frankenstein movie, what do you recommend? Dawn, you go first. Dawn: They're only watching one, then it's gotta be the 1931 Frankenstein, with Boris. Karloff, of course. I think it has captured [00:53:00] the story of Frankenstein that keeps one toe sort of beautifully over the novel and the kind of original source material that I am so in love with, but also keeps the other foot firmly in a great film tradition. It is genuinely spooky and it holds so much of the imagery of any of the subsequent movies that you're only watching one, so that's the one you get. But if you do watch any more, you've got this fantastic foundation for what is this story and who is this creature? John: Got it. And Brian, for Dracula? Brian: I was tossing around in my head here, whether to recommend Nosferatu or the 1931 Dracula. And I think I'm going to have to agree with Dawn and say the 1931 for both of them, because it would help a viewer who was new to the monsters, understand where we got the archetypes we have. Now, why, when you type an emoji into your phone for Vampire, you get someone with a tuxedo in the slick back hair or, I think, is there a Frankenstein emoji? Dawn: There is, and he's green with bolts in his neck. [00:54:00] Brian: Yeah, it would. It will help you understand why we have that image permanently implanted in our heads, even though maybe that's not the source material. We now understand the origins of it. Dawn: And if I may too, there's, there's something about having the lore as founded in these movies is necessary, frankly, to almost understand what happens later. I mean, I get very frustrated in 2022, if there is a movie about vampires that takes any time at all to explain to me what a vampire is, unless you're breaking the rules of the vampire. For example, you know, like in Twilight the vampire sparkles, like a diamond when it's out in the sunshine and is the hottest thing ever. That's really great to know. I didn't know that about vampires. That wasn't necessarily true before, you know, but you don't need to take a lot of time. In fact, when you do read Dracula, one of the things for me that I found very frustrating was the suspense of what is it with this guy? They were like: He said we couldn't bring [00:55:00] garlic and they take all this time. And you're kind of as a modern reader being like, cuz he is a fucking vampire. Move on. Like we know this, we got this one. It's shorthand Brian: That's one snide thing I could say about the book is that there are times where Dracula's powers seem to be whatever his powers need to be to make this next scene creepy and move on to the next chapter. John: He was making it up as he went along. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Patrick answers listener questions about piracy, praying for someone to die, and if getting Botox is a sin Cindy – Is it pirating to share a password account? John – Is it sinful to pray for the death of a dictator who is evil? Sarah – Is getting Botox a sin? Patrick shares audio from Catharine MacKinnon talking about the violence of pornography. Patrick responds to an email asking about what makes a valid marriage Annulments in the Catholic Church: Straight Answers to Angela - Regarding Pornography, the women are there voluntarily. I think you are wrong. They are not being forced to do this. Melissa – My mom supports abortion in cases of rape. Did God allow these women to be raped so that these babies could be created?

Patrick answers questions about what's the difference between moral and legal matters, how to explain the Trinity, and what's the proper response when receiving communion     Patrick continues his conversation with Fr. Bob from Hour 1 about how our goal should be to know Jesus and to love Him  Ron - What is the difference between moral and legal matters?   John – Is this an adequate way to explain the Trinity: A father and son's love is represented in the holy spirit.  10 Worst U.S. Airports and Airlines for Cancellations and Delays  Minnesota pharmacist who denied emergency contraception wins case: 'We should be able to live out our beliefs'  Luke - What is the proper response when receiving communion?  Barbara - Regarding the pharmacist to refused the prescription. But where do we draw the line with not prescribing medications?  Celina - If my ancestors practiced Witchcraft, could the evil spirits be passed on to myself and my children?   Patrick recommends “The Devil's Role in the Spiritual Life” by Fr. Cliff Ermatinger 

Patrick gives guidance on how to better meditate on the Rosary, what's the difference between separating relics and ashes, what's the Catholic stance on the rapture, and helps a non-Catholic take his first steps towards the Catholic faith, and addresses blasphemy April - Who came first, Adam and Eve or the dinosaurs? Keith - How can I do better at meditating on the rosary? Dilbert - Difference between separating relics and ashes? Christine - What is the Catholic stance on the rapture? Mike - I am not Catholic - How can you get through all the past action of the Catholic Church that are horrendous? Patrick addresses blasphemy and shares his personal view on this sin Joseph – I'm a college student. How can I be sure that our faith is true? Jenny - Is there a penitential prayer to say if you eat meat on Friday? Kaylee - What is the unforgivable sin that Jesus mentioned? John – Is it okay to say Cheese and Rice instead of blaspheming? David - I was able to overcome saying the Lord's name in vain by not receiving communion until I went to confession Nancy - What is the difference between memorial and feast day for a saint?

“John: Is it then doubtful that you might doubt? Doubting Thomas: I sincerely doubt that. John: Then why are you Doubting Thomas? Doubting Thomas: This is a trap.” Referenced Links: Live At Leeds: Order A Copy Of The Who Live At Leeds (That's Not Original) AI Voices & Other Stuff @ Online Tone Generator Credits: These podcasts are productions of Little Red Hen Industries. Learn about financial education & personal financial management in this episode with John Brandy on the Simple Success podcast. Learn more about Simple Success with John Brandy using our all-in-one access link here Visit the Simple Success with John Brandy website today! We have websites for both podcasts & there's a Listen Notes site for even more personal ideas. Send us a video, audio or text message, but of course you'll have to head to the show notes to get links. Simple Success Web: https://www.simplesuccesswithjohnbrandy.com/ A Choice Voice Web: https://www.achoicevoice.com/ iOS Simple Success: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/simple-success-with-john-brandy/id1549566678 Droid Simple Success: https://podcasts.google.com/search/simple%20success%20with%20john%20brandy iOS A Choice Voice: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-choice-voice-with-john-brandy/id1560026051 Droid A Choice Voice: https://podcasts.google.com/search/a%20choice%20voice%20with%20john%20brandy Support: https://anchor.fm/simplesuccess/support https://anchor.fm/achoicevoice/support Voice Msgs: https://anchor.fm/simplesuccess/message https://anchor.fm/achoicevoice/message ListenNotes (Podcast Playlists & Stuff): https://www.listennotes.com/playlists/john-brandys-podcast-playlist-GxK2g7uwZDU/podcasts/ Finally, you can find us on Podmatch, where we consider guests & guesting on other pods. Podmatch Host https://podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1611285111512x890580376127176400?return=true Podmatch Guest https://podmatch.com/guestdetailpreview/1611285111512x890580376127176400?return=true And really finally, our music and sound effects come from freesound.org --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/simplesuccess/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/simplesuccess/support

01:09 - Jenna's Superpower: Being Super Human: Deeply rooted in what is human in tech * The User is Everything 04:30 - Keeping Focus on the User * Building For Themself * Bother(!!) Users * Walking A Mile In Your Users Shoes - Jamey Hampton (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-zYKo8f7nM) 09:09 - Interviewing Users (Testing) * Preparation * Identifying Bias * Getting Things Wrong * Gamifying/Winning (Developer Dogs & Testing Cats) * Overtesting 23:15 - Working With ADHD * Alerts & Alarms * Medication * Underdiagnosis / Misdiagnosis * Presentation * Medical Misogyny and Socialization * Masking * Finding a Good Clinician Reflections: John: Being a super human. Jacob: Forgetting how to mask. Jamey: Talking about topics that are Greater Than Code. Jenna: Talking about what feels stream-of-consciousness. Having human spaces is important. Support your testers! This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode) To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Transcript: JAMEY: Hi, everyone and thanks for tuning in to Episode 276 of Greater Than Code. I'm one of your hosts, Jamey Hampton, and I'm here with my friend, Jacob Stoebel. JACOB: Hello, like to be here. I'm with my friend, John Sawers. JOHN: Thanks, Jacob. And I'm here with our guest, Jenna Charlton. Jenna is a software tester and product owner with over a decade of experience. They've spoken at a number of dev and test conferences and is passionate about risk-based testing, building community within agile teams, developing the next generation of testers, and accessibility. When not testing, Jenna loves to go to punk rock shows and live pro wrestling events with their husband Bob, traveling, and cats. Their favorite of which are the two that share their home, Maka and Excalipurr. Welcome to the show, Jenna! [chuckles] JENNA: Hi, everybody! I'm excited to be here with all the J's. [laughter] JAMEY: We're so excited to have you. JOHN: And we will start with the question we always start with, which is what is your superpower and how did you acquire it? JENNA: On a less serious note, I have a couple of superpowers. One I discovered when I was a teenager. I can find Legally Blonde on TV [laughter] any kind of day [laughs] somewhere. It's a less valuable superpower than it used to be. But boy, was it a great superpower when you would be scrolling and I'm like, “Legally Blonde, I found it!” [laughter] JAMEY: I was going to ask if one of your superpowers was cat naming, because Excalipurr is very good. It's very good. [laughs] JENNA: I wish I could take credit for that. [laughter] Bob is definitely the one responsible. JAMEY: So it's your husband superpower, cat naming and yours is Legally Blonde. Got it. JENNA: Mine is Legally Blonde. [laughter] I also can find a way to relate anything to pro wrestling. JAMEY: I've seen that one in action, actually. Yes. [laughter] JENNA: But no, my real superpower, or at least as far as tech goes is that I am super human. Not in that I am a supremely powerful human, it's that I am deeply rooted in what is human in tech and that's what matters to me and the user is my everything. I'm not one of those people who nerds out about the latest advancement. Although, I enjoy talking about it. What I care about, what gets me excited, and gets me out of bed every day in tech is thinking about how I can solve a deeply human problem in a way that is empathetic, centers the user, and what matters to them. JAMEY: Do you feel like you were always like that naturally, or do you feel like that was a skill that you fostered over your career? JENNA: I think it's who I am, but I think I had to learn how to harness it to make it useful. I am one of those people who has the negative trait of empathy and when I say negative trait, there's that tipping point on empathy where it goes from being a powerful, positive thing to being something that invades your life. So I am one of those people who sitting in a conference room, I can feel the temperature change and it makes me wiggle in my seat, feel uncomfortable, get really awkward, and then default to things like people pleasing, which is a terrible, terrible trait [laughs] that I fight every day against. It's actually why remote work has saved me. But I've had to learn how to take caring about people and turn it into something that's valuable and useful and delivers because we can talk about the user all day and take no action on it. It's one thing to care about the user and to care about people. It's another thing to understand how to translate that care into something useful. When I learned how to do that in testing, my career changed and then when I learned how to translate that to product, things really started to change. JAMEY: That's amazing. JENNA: Thank you. [laughs] JACOB: I feel like so often at work I sit down at 9:00 AM and I'm like, “Okay, what do our users need in this feature, or how could this potentially go wrong and hurt our users?” And then by 9:20, everything's off the rails. [laughter] As work happens and here's a million fires to put out and it's all about things in the weeds that if I could just get them to work, then I could go back to thinking about to use it. You know what I mean? How do you keep that focus? JENNA: So part it is, I don't want to say the luck, but is the benefit of where I landed. I work for a company that does AI/ML driven test automation. I design and build experiences for myself. I'm building for what I, as a tester, needed when I was testing and let's be honest, I still test. I just test more from a UAT perspective. I get to build for myself, which means that I understand the need of my user. If I was building something for devs, I wouldn't even know where to begin because that's not my frame of reference. I feel like we make a mistake when we are designing things that we take for granted that we know what a user's shoes look like, but I know what my user's shoes look like because I filled them. But I don't know what a dev shoes look like. I don't know what an everyday low-tech user shoes look like. I kind of do because I've worked with those users and I always use my grandmother as an example. She's my frame of reference. She's fairly highly skilled for being 91 years old, but she is 91 years old. She didn't start using computers until 20 years ago and at that point, she was in her 70s. Very, very different starting point. But I have the benefit that that's where I start so I've got to leg up. But I think when we start to think about how do I build this for someone else and that someone isn't yourself, the best place to start is by going to them and interviewing them. What do you need? Talk to me about what your barriers are right now. Talk to me about what hurts you today. Talk to me about what really works for you today. I always tell people that one of the most beneficial things I did when I worked for Progressive was that my users were agents. So I could reach out to them and say like, “Hey, I want to see your workflow.” And I could do that because I was an agent, not a customer. They can show me that and it changed the way I would test because now I could test like them. So I don't have a great answer other than go bother them. Get a user community and go bug the heck out of them all the time. [laughs] Like, what do you mean? How do you do this today? What are your stumbling blocks? How do I remove them for you? Because they've got the answer; they just don't know it. JAMEY: That was really gratifying for me to listen to actually. [laughter] It's not a show about me. It's a show about you. So I don't want to make it about me, but I have a talk called Walking a Mile In Your Users' Shoes and basically, the takeaway from it is meet them where they are. So when I heard you say that, I was like, “Yes, I totally agree!” [laughs] JENNA: But I also learned so much from you on this because I don't remember if it's that talk, or a different one, but you did the talk about a user experience mistake, or a development mistake thinking about greenhouses. JAMEY: Yes. That's the talk I'm talking about. [laughs] JENNA: Yeah. So I learned so much from you in that talk and I've actually referenced it a number times. Even things when I talk to testers and talk about misunderstandings around the size of a unit and that that may not necessarily be global information. That that was actually siloed to the users and you guys didn't have that and had to create a frame of reference because it was a mess. So I reference that talk all the time. [laughs] JAMEY: I'm going to cry. There's nothing better to hear than you helped someone learn something. [laughter] So I'm so happy. [chuckles] JENNA: You're one of my favorite speakers. I'm not going to lie. [chuckles] JOHN: Aw. JAMEY: You're one of my favorite speakers too, which is why I invited you to come on the show. [laughs] JENNA: Oh, thank you. [laughter] Big warm hugs. [laughs] JOHN: I'm actually lacking in the whole user interviewing process. I haven't really done that much because usually there's a product organization that's handling most of that. Although, I think it would be useful for me as a developer, but I can imagine there are pitfalls you can fall into when you're interviewing users that either force your frame of reference onto them and then they don't really know what you're talking about, or you don't actually get the answer from them that shows you what their pain points are. You get what maybe they think you should build, or something else. So do you have anything specifically that you do to make sure you find out what's really going on for them? JENNA: The first thing is preparation. So I have a list of questions and that time with that user isn't over until I've answered them. If it turns out that I walked into that room and those questions were wrong, then we stop and time to regenerate questions because I can bias them, they can bias me, we can wind up building something totally different than we set out to do, which is fine if that's the direction we went end up going. But I need to go into that time with them with that particular experience being the goal. So if I got it wrong, we stop and we start over. Now, not everybody has to do that. Some people can think faster on their feet. Part of being ADHD is I fall into the moment and don't remember like, “Oh, I wrote myself a note, but there's also” – I just read a Twitter thread about this today. I wrote myself a note, but also to remember to go back and read that note. So [laughs] all of those little things, which are why I really hold to, “I got it wrong. We're going to put a pin in this and come. Let's schedule for 2 days from now,” or next week, or whatever the appropriate amount of time is. There have been times – and I'm really lucky because my boss is so good at interviewing users so I've really gotten to learn from her, but there have been times when she'll interview a user and then it totally turns the other direction and she goes, “Well, yes, we're not building this thing we said we were going to build. I'm going to call you again in six months when I'm ready to build this thing we started talking about.” Because now the roadmap's changed. Now my plan has changed. We're going to put a pin in this because in six months, it may not be the same requirement, or the same need. There might be a new solution, or you may have moved past that this may be a temporary requirement. So when we're ready to do it, we'll talk again. But the biggest thing for me is preparation. JAMEY: I have a question about something specific you said during that near the beginning. You said, “They can bias me and I can bias them,” and I wonder if you have any advice on identifying when that is happening. JENNA: When it feels like one of you is being sold? JAMEY: Mm. JENNA: So early in my career, before I got into tech, I worked in sales like everybody who doesn't have a college degree and doesn't know what they want to do with their life does. Both of my grandfathers and my father were in sales. I have a long line of salespeople running through my blood. If I realize that I feel like, and I have a specific way that I feel when I'm selling somebody something because I like to win. So you get this kind of adrenal rush and everything when I realize I'm feeling that. That's when I know ooh, I'm going to bias them because I'm selling them on my idea and it's not my job today to sell them on my idea. I know they're biasing me when I realize that I'm feeling like I'm purchasing something. It's like, oh, okay. So now I'm talking to somebody who's selling me something and while I want to buy their vision, I also want to make sure that it makes sense for the company because I have to balance that. Like I'm all about the user, but there's a bottom line [laughs] and we still have to make sure that's not red. JOHN: So you're talking about a situation where they maybe have a strong idea about what they want you to build and so, their whole deal is focused on this is the thing, this is the thing, you've got to do it this way because this would make my life the most amazing, or whatever. JENNA: Yeah, exactly. Or their use case is super, super narrow and all they're focused on is making sure that fits their exact use case and they don't have to make any shifts, or changes so that it's more global. Because that's a big one that you run into, especially when you're like building tools. We have to build it for the majority, but the minority oftentimes has a really good use case, but it's really unique to them. JOHN: What's the most surprising thing you've taken away from a user interview? JENNA: I wouldn't say it's a surprise, but probably the most jarring thing was when I got it wrong the first time and when I got it wrong, I was really wrong. Like not even the wrong side of the stadium, a different city. [chuckles] Like a different stadium in a different city wrong. [laughs] It caught me off guard because I really thought that what I had read and what I understood about the company that I was working with, the customer that I was working with. I thought I understood their business better. I thought I understood what they did and what their needs would be better. I thought I understood their user better. But I missed all of it, all of it. [laughs] So I think that was the most surprising, but it was really valuable. It was the most surprising because I was so off base, but it was probably the most valuable because it showed me how much I let my bias influence before I even step into the conversation. JOHN: Is there a difference between how you think about the user when you have your product hat on versus when you have your tester hat on? JENNA: Oh, absolutely. When I have my product hat on, I have to play a balancing game because it's about everybody's needs. It's about the user's needs. It's about the business' needs. It's about the shareholders' need. Well, we don't really have shareholders, but the board's needs, the investors' needs. And when I'm testing, I get to just be a tester and think about what do I need when I'm doing this job? What solves my problem and what doesn't? What's interesting about testing and not every tester is like this, but I certainly am. I mentioned that I like to win. Testing feels like winning when you find bugs. So I get to fill that need to win a little bit because I'm like, “Oh, found one. Oh, found another one. Yes, this is awesome!” I get really excited and I don't get to be that way when I'm product person, but when I'm testing person, I get to be all about it. [laughs] JAMEY: I love that. That's so interesting because to me as a developer, I get a similar feeling when I fix bugs. I feel crappy when I find bugs, [chuckles] but I get that feeling when I fix them. So it's really interesting to hear you talk about that side in that way. I like it. JENNA: Have I ever shared with you that I think developers are like dogs and testers are like cats? JAMEY: Elaborate. JACOB: Let's hear it. [laughs] JENNA: Okay. So I like dogs and cats. That's not what this is about. JAMEY: I like dogs and cats, too. So I'm ready to hear it. [laughs] JENNA: Dogs are very linear. If you teach a dog to do a trick and you reward them in the right way, with the exception of a couple of breeds, for the most part, they'll do that for you on a regular basis. And dogs like to complete their task. If they're a job, because a lot of dogs, they need jobs. They're working animals, it's in their DNA. If their job is to go get you a beer, they're going to go get you a beer because that's their job and they want to finish their job. Cats, on the other hand, with the exception of their job of catching things that move for the most part, they are not task oriented and really, a cat will let a mouse run past it if it's just not in the mood to chase it. It's got to be in the mood and have a prey drive and they don't all. So a cat, you can teach them a trick and if you reward them the right way, sometimes they'll do it and sometimes they won't. Some breeds of cats are more open to doing this than others. But for the most part, cats are much more excited about experimentation. So what happens if I knock on that glass of wall water? What happens if I push on that? What happens if I walk up behind you and whack you in the back of the head? They're not doing it because they're mean, they're doing it because the response is exciting. The reaction to their input in some way is exciting to them as opposed to finishing tasks. Because if you've ever had a cat catch a mouse, they're actually sad after they have caught the mouse. The game is over, the chase is done. It's not fun to give me the mouse; it's fun to chase the mouse. So testers are a lot like that. The chase and the experimentation are a whole lot more fun than the completion. When I find a bug, that's the chase, that's the good part of it. That's like, “Oh yeah, I tracked it down. I figured it out. I found the recreate steps.” After I found the bug, it's not as fun anymore. [chuckles] So I've got to find the next one because now I'm back on the hunt and now that's fun again. Dogs on the other hand, it's like, “Oh, I finished the task. I'm getting my reward. I get to cross this off. My list feels really good” Very different feedback. So I think that's part of it is that devs love to finish things and testers love to experiment with things. JOHN: Yeah. JAMEY: I think that's really insightful. JOHN: Yeah. [laughter] JAMEY: I'm like a I put something that I did on my to-do list so that I could cross it off and it feels like I did something kind of person. [laughter] JACOB: I think we, at least I was, early in my career kind of trained to have that mindset and trained away from no, we're not here to like experiment with the newest and coolest thing. We're just trying to ship features. We're just trying to fix bugs. We're just trying to finish the task. Please do not be overly experimental just for fun, which is an over simplification because everyone needs to be creative at some point. But I totally agree. JENNA: Well, and testers do have to balance that, too because there is such a thing as over testing and you hit this tipping point where it becomes wasteful and you move from I've delivered valuable information to now I'm creating scenarios that will never happen. Yes, a user can do pretty incredible things when they want to, but we can only protect from themselves to a point. Eventually, it's like okay, you've reached that tipping point now it's waste. [laughter] JOHN: Yeah. I remember some research that came out recently that if you call the cat and it doesn't come, it understands what you're asking for and it's like, “Nah.” JENNA: Yeah. Maka not so much. But Excalipurr, when she's sleeping, she'll hear you. That cat is out cold. She has zero interest in what you're saying, or doing. Nothing is going to disturb her well-earned slumber. [chuckles] JACOB: I'm kind of amazed how like my cat is just easily disrupted by the smallest noise when awake and then when he's sleeping, he's dead to the world just like you said. He clearly can't hear it, or if he is, there's something switched off in his brain when he's sleeping, because he's a total spaz when he is awake. [laughter] JENNA: I don't know. I think my vet could explain it better. He actually walked me through what happens in a cat's brain when they were sleeping. I don't remember why. I think we were waiting for a test to come back, or something and he was just killing time with me. But there was this whole neurological thing in their brains that looks for certain inputs and even biochemically, they're wired to certain sounds that are things that they should get awakened by and other things, it's like yeah, that matter. For some reason, though my cats have weird things that they're really tuned into. If you knock on the door, Excalipurr—we call her Purr—will go bananas. She is furious that someone has knocked on the door. Same thing if something beeps like microwave beep, the sound of if I've got a somebody on speaker phone and their car door opens and it beeps, she is mad. She could be dead asleep and she hears that and she is furious. But otherwise, nothing bothers her. She's out cold. [laughs] JAMEY: I also hate when people knock on my door so I can relate to that. JOHN: Yeah. JENNA: Don't come to my door if I'm not expecting you. JACOB: Yeah. JENNA: Also don't call me if I'm not expecting you. [laughs] JAMEY: I have exactly one person I open the door for. His name is Joe and he's our neighborhood person who comes and collects everyone's bottles and cans. But I recognize the cadence of his knocks so that I can answer the door for him and not other people. [laughter] JOHN: So you said earlier that working with ADHD, you had to develop some sort of techniques for how to handle that well in your life. Do you want to talk more about that? JENNA: I don't know if I would say I handle it well, but I handle it. [laughter] Most of the time. Typically, I do you pretty well. So I have lots and lots of alerts for myself. Because as I mentioned, I'll write myself a note, but you still have to have the – somebody said the name of it today and I forgot what it was, but there's a type of memory that tells you to like, “Hey, go look at your notes that you created for yourself,” because you can write the notes, but forget that the notes exist and never go look for them again. So I have lots of like alerts and alarms that tell me like, “Hey, go do this thing. Take your meds. Check to make sure that you have everything you need on the grocery list.” I have a couple of times a day that I have a reminder to go check my to-do list [chuckles] because otherwise, I just won't remember. I'll put the system into place and forget that the system exists and even with those helps, sometimes it'll just slip by especially I'm busy during those alerts. But I try really hard to use those. The most effective thing for me, though is definitely my medication. I was chatting about everybody before we started and I mentioned that because of supply delays and all of the rules around how early you can refill and the rules around not being able to transfer your script from one pharmacy to another and all that kind of stuff, I was without my medication for let's see Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, because I didn't get it until midday yesterday and I was sick. So [chuckles] too many factors at one time that I was just not at all functional over the weekend. I forgot steps in what I was cooking. I forgot things on the grocery list. I couldn't stay awake. That was probably more being sick but. So for me, that's probably the most effective thing. Also, just as a note for those of us assigned female at birth, I that ADHD symptoms get worse [laughs] as we hit 40 and up that all of the hormonal stuff winds up interacting with how our attention is, because I couldn't figure out why my dose had to go up. I was like, “I've been on it forever. Why do we have to raise the dose?” And she's like, “Well, there's some things going on,” and I have a feeling it's all about premenopausal stuff, because for those who don't know, I'll be 40 in June. Not a teenager anymore. [laughs] So all sorts of things that I need to keep it all in balance and things that I'm learning about being in my age group and having ADHD that nobody talks about because of the assumption that ADHD is something only children have and that ADHD is something that you grow out of. When you don't grow out of it; it just kind of changes. And that it's not just men and people who are assigned male at birth that there's a lot of us out there, varying genders. We've got to talk about it more because a lot of us feel like we're wandering the wilderness, trying to figure out what's on in our heads. [laughs] JOHN: Yeah. I remember hearing recently that ADHD and ADD present differently in AFAB people and so, it goes underdiagnosed because of that. It doesn't show up in the classical symptom lists in the same way. JENNA: Yeah. So the classic symptom list was developed around pre-pubescent and puberty age boys and in girls, it doesn't tend to present as not being able to sit still. Although, there's still definitely some of that. It presents more in being like a Chatty Cathy as they say like, “Oh, they talk all the time.” So it presents differently and as we get older and all of the other like stuff starts to factor in, AFAB tend to get identified instead as borderline personality disorder, or bipolar as opposed to ADHD, or even anxiety as opposed to ADHD. Because when you feel like your brain is going a mile a minute, it makes you anxious. So they give you an anti-anxiety medication instead of dealing with the fact that you feel like you can't keep up with your thoughts. There are so many different factors there, but we're learning a lot more about the presentation of ADHD and autism in people who are assigned females at birth. JOHN: Yeah. I don't know a ton about the history of the diagnosis and everything, but I can assume well, because it's the society we live in that there's a giant pile of sexism going on in there, both in who is studied and who they cared about succeeding in classical schooling and the work environment and all sorts of biases up and down the hierarchy. JENNA: Absolutely. There's both, the medical misogyny, but also the socialization because there's an expectation of good girl children and the behavior that girl children should display. So we are socialized to force ourselves to sit even if it means sitting on your hands. You're socialized to doodle instead of wiggling because good girls sit still. So there's all of that kind of stuff that plays into it, too. Even things like if you develop a special interest, which typically people associate with autism, but certainly has some crossover with ADHD because they're very closely related. You learn to either hide that special interest so you just don't talk about it, or you become that person that has the weird quirky thing because ADHD girls are always quirky, right? [chuckles] They're a quirky girl. There's no neurodivergence there. They're just quirky. They're just different. I guess, in many ways, I was kind of lucky because my mom taught autistic, intellectually disabled, and other disabled early childhoods. So she identified early, like kindergarten, that I was probably ADHD. I was dealing with it like really early. Also, she had this kind of belief about raising kids without gender, but also not doing it very well. So I wouldn't say it was a successful thing. [laughs] So let me tell you, we didn't have girl toys and boy toys. We had building blocks and stuff like that. We weren't allowed Barbies. We also weren't allowed Hot Wheels. Very gender in neutral things. But when, as a teenager, I dressed really androgynous, I was told to put on a dress because she is a girl. So I don't know. [laughter] It didn't really work. But I think that a lot of that played into me being identified really early. I'm probably getting off track, but the benefit of is that I learned a lot about it from an early age and I was able to develop systems that work for me from an early age. Most people who are assigned female at birth don't get the benefit of that. My hope is that our kids, I don't have any kids, but to the people my age that have kids, my hope is that their children are being identified earlier so that they are able to get those systems in place and be more successful in the long term. JACOB: I'm autistic and sometimes I think about the fact that I think that my white male privilege let me get away with some of the less great behaviors that came naturally to me and did not force me to develop masking skills until much later in my life. So when you were talking about that, I can sort of relate to that by the opposite that that's making a lot of sense to me, that I could see how all these sort of societal pressures to sit still and behave weren't put on me. I was just encouraged to just be a weird individual and be myself and how that wasn't put on me in places where maybe it probably should have been. So that makes a lot of sense. JENNA: I have to say, though, I think I've forgotten how to mask COVID has definitely killed masking for me. I have completely forgotten how to make small talk. [laughs] JACOB: Yeah, me too. JENNA: [laughs] I can't do it anymore. I've also forgotten how to fix my face. I was never great at fixing my face. Everything I'm thinking, feeling wears on my face, but I'm even worse at it than I used to be. [laughs] JAMEY: I also struggle with fixing my face, but I've actually been finding that I love wearing face masks in public because I can interact with someone without having to worry about what my face is doing and it takes a lot of the pressure off me, I feel. JENNA: I think it does. So I have resting friendly face. [laughter] For those of you who've never met me in person, I am 4' 10”. I'm really short. I'm also kind of wide. I'm fine with it. But little ladies in the grocery store will ask me to help them reach things because I look friendly and approachable. [laughter] But I can't reach them any better than they can! [laughter] Sometimes they're taller than me. So face masks have allowed me to blend in more, which is really nice because I get less of random people coming up to talk to me. People will joke that I make a friend everywhere I go because people just start talking to me and I don't really care. I'll talk to them, that's fine. What I really laugh at is since I can't fix my face, I will put on a plastered-on smile and somebody will be like, “You are really mad at me right now, aren't you?” I'm like, “No, everything's fine. I'm super okay with this,” and they're like, “Yeah, you are furious so we're going to stop.” [laughs] Like I can manage an angry smile without meaning. [laughter] JAMEY: It's interesting what you said about people talking to you randomly, because I also I tend to be that, the kind of person that people talk to randomly in general. I've been having an interesting experience recently where I've been on testosterone for about a year and a half and I'm like finally hitting the point where the way people perceive me in public is different than it used to be. That got cut down dramatically immediately and in a way where people's eyes slide off of me in public. I'm not there in a way that never used to happen to me and it was really interesting realization for me to realize how much of that was the socialization that people think they're entitled to a woman's time and attention. It's not exactly what you were talking about, but it made me think of it and I've been thinking about it a lot lately. [laughs] JENNA: But it's true. It's really true. I think everyone who's perceived as a woman gets it, but gets it in different ways. I tend to get it from people who feel like I'm a safe place to go to. So little old ladies talk to me, little kids talk to me. Now to be fair, bright pink hair, little kids think I'm great. [laughter] Especially when my tattoos are showing, too. The parents are usually like, “Okay, okay. Leave them alone.” [laughter] But I'm also—no offense to anyone who identifies as male in the room—the person that men don't typically stop and talk to, or even notice. I remember I was taking four boxes of nuts to my coworkers and I think it was Fat Tuesday, or something so I was bringing in these special donuts from my favorite donut place around the corner. I had four boxes of donuts and this guy doesn't grab the door, or anything. Just leaves me to try and push the door open with four boxes of donuts. But then granted, she was gorgeous, beautiful blonde starts walking the other direction. He notices her right away, grabs the door, and opens it for her. It's like oh, okay. I've had that happen quite a few times and not to sound dramatic here, but that's part of the reality of living in a fat body that you do get overlooked by others. So the little old ladies tend to tend to gravitate towards me and then other women, men gravitate towards them. I think no matter, what women experience this and people who are perceived as women, because I do identify as non-binary. But let's be honest, people in the broader world perceive me as a woman. We all get it. We just get it very differently and in different ways, but I can't think of a single woman who hasn't experienced it in some way. JAMEY: Definitely. JOHN: Yeah. I've read so many rants frankly from women who have absolutely loved masking well in public because they don't get told to smile and they don't present as female as normal. So they don't fit into that category as much and so, they don't get that same attention. I look very male so no one ever does that to me, but I can imagine what a relief that must be. JENNA: I definitely think it is for some women, especially in super public spaces. JAMEY: I feel like I derailed from ADHD and I want to bring it back. [laughter] I did have a question I was going to ask anyway. So I'm bringing it back to that, which is that I feel like these conversations, like the conversation we're having right now about ADHD, is something that I've been seeing happening more, especially about ADHD and adults. I think it's just something that people have been talking about more the past few years in a way that's positive. I know a lot of people who were like, “Oh, I got diagnosed recently as an adult. I started on medication and I never realized this was what was making my life so hard and my life is so much easier now.” I have several friends that are like really thriving on that currently. So I guess, my question for you is that as someone this whole story you told about being aware of this much younger and being able to make all these coping mechanisms and things like this. What would your advice be to someone who's now, as an adult, realizing this about themselves and then coming to grapple with it? JENNA: Let me preface with this. I'm not one of those people who says medication is the only way; there are lots and lots of ways to manage ADHD symptoms. But I feel like the most beneficial thing you can do for your is to find a clinician that listens to you, that believes you, that doesn't dismiss your experiences because there are as many different presentations of ADHD as there are people who are ADHD. If you've met one ADHD person, you've met one ADHD person; we all have different traits. So finding somebody who is willing to hear you, listen to you, and partner with you, as opposed to try and dictate to you how to manage, how to cope is critical. Part of that is arming yourself with all the information that you can. But the other part of it is being a really, really good self-advocate and if you aren't comfortable with that kind of self-advocacy, finding somebody that's willing to partner with you to help be your advocate. I know a lot of people in the fat community who have personal advocates for medical appointments, because they feel like they're not heard when they go to the doctor. Same thing for us as people who are neurodivergent. We don't get heard all the time and if you feel like your clinician isn't hearing you and because there is a real barrier to getting a new one many times—oftentimes we're stuck with someone. Finding that person that's willing to walk with you is huge. It is really easy to find yourself in a situation where you lose control of your decision-making to a provider who makes the decisions for you, but is clever enough to convince you you're making the decision yourself. That's my biggest advice is don't fall into that trap. If something feels wrong, it's wrong. If a medication doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you. There are multiple different types of medications, classifications of them, and different brands for a reason is because we all need something different. Like I went through Ritalin, Adderall, finally to Vyvanse because Ritalin and Adderall weren't working for me. Adderall worked, but it raised my heart rate. Ritalin made me feel manic. My provider listened to me when I said I feel manic. I feel out of control, and she's like, “If on the lowest dose you feel out of control, this is not a way to go.” I have a friend who has been pushed off of taking stimulants because she has a history of addiction. She has a history of addiction because she's ADHD and she was self-medicating. It took four different providers to finally get to somebody who said, “Yeah, the stimulants are what worked for you.” The non-stimulant options weren't working, but she had to go and demand and demand and demand and it was the only way to get heard. So I probably got on a tangent there, but self-advocacy, finding someone who will work with you, and getting an advocate if you don't get hurt. JAMEY: I think that advice will be really helpful for people. So thanks. JOHN: Yeah. JENNA: I'm always very worried that I'm going to cross a line and upset somebody, but it just is, right? JACOB: I don't know what line that would be. I feel like everything you said was just really empowering and I wish someone said that to me 10 years ago, honestly. JENNA: I hope it's helpful, but I've had people who haven't realized that even though they're an adult, because they're neurodivergent that they are forever a child. JACOB: Yeah, I know. JENNA: So their opinion, their experience doesn't matter, it's invalid, and those are the folks that sometimes get really upset when I talk about self-advocacy. That's a big personal journey to realize that hey, you are a grown up. You make these decisions. [laughs] You are allowed to be an adult now. In fact, you need to be an adult now. JAMEY: That's also very insightful, I think. JOHN: Yeah, and interestingly, it ties in with – so my company had an event for Black History Month. We're a healthcare company, we have a lot of clinicians of color and they put together a panel discussion about Blackness in a healthcare context and literally one of the panelists was talking about how do you cope with there's still prejudice, there's still people joining medical school right now that believe that Black people don't experience pain as strongly as other people. How do you deal with that? They said almost literally the same thing. You take advocates with you to your medical appointments so that you can have more opinions. You can have someone to help fight for you, someone to help make those arguments, and point out things that you might not be noticing at the moment about how the provider is acting, or just to give you that moral support to actually voice your like, “Hey, what, wait, wait, wait, this is not right. Let's back up and talk about this again.” So I think that advice is important in so many intersections that I'm glad you laid it out like that. JENNA: It's a really interesting conversation that I wound up having. I've had sleep problems my whole life and by the way, if you're ADHD and you have sleep problems, you're not alone. It's a pretty common symptom [chuckles] to have disrupted and disordered sleep partly because our brains get bored and then we wake up. Our brains don't know how to focus on sleep. Interesting study that somebody's undertaking. But my neurologist that I see for sleep asked me to be part of a panel conversation with a team of doctors and they basically asked me questions about being ADHD and having sleep issues. And one of the things that these doctors had never really considered is that I know enough about my own body and my own sleep to know why all of the things that they've suggested haven't worked. One of them was like, “Did you try having more potassium?” I remember I just stopped myself and I said, “Listen, my parents have told me stories of how I wouldn't sleep as an infant.” We're talking about somebody who was sleeping 2, or 3 hours a night as a toddler. This is not a new thing. This is not insomnia. This is not stress related, stress induced sleep loss. This is a chronic medical condition. I said, “If you think that I haven't tried more potassium, having peanut butter at night, turning off devices an hour before bed, not watching TV before bed, not reading before bed, using the sleep training apps, going for a sleep study. If you think I haven't done this stuff, I don't know how to help you, because if you think I've made it this far in my life without trying anything, we have a whole another conversation to have.” It's the same thing. I'm going to say this and it's going to sound really hurtful to providers, but they think that we were born yesterday and until that change, we just have to keep proving them wrong. JAMEY: I think that you won't probably hopefully hurt the feelings of providers who aren't like that. Because my suspicion is that providers who aren't like that are like, “God, I know.” [laughter] JENNA: I hope so. I hope so because they're patients, too. I really wonder what it's like for them to go to a doctor. JAMEY: Yeah. I didn't want to totally derail into a different conversation again, but I just want to kind of note that this all really resonates with me also as a trans person, because I know way more about trans healthcare than doctors do. [chuckles] So I go in and I say, “This is what we're going to do because I know all about this,” and my doctor's pretty good. He listens to me and he works with me, but he says like, “Cool, I don't know anything about that so sounds good,” and it's just wild to me that I have to learn about all of my own healthcare to do healthcare. JENNA: Yeah, which that's a whole another conversation about how important it is to – like we talk about diversifying tech, which is important, but we also have to diversify the community. Until there are trans clinicians, until there are more Black clinicians, until there are more assigned female at birth clinicians, we are going to continue to find ourselves in these situations and we're going to continue to find ourselves in dangerous situations. I think about—getting off track for a second because that's what I do. I live in Cleveland. Well, I don't live in the city of Cleveland, but Cleveland is my nearest metro area. I'm 10 minutes outside of the city. Cleveland has one of the worst infant and maternal mortality rates for Black women in the country. We also have some of the lowest numbers of Black OB-GYNs in the country. There is a direct correlation there. No offense to my white men, friends, but all of these white men sitting here in their ivory tower guessing at how they're going to solve this problem while at the same time women like Serena Williams nearly die in childbirth because they don't listen to her. It's like, so you're going to come up with these solutions when you're not even listening to some of the most educated and informed patients that you have? It's why there's a whole coalition of Black women in Cleveland that have started a doula organization that they're becoming doula to support other Black women in the city because they don't feel like the medical community is here for them. It's the exact same thing. Like until we have this diversity that's so needed and required, and reflects patients, people are going to die. JAMEY: Yeah. On the flip side of that, when you do have a provider that shares your background in that way, it's so empowering. My new endocrinologist is trans and the experience is just so different that I couldn't have even fathom how it was going to be different beforehand. [chuckles] JENNA: That's amazing, though. That transforms your care, right? JAMEY: Yeah. Totally. JENNA: But it all comes back to what I said about how I care deeply about the human [chuckles] because this is all the human stuff. [chuckles] JOHN: Yeah. JAMEY: So what we like to talk about here on Greater Than Code, the human stuff. JENNA: That's why I love Greater Than Code. [laughs] I can't help myself, though. Whenever I say human stuff, or think about human stuff, I think about Human Music from Rick and Morty. [laughter] That whole thing has always stuck out in my mind. [laughs] Just look up Human Music from Rick and Morty and you'll get a giggle. [laughs] JAMEY: I think it's a great time to do reflections. What do you think? JOHN: Yeah, I can start. I think there's probably a ton I'll be taking away from this. But I think what struck me the most is right at the beginning when you were talking about your superpower, you talked about yourself as a super human, not super human, but as a just super human, just you're really human. All of us are, but we don't think of ourselves that way. I just love that framing of it as just that I'm here as a human and I'm leaning into it. I really like thinking that way and I'll probably start using that term. JACOB: I related really hard to the forgetting how to mask situation since COVID. I don't know if that's a full reflection, or not, but I relate really hard to that. JAMEY: I feel like in a way my reflection is so general, I think it's so great to talk about stuff like this. I think that it's really important. Like I was kind of saying about we have more people realizing things about theirselves because people are just more are open about talking about this kind of topics. I think that that's really amazing and I think that when people like Jenna come on shows like Greater Than Code and we can provide this space to have these kind of conversations. That, to me feels like a real a real privilege and I almost can't come up with a more specific reflection because I hope people will listen to the whole show. [chuckles] JENNA: What's been really amazing is getting to talk about whatever just feels stream of consciousness in this conversation has connected a lot of dots for me, which is really neat because outside of tech, for folks who don't know, I'm a deacon at my church, which is also a very human thing because I provide pastoral care to people who are in the hospital, or who are homebound, or who are going through crisis, or in hospice care, or families who have experienced a loss. All of these things interconnect—the way that I care for my community, the way that I care for my broader community because I have my church community, I have my tech community, I have my work community, I have my family. All of these very human spaces are the spaces that are most important to me. If you are my friend, you are my friend and I am bad about phone calls and stuff, but you are still somebody who's on my mind and if something happens, I'm your person. You just message me and I'm there. It all interconnects back to all of these like disparate ideas that have just coalesced in one conversation and I love that and that makes my heart very full. JAMEY: Thank you so much for coming on the show. Is there anything that you want to plug? JENNA: So I have a couple of talks coming up. At InflectraCon, I am doing a risk-based testing talk and Agile Testing Days, I am doing a workshop on test design techniques. If you came to CodeMash, it's that workshop, it's fun. Support your local testers! That's my big plug. Support your testers! [laughter] JAMEY: Think about them as the experimental cats. I think that will be helpful for people. [laughter] JENNA: Yes! [laughter] JAMEY: Thank you so much. This was great! JOHN: Yeah, I loved the last line of your reflection. That was beautiful. JENNA: Aw, thank you. Special Guest: Jenna Charlton.

Special Guest Host Fr. Matthew Spencer  Memo - Who can baptize a baby in an emergency? A pastor at a megachurch apologized after a video of him rubbing spit into a man's face to demonstrate how “receiving vision from God might get nasty” went viral. John - Is it a sin to be pro-choice? Don't we want to be sure others have the ability to make a choice about life for themselves? Sharon - When you are praying the rosary in a group or by yourself how should you pray? Personal intentions or national intentions. Mark - Why would some Catholics refrain from receiving Holy Communion? Tracey - Need recommendations on what is good wholesome reading materials for teens. Ray - My wife lost her mother in 2007. Ever since then, I feel like my wife has died inside. Deep depression has affected our entire family. What can I do?

Survivor Of Mao's China Stuns School Board With Chilling Warning About Critical Race Theory Janie – Priest told my husband that he was going to hell if he didn't have his vasectomy reversed. Is this true? Jim –I'm a Democrat and I don't like that Patrick refers to me as a Marxist. John – Is […]

21 states poised to ban or severely restrict abortion if ‘Roe v. Wade' is overturned John – Is it a sin to be transgender? Tim – Was invited to a wedding in Milan and looking for recommendations for sites to see. Jesse – How long have people been praying the rosary? Jared – Question about […]

Mark Rzepczynski joins us this week to discuss ‘algorithm aversion' and the science of how ‘model anxiety' shows investors to be naturally wary of rules-based systems.  We also discuss how to evaluate momentum data, how a busy week for market news can still be a quiet week for Trend Followers, the benefits of moving away from ‘peak complexity' as soon as possible, why having too many filters can expose a trader to large opportunity costs, the optimal percentage amount of risk per trade, as well as portfolio construction versus signal generation and which is more important. You can find Mark's latest writings here. If you would like to leave us a voicemail to play on the show, you can do so here. Check out our Global Macro series here. Learn more about the Trend Barometer here. IT's TRUE

Mark Rzepczynski joins us this week to discuss ‘algorithm aversion' and the science of how ‘model anxiety' shows investors to be naturally wary of rules-based systems. We also discuss how to evaluate momentum data, how a busy week for market news can still be a quiet week for Trend Followers, the benefits of moving away from ‘peak complexity' as soon as possible, why having too many filters can expose a trader to large opportunity costs, the optimal percentage amount of risk per trade, as well as portfolio construction versus signal generation and which is more important. In this episode, we discuss: How behavioural finance leaves investors under-allocated to Trend Following strategies How to perceive momentum data Why the steady flow of market news often has little value for Trend Followers Embracing simplicity The need to avoid too many filters in your system How much should be risked per trade Follow Niels on https://twitter.com/toptraderslive (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielskaastruplarsen (LinkedIn), https://www.youtube.com/user/toptraderslive (YouTube) or via the https://www.toptradersunplugged.com/ (TTU website). Follow Mark on https://twitter.com/mrzepczynski (Twitter). IT's TRUE

Are you ready to go on an adventure with my amazing guest John Burgos? John Is known as an activist, mystic, social entrepreneur and host of Beyond The Ordinary Show. He has committed his life to improve and enrich the lives of others. He created Beyond The Ordinary Show to unite and lead the next generation of transformation through providing a stage for emerging and provocative spiritual leaders, exposing and bringing light to the shared power of the awakened collective consciousness. We will be discussing the importance to letting go of making list to find your perfect partner, how to love yourself even more and STOP labeling yourself. John brings a beautiful perception for both men and women on how to embrace their true essence during this time of great transition. Let go of your fear from the outside world. Turn inwards and watch the miracles unfold in your life! Learn how you can create more love for yourself as you share that with others. John leaves us with an incredible exercise he shares with his clients that will trigger your heart and expand it into a full expression of love! Make sure you subscribe and be sure to never miss an episode of the Tracy L Clark Show so you can continue to grow, change and shift into the life you know is already here!

The Bowhunter Chronicles Podcast - Episode 161 - Targeting Mature Whitetail in the Big Woods - Dieter Kochan - Whitetail Addictions - This week John Is back and he and Adam sit down to talk with Dieter Kochan about hunting mature bucks in the big woods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Dieter hunts large parcels public land across the many different landscapes the Upper Peninsula has to offer. Dieter is using a strategy involving mock scapes, mineral sites and trail cameras to locate, pattern and kill large mature whitetails. We talk about winters, wolves, hockey and taxidermy on this episode. You can check out Dieters work here and can find some of his videos on both his personal youtube as well as the Whitetail Addictions Youtube page.   Save 10% at Trophyline.com with code BCTL10.     https://www.spartanforge.ai - save 25% with code bowhunter   https://www.tactacam.com   app.basemap.com save 20% with code chronicles  If you like what we are doing and want to see more, please consider checking out our Patreon account.  Any funds generated through our Patreon account are funneled right back into the podcast to help fund equipment, hosting fees and gear for reviews and giveaways and as always future hunts.  http://bit.ly/BHCPatreon   http://bit.ly/BowhunterChroniclesPodcast                     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bowhunter Chronicles Podcast – Episode 161 – Targeting Mature Whitetail in the Big Woods – Dieter Kochan – Whitetail Addictions – This week John Is back and he and Adam sit down to talk with Dieter Kochan about hunting mature bucks in the big woods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Dieter hunts large parcels public … Continue reading "Targeting Mature Whitetail in the Big Woods – Dieter Kochan – Whitetail Addictions"

Hey John here, Welcome to the tradesmen podcast. This podcast is about how you can grow and scale your business. In this episode, John Clarke talks about what is happening in his business and shares some tips on what to do. Enjoy and listen in. Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk & @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982 About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey John here, Hope you are doing exceptionally well. In this episode, we catch up with how we are doing and what we are doing.  How are you getting on in your business?  Im looking to take on 5 new clients next month will it be you? Do you want a coach? Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk & @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982 About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey John here, Learn my thoughts on celebrating your wins and destination. Man, Im soo excited to be back in the recording booth. There is so much more to come... stay tuned. Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk & @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982 About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey John here, I'm back and in a big way. Over the last few months I have been doing soo much stuff to help my clients, its now time to get back in the hot seat and deliver some new content with a new special person.  If you have been listening over the last few years then you know how much I love helping people, well now there is two of us!  Stay tuned over the coming months for some great content Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk & @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982 About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are back did you miss the show?  In this episode, we up update you on what John has been up to in the last  6 weeks. John looks forward to getting more valuable content out to all listeners. Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk &  @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982 About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re Live. New strategies are arising regarding Affiliate Marketing. Chuck is testing out some new stuff on Podcast episodes, also John Is trying a new approach too. It seems to me that there’s no end to the possibilities of this type of marketing. Although, the guys agreed there’s one best way to do it.   In Other Topics, Chuck is still working things out to ake his Podcast Network self sustainable, lots of ups and downs, new people are coming in. At Some Point, it is self-sustainable, it just needs minor twitches.   Toughts of the week   Chuck - “A thousand dollars per sponsor has been very difficult to do, in the meantime, it{s still a full-time job”

John: This is Doctor John Dacey with my weekly podcast New Solutions to the Anxiety Epidemic. Today, I have an old friend of mine, by the name of Mark. He’s going o talk to us about his own experiences with Anxiety. Good morning, Mark. How are you? Mark: Good, John. How are you? John: Fine. First of all, I’d like you to tell us a little about yourself. What work have you done and where are you at today? Mark: I was born and brought up in Massachusetts. I was in the family business, I became a truck driver for 35 years and most recently my company filed for bankruptcy. A note to my listeners: When I interviewed Mark, I had no idea which of the 8 types of anxiety he would say he had a problem with. He alleged that he had no problems with the first 7, only a serious problem with the last one. So I’m going to skip that part of our interview and go right to the last type of anxiety: Post-traumatic stress disorder. John: Having been through an extremely stressful situation and sometimes getting flashbacks from it. Mark: Maybe. John: Can you tell us a little more about that? Mark: The death of a parent. John: Oh, of course. And which parent was that? Mark: Mother. 1973. John: Ok. You say this was ] traumatic for you. Why was this such a hard thing for you to deal with, if you’d be willing to share with us? Mark: Growing up without a mother I was just a young boy. John: How old were you? Mark: I was 13 years old. John: Oh that’s really terrible. Can you tell us how she died? Mark: She died in bed. She was a sick woman, but she died at the age of 49. John: Oh, that’s really sad. It was more than just very sad for you. You think it might have been traumatic. Mark: Yeah I think it was traumatic for me. John: Is it still traumatic? Like, do you miss her terribly every day? Or have you gotten more used to it? Mark: I’ve gotten used to it. John: How do you think you got to the place where you felt pretty used to it? Mark: Can I give you credit. John: Sure. Mark: When I met you, you were just a man at an AA meeting, and then when I was 10 years sober, then we talked. John: You don’t mind saying that you were my client for a while. Mark: Not if you don’t mind. John: No I don’t. I’d love to take the credit. So we talked about your mother, didn’t we? Mark: We did. John: Can you tell us a little bit about — was that successful? Do you feel like you were able to do better after that? Mark: I dealt with my pain with alcohol and booze and I was at a crossroads in my sobriety and you helped me through that without drinking. John: That’s terrific. I’m really proud of you and I think 34 years is an incredible achievement. Do you have any children? Mark: None. John: Ok. Who is the person you are the closest to, would you say? Mark: My oldest brother. John: So he went through the same trauma. How old was he when your mother died? Mark: He was probably 15. John: Do you think he had a really hard time with it also? Mark: No- Yes. I think he had a hard time but he picked a different avenue to deal with his pain. John: Okay. I’m not going to pry into that. What about your father? Was your father around at this time? Mark: My father passed away 3 years ago at the age of 97. John: Oh my God. 97 that’s . . . So how old was he roughly when your mother died? Mark: He was a few years older I believe. John: So around 50 years old. Mark: Yes. John: Was he helpful to you in dealing with such a young kid to lose his mother? Was he helpful to you? Mark: He would’ve been, but I didn’t know how to express myself. John: So he would’ve been there for you but you just weren’t able to tell him about it? Mark: Correct. John: This was pretty much something you kept to yourself. Mark: Correct. John: Did the therapy help the most because you were able to talk about her? Mark: Among other things, yes. I can handle death better. I don’t need to drink or drug. I can walk through the pain. John: And you give a lot of credit to Alcoholics Anonymous for that? Mark: Among other things. John: It’s often occurred to me that I feel sort of sorry for people that aren’t alcoholics because it’s such a wonderful club. It’s such a great deal of help. The 12 steps says that if somebody is hurting and they’re a fellow alcoholic, you have to help them. All over the world, I’ve traveled quite a lot and if I ever got into any trouble, I call up AA and they got an English-speaking person on the phone for me. Several times I’ve met with them, several times I just talk to them on the phone but it’s a wonderful club to be a member of. Don’t you agree? Mark: I agree. John: Well, Mark, thank you so much for talking with me today. I appreciate it and I wish you the very best.   From my own life, briefly, about post-traumatic stress disorder. Not my own. If you listen to podcast 3 you know the story of the fire that happened to my family that killed my mother and two brothers and two sisters. The next day, the local newspaper, The Binghampton Press, had published on the front page on the center at the top of the paper a photograph that was the most poignant I think I’ve ever seen. It is a picture of our driveway next to our burned down house with five body bags lined up on it and a very good friend of our family’s father, the Rev. Leo Crawley, standing with his hat in his hand. Next to him, kneeling on the ground, is my uncle, who is also a Catholic priest. He was delivering the last rights to the bodies and in the picture, one of the body bags has been opened somewhat and he’s reaching in, as all priests giving the last rights have to do, and he put a blessing on the chard bodies of one of my family. I don’t know of course which one. This is with his right hand and with his left hand, he’s got his hand up to his mouth, and he just looks the epitome of the grieving person. Six months later he was dead, and I would hear stories about him going into the hospital and coming back out again. I asked one of the nuns who took care of him at the local Catholic hospital. I asjed a nurse what was the matter with him and she said, “Oh he has some kind of stomach disorder.” I have never heard anybody say exactly what his problem was but I can only assume that it was alcoholism and that he had to go in the hospital from time to time to get straightened out. The nuns of course were very good to him. He was the head of Catholic Charities for upstate New York. It was a huge job. I remember that when I went into the seminary to become a priest myself after high school, I had to go and visit the bishop in Syracuse upstate New York. He never asked me any questions about myself, but only about my uncle and how he was doing. The bishop said, “He’s a wonderful director of Catholic Charities. He does a great job, but I’m very worried about him because he’s sick so much.” This is only by way of saying that not only is PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, the most serious of all the types of anxiety, but it actually can be a killer. It can be as much of a killer as the Corona Virus. And it got my poor uncle. I remember when I was going into the seminary, I went to see him and he said to me, “John, don’t do it. It’s a very hard life. Don’t do it.” I was amazed. I thought he was a very happy priest, but it was very clear to me that he was not. I think that this having to give Extreme Unction as it’s called, the final rights to my family, just pushed him over the edge. I’m sorry to tell you such a sad story but often times anxiety can be a very serious problem. I’ll talk to you next week.

Have you a new business plan?  Its time to now get back out there in full swing. I have been working with my students getting plans together to really push into the market place. If you don't have a plan then this is the time to do it. Need help get in contact with me.  If you are looking for a coach to get in contact with me today Contact: john@johndclarke.co.uk Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk &  @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982   About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up   Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WORKING BACK ON THE SHOP FLOOR This is what I have learned over the last few weeks. Business is my biggest passion other than my son. I live and breath getting better and growing an awesome business.  If you are serious about growing your business get involved. Enjoy the episode and if you have any questions feel free to reach out If you are looking for a coach to get in contact with me today Contact: john@johndclarke.co.uk Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk &  @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982   About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up   Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sack yourself from your business as quick as you can. If you want a true lifestyle business you have to sack yourself as quick as you can. Now I don't mean just setting up a business and think you're going to make it, I mean build your business up create all the operations and systems then you will have that dream business.  Enjoy the episode and if you have any questions feel free to reach out If you are looking for a coach to get in contact with me today Contact: john@johndclarke.co.uk Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk &  @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982   About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up       Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to this episode on my journey.  Learn how I went from being bullied as a kid, prison to running and owning multiple businesses in Essex. If you are looking for a coach to get in contact with me today Contact: john@johndclarke.co.uk Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk &  @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982   About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up   Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fitness and economy talk with John Clarke Is the economy going to be there when we get back into work?  John Clarke The Tradesman Business Mentor shares his thoughts around fitness and the economy.   Contact: john@johndclarke.co.uk Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk &  @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982   About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up   Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How You Can Become Successful in Life This is a must-listen episode by John Clarke the Uks numbers 1 tradesman coach.  Learn Johns view on success and you to can become sucsesful  Contact: john@johndclarke.co.uk Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk &  @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982   About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up.     Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, Tradespeople are you ready to get back into the growth part of your trades businesses?  This is the time right now to get a plan of action, lets get super focused over the next week and get your business back on track. If you are looking for help to grow your tradesmen business lets have a chat.   Contact: john@johndclarke.co.uk Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk &  @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982   About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up.     Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Are We All Doing?  Whats has everyone been doing during this lockdown? I have been super busy working with clients and creating content. Still very strange times here in the UK. If you haven't yet joined our Facebook group head on over now link below If you are looking to grow your business with John Clarke you can reach him using the contacts methods below for any more information. Contact: john@johndclarke.co.uk Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk &  @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982 About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up.     Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Construction Workers Facebook Community Group  Bonjour, hope we are staying safe and keeping both psychically and mentally fit.  We have rebranded our podcast show with new intro and outro music. In this episode, John talks about the show and the new direction that it is going, also about new products and services coming out soon. If you haven't yet joined our Facebook group head on over now link below If you are looking to grow your business with John Clarke you can reach him using the contacts methods below for any more information. Contact: john@johndclarke.co.uk Website: www.johndclarke.co.uk Social:  Instagram @johnclarkeuk &  @tradesmanbusinessmentor Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/johnclarkeuk1 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/573569386605982 About the Host: John Clarke is the host of the Tradesmen Business Mentor Podcast. John Is a multiple business owner of a plumbers merchants, bathrooms showroom, property business and business coaching academy. John Is an Author of If I Can You Can o true story of how he overcame adversity to become a positive role model to others. His passion is business and helping other tradespeople grow their businesses from the ground up.     Support the show: https://www.johndclarke.co.uk/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coaches Corner Booth Is back for quarantine episode #2. Via conference call, the normal cast of characters - Cyriously with Glen Cyr, Coach Em Up with Coach Andy, Mad Max Minutes and your favorite a-hole John Is confused again. Enjoy!

Welcome to What’s Better This Week? Episode 7: Making Treatment Plans Solutions FocusedWhen we last left off, we had collected some superfluous data and some pee, and now, here in our fourth appointment, we need to make a treatment plan that we’re going to refer back to regularly for a host of reasons. First, and foremost, at least in New York State, where we are mandated to by the Office of Mental Health: patients’ discharge planning is actually begun at their admission, or at least we have to check a box that says “discharge planning has begun.” Why? Because someone on the state or funding level has said that it is vitally critical that we make it apparent that we’re not trying to create patients for life, and that we are actively working on moving our patients along. For someone who is a Solutions Focused Brief Therapist, this is a no-brainer: the Brief, in SFBT means that we never keep a patient a micro-second longer than they want, to be in treatment. We don’t want patient’s for life, it means we’re n to doing our jobs. It is antithetical to our treatment model. However, part of proving that we’re being honest with the finances of insurance companies (who again, dominate this industry far more than they should) is that we indicate that we have already begun discharge planning by our fourth apartment (right after admitting our patient) and we continue this through the collaborative creation of a treatment plan.Additionally, the Treatment Plan ensures (or, in theory it works to try to ensure) for therapists and counselors who are not Solution Focused, that they are working with a goals/objective modality of therapy, rather than just talk therapy: those paying for therapy want to make sure that something more than a therapeutic relationship is happening…they want to make sure that patients are getting somewhere and that somewhere is “cured” and out the door. It is the Medical, not the Sociological model. Goal/Objective therapy removes “talk therapy” largely as an option, because a patient must consistently be doing something, to consistently be moving toward their goals…for my astute listeners, you will note that this is actually placing (or can have the trap of placing) many patients into some kind of pass/fail model of therapy, where they're “not making progress” quickly enough…and it’s largely nonsense; it also serves two interests: first the funders/insurance companies, and second, those clinicians who don’t take a step or two step down approach, but rather wish to seem superior to their patients who don’t “make enough” progress in their own eyes.So what do we do about this nonsense? And how on EARTH do we ethically and honestly connect Solution Focused Brief Therapy work into this insurance based, financially based, diagnostically riddled model? Actually, quite easily - but we have to be careful about it.First, our treatment plans follow a Problem -> Goal -> Objective -> Intervention model. This means that we have to share what our patient’s problem is, what their goal is, how they’re going to get to their goal, and what specific intervention is going to get them there. We call it a “PGOI” for short. Ergh.When working with patients, I will often explain - much like when I explain that all a diagnosis is, is a title heading that works to explain a combination of symptoms that go together, a treatment plan works like a journal, to log what we’ve been working on, and to make sure that I understand them correctly. I also - much like we have discussed to date - will then have to balance out the patient’s wants, needs, desires, and goals - my own, as an SFBT therapist - and the state’s, as our licensor, and of course the insurance company (as funder, and of course sometimes that’s the state).So first is working with the patient to explain to them all of the reasons that we have to co-create this document together, and then explain how on earth we can make it useful (“it’s like a journal, you can use it to hold us accountable, you probably wouldn’t want to go into a teacher’s classroom if she didn’t have a lesson plan, or go to a Doctor’s office where they gave everyone the same shot…”). Then we work on the treatment plan itself.So, let’s say a patient came in, and we had to diagnose them (because again, we’re making SFBT fit in a clinical, insurance based, environment) with depression; first we would discuss the “problem.” However, we’re going to discuss it in a solution’s focused way. So rather than say “John Doe is having depression!” or “John Doe is suffering from depression!” or “John doe is depressed!” (right, all normally “good” problem statements”) we’ll phrase it as “John desires to reduce the impact of symptoms of depression on his daily life.” I am not saying that John *IS* depressed or *IS* depression. I’m not saying he has anything. We’re merely, factually, stating that through SFBT language John has identified as wanting to have these barriers reduced. Then we’re going to come up with a goal.Of course the Goals are more, or less, pre-selected for us. So we’re probably going to select that John Doe wants to reduce the intensity and frequency of his symptoms. All good and well. So how are we going to get there? Well, John now has to pick an objective, and 99.99% of the time, that Objective will be “Learn & Practice New Coping Skills.” So what on EARTH does that look like in the Solutions Focused world?Normally the pre-fill starts with “John Doe will learn x number of new coping skills in order to reduce mental health symptoms.” Okay…great. So John Doe is going to learn his “lucky number” of coping skills to reduce mental health symptoms. BUT Solutions Focused work is a process and it’s a way of thinking (and for many it becomes a way of life). This isn’t DBT where there’s manualized therapy and you can give a worksheet, go over it, and check it off that the patient is “making progress” or “not.” How do you document a journey? How do you do so ethically? How do you bring Insurance Companies on board and do so ethically?First, in the objective, we add that “John doe will learn 5 new coping skills, through a solution focused lens, in order to reduce mental health symptoms.” (document, document, document)”. In our intervention, we obviously note down “individual therapy” and how many times a week.Okay, so we add in anything else that we may be working on in a similar fashion, we add in “Physical Health” because New York State says that we have to (never mind that it should be a patient’s choice, no matter how important it is!), along with Tobacco if the patient is a smoker (again, who’s the patient/client here?); and then we get to the thorny part: how do we make this, this treatment plan, this document, that we have to link everything to, make sense? How do we make an SFBT session where a patient comes in and talks about something seemingly unrelated make sense when it “has to” be related to a patient’s depression, right?A patient can only work on what's in their treatment plan, every session has to link to the treatment plan, there can be no deviation from the treatment plan, or we have to add it to the treatment plan, because otherwise we're not being ethical, we have to document and it has to link to the treatment plan, every single session must somehow be linked to the treatment plan, so the answer is openly, honestly, and sincerely: through good SFBT practice. I’ll talk more about how we document and connect it in our notes in our next episode (when we get into documentation) but for now, how do we have our conversation? We start with “What’s better this week?” we then follow that up with “What is your best hope’s for this session?” and usually scaling questions, we move into what I refer to as “discernment” where we use change talk, and come up with an experiment…and then follow that up with (somewhere in there) a question about “and, if this experiment works, do you think this will help you to reduce symptoms of your depression?” and all of a sudden…SFBT becomes clinical; because the patient, themselves, will give you - IN THEIR OWN WORDS, how the experiment that they came up with, fits into their treatment plan, even if it seemingly had NOTHING TO DO with depression at all…maybe they were worried about what they were going to have for dinner…the point is that not that you were able to connect everything together, but that the patient, the client was, and you were able to document it, all by asking the very simple question of “how does it fit?".Which is why it's very important that you look at the treatment plan before each session, so you know how you can guide the patient to connect it, what you're working on, in the solution focused process, to what you are allowed to work on and bill through, and that is how you make solution focused function in this clinical environment legally and ethically.And since this seems a good a place as any to end off as any, we’ll do so and close here. Next week, we’ll discuss documentation, and then after, we’ll move into more of a “everything Solution Focused” format.Thank you for listening. Please tune in again next Sunday, as we continue forward together down our solutions focused path. Comments, constructive criticism, feedback, and questions can be sent to podcast@wbtwcast.net. Yes we’re on Social Media @WBTWCast on all of the platforms you’d think to look at. I’m @TheMattSchwartz, and it’s time for some self-care with my cat, Akiva, who is patiently waiting for cuddles while I record this.The music you’re listening to in the background today is Boston Landing on “Blue Dot Sessions" generously shared through a creative commons license. Please find more of their music at www.sessions.blue, that’s w-w-w- dot s-e-s-s-i-o-n-s- dot b-l-u-e. I’ll see you next Sunday with more; until then, make good choices.

Saffron in the SouksVibrant Recipes from the Heart of LebanonBy John Gregory-Smith Intro: Welcome to the number one cookbook podcast, Cookery by the Book with Suzy Chase. She's just a home cook in New York City, sitting at her dining room table, talking to cookbook authors. John: I'm John Gregory-Smith, and my new cookery book is called Saffron in the Souks. It's packed with vibrant recipes from Lebanon. Suzy Chase: The first line in this cookbook says, “When I was writing my first cookbook in 2010, I went to work as a chef in Beirut.” Let's go back for a minute, and tell me how you got to that point in 2010, in Beirut? John: So, the landscape was very different then. Social media was a completely different beast back in 2010, I think. I don't even think Instagram was really a thing back then. I was more like Facebook and Twitter. I'd read an article on a restaurant, very old school, like in the newspaper, that was like a community kitchen. The guys set up this place called Tawlet in Beirut, where they had a really good front of house, really good chefs, and they would invite people from local regions of Lebanon to come and cook their local cuisine. The landscape there was a bit, let's say, challenging outside of the city. It was still a bit dangerous. A lot of the people with the money who were living in Beirut weren't traveling anywhere. What you wanted to do was encourage people to come and cook, they could take home a bit of cash. Just do good things via food. I thought it sounded incredible, and I also thought it sounded like a very smart way to go to one place and learn about all the regional cuisine of the country. Lebanon is not a huge country anyway, but it wasn't a great place to be traveling around. You could just go to the city and stay there. I emailed them and they got back to me and said, “Yeah, come out. That would be great, we'd love to have you.” I basically was there for a couple of weeks. I'd go in every morning and do the morning shifts, and help the guys prep for lunch service. The way they eat in this restaurant is just beautiful. You go and you pay a set price, I think it's about $30 or whatever. You have this ginormous banquet laid out for you of hot and cold [mezzes 00:02:21], and then amazing stews and meats, and amazing vegetarian food from the different regions. The ladies who would come in from the regions would spearhead what they wanted to cook, and then the chefs would help them prepare it. It was really quality food, really interesting menus, and it was changing all the time. The desserts, oh my God, they were so delicious! They'd have this huge counter laid out, with opulent desserts. It was just incredible. I learned so much. Really, really enjoyed the city as well. It was a very vibrant place to be, there was a lot happening, it felt like it was really exciting. I was very much advised to just stay in the city, for my own safety. I don't speak Arabic, and that was ... When the locals tell you to do something, you tend to do it, do you know what I mean? Suzy Chase: Yeah. John: So, I had this incredible time, kept in touch with everybody in the restaurant. They were saying, "Oh, you know, the country is changing, it's really opening up, it's a lot safer now. You should think about coming back." I did, I just decided that's what I wanted to do. I went back, hired a car, and drove around for a few months on my own. Tapped into these lovely ladies who'd helped me originally. It was so nice, going to revisit them, and going to stay in their homes. Spend time with them properly, and cook with them on their own terms. It was just phenomenal. Suzy Chase: Now, years later when you went back, did you go thinking about writing a cookbook, or did you just go back, just to revisit it? John: Absolutely writing a cookbook. I got the green light that I could ... Basically, I said to the guys I'd stayed in touch with in the restaurant, if I come back, the way I write books is I need to drive around, I need to be on my own, I need to soak things up. I need to feel that I can go anywhere, do everything, meet everyone. Is that doable? They were like, “Absolutely.” So, I spoke to my publisher. I felt if I could do it, go for it. They were quite supportive. Suzy Chase: Did you have a translator? John: Yes. My Arabic is dreadful. It's a really hard language. Suzy Chase: Yes. John: I'm very bad at languages, anyway. I can speak three words of French. Arabic is a very different beast. I can say hello, and thank you. Most of the times when I say that, people don't really understand what I'm saying. I would very much have a translator. Actually, what I found when I was there is that most of the guys would speak a bit of English. I could get around it quite easy. It was nice when I did have a translator, because I could get the beautiful stories, and the nuances of the food quite a lot better. Suzy Chase: Tell me about the title, Saffron in the Souks? It just rolls off the tongue. John: So, what I like to do is, when I go to these countries, I get incredibly overexcited. I'm quite an excitable person. I charge around, full of energy. I see everything, do everything, and I tend to just love it all. What I want to do is communicate that to everybody, really. It has to be through the recipes, through the writing, and the title. What I was trying to come up with was something really evocative, and beautiful, and that would inspire how the country had inspired me, really. Saffron in the Souks just felt like it had that lovely hint of something exotic. It felt perfect for it. Suzy Chase: It's nice. You could even name a restaurant Saffron in the Souks. John: Yeah, it's gorgeous. I love it. Suzy Chase: It's really pretty. John: Trademarked, by the way, so you can't. Suzy Chase: Oh, darn. I was going to do my new Twitter handle, Saffron in the Souks. John: Funny. Suzy Chase: What is typical Lebanese street food? John: So, the really good stuff would be kebabs. Amazing kebabs, they eat them meat over fire. You wouldn't cook it at home because you don't have a huge fire pit. That is served everywhere. Any town you go to will have a really good kebab shop. They make everything from chicken sheesh, which is the very basic marinated cubes of chicken, to more elaborate lamb kebabs, and ground meats. The other thing is, again, because they don't have ovens, you use communal bakers. Even in the tiny villages, they'll have a local baker. The baker will obviously cook the bread, but they also do these really wicked things called manouche, which is a flatbread that's cooked fresh with zaatar. Zaatar is a spice blend of different dried herbs. Sumac, which is a red berry that grows in dry areas. It's ground and it's got a very tart flavor. Then, finally, sesame seeds. It's quite a sucker punch of flavor. They drizzle oil and put the spice mix over the raw dough and bake it. You eat that as breakfast on the go, and it's just divine. Suzy Chase: Tell me about picking fresh zaatar in Nabatieh? How do you pronounce it? John: Nabatieh. Suzy Chase: Nabatieh. John: Yeah, that was really interesting. Actually, that was right in the south of Lebanon, by the Israeli border. I was advised not to go there. I think people just felt it could be a bit risky, basically. Anyway, I was with the guys who I'd been working with the whole time, who ran this kitchen. I was say I really want to go down there, but I've been told not to. They went, “Listen, we know this brilliant farmer there. He's really lovely. Let's call him and see what he says.” We called this guy, he's called Abu. Abu was so lovely. He went, “Look, it's completely fine at the moment, it's really safe. It feels like it's been safe for quite a while. Why don't you come down to the farm?” I went with a friend of mine, she actually drove me. Now, I did drive everywhere in Lebanon, and it was only out of laziness she decided to drive. It also meant that the journey, which probably would have taken me maybe four hours, because I drive so slowly, took about an hour because they drive ... She drove so fast. We went there, and it was exquisite. It was a really vibrant, green part of Lebanon. Beautiful, it was springtime. Wild flowers everywhere, and this herb called zaatar grows there. If you buy this blend called zaatar, say in America, it will probably have thyme or oregano in it as the herb. In Lebanon, they actually have a herb called zaatar. It's native to their country, and it's got this incredible perfume. Abu was this wonderful man. Really just so much energy and life, he was gorgeous, grew this herb commercially. When he first started growing it, everyone was like, you're insane. This just grows wild everywhere, we can just pick it. He basically knew that he had found the best zaatar plants. He had the last laugh, because now is zaatar is very coveted all over Lebanon and beyond. Suzy Chase: Mm-hmm (affirmative).John: I think he even stocks some restaurants in London now with it. He was just so lovely. We strolled around his farm, and he took me down to this incredible river that was in this gorge. It was just so beautiful. I was thinking I was so lost in the whimsical beauty of this place. I was like, my God, we're actually in a really dangerous part of the world. Who would have thought this kicks off here? It's just too beautiful. He developed ... He was such a canny old man. He developed this technology, this machine that could spin the herbs. He would dry it and spin it, and it would remove all the little bits of grit, and separate the lovely top bit of herb from the grit. I'm like ... the journalist in me was like, I want more information. Tell me about this? How does it work, what does it do? He was really funny, because it was all through a translator. I could just see his face, he was very serious while she was talking. Then, he'd just roared laughing. I even understood what he was saying. He was like, “There's absolutely no way that I'm telling you how this works. This is my trade secret. Back on your horse.” It was just so wonderful, it was such a lovely experience. I'm really glad that I went down there. I felt completely safe, and it's great for me to be able to report back on it. I'm not saying everyone should run down there immediately, but if you choose to and it's right for you, it's pretty fabulous. Suzy Chase: I love the photo of him on page 139. John: Yeah, it's amazing. Suzy Chase: There's just so many stories in that face of his. John: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, he's amazing. Suzy Chase: Describe the Lebanese seven spice? John: Lebanese, they do use a lot of spices, but actually it tends to be, in general, quite herb heavy and fresh. It's more the old, Arabic dishes that they use spices in. One of the blends is called seven spice. It's typically more than seven spices, that's what I came to realize when I was there. I was like, that's not seven, that's about 12. People would just look at me, very blankly. It tends to be quite heavy, woody spices. Cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, those sorts of things. They add in this incredible spice called mahleb. Mahleb is actually cherry stones, so the pits or the seeds from a cherry, and they're ground, which sounds disgusting. You'd just be thinking, why would you want to grind a gross old stone after you've eaten it? But it has the most incredible sweet perfume. Actually, in Syrian cuisine, they use it a lot in desserts. Lots of pastries and baklava, they'll add it too. It goes into some seven spice mixes, and you can smell the ones that have it. It can be quite hard to find. I think America is very similar to the UK, in if you order it, you get it, but that can be a bit of a faff. I think you can get a mix called [baharat 00:12:17]. I know, for example, in Whole Foods, you can buy baharat. That's a sort of similar style blend. I've tried to put that in. Everywhere I've said seven spice, I've put that in, just so you can stay on top of the cooking. Suzy Chase: How do you spell that, if we want to look for it at Whole Foods? John: Oh, let's try. I'm quite dyslexic, but I'll give it a go. Suzy Chase: Okay. John: I think it's B-A-H-A-R-A-T.Suzy Chase: Okay.John: That's it. Suzy Chase: So, it's spelled like it sounds? John: Yes. I think so. Maybe check on Google just in case-Suzy Chase: Yeah. John: -I've got it completely wrong. Suzy Chase: Well, just look in the Bs. John: Yeah, exactly. Suzy Chase: I found it interesting that Beirut used to be called The Paris of the East. John: Yes. Suzy Chase: Talk a bit about that? John: So, Beirut was originally a very Liberal city, a coastal city. Beautiful beaches, beautiful people, beautiful drinks, beautiful food. It was a French doctorate for quite a long time, Lebanon. It had a massive French hangover, almost. The architecture there was very Parisian, beautiful wide streets, very unlike typical Arabic. It would have wide balconies, beautiful French windows. Things were very open on the facade, whereas if you go to a very Arabic city, everything's very closed because they like to do things behind closed doors. So, it had this beautiful architecture, really good art scene, and it was known as being a quite decadent city. There's a city outside of Beirut called Baalbek, which is an extraordinary city near Syria. Baalbek used to have ... It's famous for Roman ruins, actually. It's got the most incredible Roman ruins. The temples look like the Acropolis. It's the Temple to Dionysus, which is the God of Booze. They used to do these incredible festivals there in the forties, where all the Hollywood greats would go. It was a real roaring place to be. Unfortunately, just because of politics, and religion, and strife, it took a massive turn for the worst. The people who live there remember that, and they hold onto that, and they treasure that. What's really lovely now is that people are like, “We want that back, and we're going to get it back.” You really feel that when you're there now. Beirut has so much energy when you're there. Really amazing, all along the coast, really rocking beach bars where you just hang out all day. Really creative artsy side of the city as well, so lots of poets, and musicians, and artists, and they're really injecting life back into it. Fingers crossed that they can do it, because it's certainly a cool place to be. Suzy Chase: Speaking of Dionysus, when you think about an Arabic country, you would assume no one drinks or parties. John: Exactly. Boy, do they drink and party there. Lebanon is a very small country. It's near, obviously, Jerusalem, so it has ... During the Crusades, it was always quite a hot spot. That coast was very dominant. That whole area has always been ... What's a nice way to put it? A slight tussle between the different religions, let's say. Suzy Chase: A tussle. John: Yeah, really top line way of saying it. When you're there, there's obviously a massive Christian community still there. In this small country, you've got big Christian community, there's a big Arabic community. They've got Drus, they've got Jews, they've got loads of different communities there. A lot of those communities are very happy. Arabs do party, but they just party in a very different way. There's a lot of them there who certainly like to party with a good drink in hand. The interesting thing about Lebanon is they have, to the east valley called Becker Valley. Becker Valley is the wine region, so it's filled with vineyards. They make some exquisite wines there. Suzy Chase: So, describe the sour tang that the Lebanese palette is so partial to? John: Yeah, right. It's extraordinary. They love sour. When you're cooking with Lebanese, there're certain ingredients that their eyes light up, and they love the taste of sour. Pomegranate molasses, which is essentially just pomegranate, which we know are full of those pits with that lovely bejeweled bit of fruit around each one. They just squeeze the juice out and simmer it down. The natural sweetness turns it into this very sticky molasses. They will shove that in salads, stews. They'll make vinegarette and sauces out of it. It gives this very sweet sour tang. The lemons there are incredible. They are tart, but they're not like really horrid, bitter lemons that make you wince. They're more like Amalfi lemons. They're huge, slightly sweet flavored. They're gorgeous, and they will really go for it with that. The other ingredient, I think I mentioned earlier, is the sumac, which is the ground red berry. Quite often, they'll use all three. For example, when they make fattoush, which is a classic Lebanese salad, which is essentially chopped ingredients with bits of crispy fried bread. Just deeply pleasing. They'll make the dressing with pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, and sumac, and then they put in their gorgeous olive oil. It's very, very sour. It's interesting when you're cooking with someone who's palette's a bit more developed in that direction than you. I'd be like, oh, just a little hint. They're like, "What are you doing? Keep going, keep going." Actually, it does work. When you're using really lovely fresh ingredients, they can quite often take a sour that's lovely. Suzy Chase: When I think about Lebanon, I don't think about exciting produce. Talk a bit about that? John: Yeah. It's a funny old place. Again, for such a small country, it's got the most incredible different terrain. You've obviously got the Mediterranean Sea to one side, so you get all the coastal food. Then, you've got the mountains in the North and the South. Really, you've got a band of band mountains in the middle, and then a valley on the other side. It's very fertile, it's incredibly fertile country. They grow everything from fruit and vegetables to amazing herbs. Really, really amazing herbs. Rice grains, everything grows there. They get really good seasons. You get really long, hot summers. You get good autumn, good spring, where it's a lot cooler. Then, cold winters so things can regenerate. You do get this incredible, incredible turnaround of produce there. What's lovely is they don't have a culture like, say, mine or yours, where we're so used to going into the supermarket and you get whatever you want, whenever you want. There, they do have supermarkets in the cities, but everything is just seasonal. You just get what you get, and it is really lovely. They'll be certain things at certain times of the year. For example, strawberries. Well, they'll just go bad for it. Or, in the spring, when the green beans come, farva beans. They just love it. You see little stalls popping up everywhere, selling just one ingredient. The farmers will come, we've got a glut of them. Everybody gets really excited about it, it's so sweet. They may only be around for a couple of months. I don't have that. I've just grown up in London where you go to the supermarket and get what you want. I just love being around that excitement over something so simple. It's really gorgeous. Suzy Chase: One recipe that was surprising in this cookbook is the Garlicky Douma Dumplings. Is it Douma? John: Oh! Yes! They're so good. Suzy Chase: Tell me about those. John: Douma is this beautiful little Christian village. It looks like you're in Tuscany, it's in the hills before you get to the mountains. It is so beautiful. Really, it's extraordinary. I took my parents there, and they couldn't believe it. You've got these little villages with huge churches in. Everything is dome, tiled roofs. It really looks like Italy, it's really weird. All the olive trees going around. In the villages there, they make these dumplings. They almost make a pasta dough, and they fill them with meat. They actually look even like little tortellini. They serve them in a yogurt sauce. When I first got given this bowl of joy, I was so overexcited. Because I'm such a geek, the first thing I wanted to do was take a photo. The light was really bad. I was in this beautiful old house, with this amazing kitchen, and these lovely women cooking and chatting. I got given this bowl of food and yelped, and made a run for what had been the door to go outside. I hadn't realized that someone had actually closed the glass door, so I just ran into it, into the glass door. Suzy Chase: No!John: Luckily, nothing bad happened, but the whole bowl of food just flew all over me. I was like, turned around covered in these dumplings dripping down my face. They were all just in utter hysterics. Suzy Chase: Oh, my. John: They thought I was weird enough anyway, and that was definitely the cherry on top. Suzy Chase: Just pushed you over the top. John: It was so funny. They are absolutely dreamy. They're quite easy to make, because the dough is ... There's actually no egg in it. Unlike pasta, there's no egg in that dough, so it's super easy to work with. They are delicious. Suzy Chase: Last weekend, I made your recipe for Beirut meatballs on page 111.John: I saw! Suzy Chase: Now, this is a traditional recipe named after an Ottoman name Daout BashaJohn: Yeah. Suzy Chase: How have you adapted this recipe, and how did this guy get a dish named after him? John: So, funnily enough, the woman who told me this story, it was really funny. She was this incredible woman, she was so glamorous and cool. I met her in the restaurant in Beirut. I didn't meet her 10 years ago, I met her this time around because I kept going to the restaurant for lunch. Whenever I was in the city, I'd always pop in to say hi to everyone. I met her. We got on like a house on fire, and actually went to her house. She showed me how to cook these. She was like ... You know how when you meet some people, you're just naturally drawn to them? Suzy Chase: Mm-hmm (affirmative), yeah. John: They've just got something about them. She'd been through really bad cancer. She was so full of life and energy. Her son was an opera singer. They were just really cool. I'm a bit obsessed with pasta and meatballs, and for some reason we were talking about that. She was like, “Oh my goodness. There's this dish that I've got to teach you.” She showed me how to make them. They're sort of like sour meatballs in a ... There's a lot of onions, and pomegranate, and it's very perfumed. I was asking her, where is this recipe from? She gave me that story, that this Turkish guy had come. This was named after him. I said, why? She just went, “Well, it just is.” That was the end of the story. Suzy Chase: Okay. John: I was like, oh. Can you give me any more detail than that? She's like, “No, they're just named after him.” I've Googled it, and spoken to other people, and they all said the same thing. Whoever he was, came over, and left this dish. That's it. Regardless of the slightly stunted story, they are delicious. They're really, really nice. Suzy Chase: I even made my own pomegranate molasses, which was so easy. John: Wow. That's really top marks. You win. That's amazing. I would never do that. Suzy Chase: It was really easy.John: Really? How long did it take to cook down? Suzy Chase: About eight minutes. Not that long. John: That's so good, that's amazing. Suzy Chase: I didn't need that much. John: Is that because you couldn't find a bottle? Suzy Chase: Yeah, I couldn't find-John: Oh. Suzy Chase: I used pomegranate juice. John: Oh, that's great. How intuitive of you. Suzy Chase: Yeah, look at that.John: Look at you. Suzy Chase: Look at me cooking. I also made the recipe for roasted carrots with tahini and black sesame seeds on page 51. John: Yeah, that's nice. Suzy Chase: Describe this dish. John: Obviously I said earlier about the way the produce works, and the way things are just eaten in season. They have an innate love of vegetable. They just love veggies. They do them really, really well. Most meals you go to, actually, will have ... Actually, quite a lot of people will eat vegetarian food quite a lot of the time, certainly in the more rural areas where they've not got so much cash. Even if you eat a big meal, it will tend to be a little meat or fish, then loads of veg. This was just one of those dishes that was very simple, and it makes the vegetables sing. What you want is ... Do you have the word ... You do have the word heritage for vegetables in America, don't you? Suzy Chase: Yes. We call them heirloom. John: Okay, so heirloom carrots. Suzy Chase: Mm-hmm (affirmative).John: You want the nicest carrots that you can get. All different colors, all different flavors. You just roast them up with a bit of cumin. The lovely bit is the tahini. Carrots have that deep sweetness that you get from a root veg. Tahini is almost like a peanut butter, but it's made with sesame seeds. It's a ground sesame seed paste, and it has a wonderful, rich sweetness that just compliments the carrots. It's just two ingredients that work so well together, and I just love it. Suzy Chase: I also made the Akra smashed Lemon Chickpeas on page 16. John: Whoa. Suzy Chase: How is this different from hummus? John: Okay, hummus is chickpeas, tahini, garlic, and lemon. That's how you make classic hummus. This recipe, it's called Akra Smashed. Akra is the name of the restaurant in Tripoli. Tripoli is this fabulous, old Venetian city on the coast, north of Beirut. It really is buzzing, it's brilliant. I think, actually the best street food in Lebanon is in Tripoli. There's this ginormous restaurant called Akra. It opens really early in the morning, like six o'clock, maybe even earlier, and it stays open until about two. All they serve is hummus. It's got about 350 covers, it's packed the whole time. The point being, you basically get a whole bowl of hummus for yourself, with a little bowl of pickles, veg, and some pitas. That's a snack or a light meal. Actually, it's not that light because you eat so much of it. They serve the classic hummus. They serve a thing called hummus ful, spelled F-U-L. That's made with fava beans. It's quite an acquired taste, actually. Then they make this other style of hummus that I copied in this book. It's basically the same ingredients. You've got your chickpeas, your lemon, your garlic, and your tahini, but it's blended so that it has a bit more texture. It's more lemon juice than you would normally serve, so it tastes a bit fresher, a bit lighter. It's got a lovely texture to it. It's not that silky smooth complexion of hummus, it's a bit more chunky. Like a guacamole or something. What was so nice about it is you get that sort of texture, and almost dryness from the chickpeas. It feels like it's gagging for something. What they did is they drizzle it with a chile butter, a very rich chile butter, and then loads of roasted nuts. You get all the things in it missing, and it's just divine. Suzy Chase: Now to my segment this season called my favorite cookbook. John: Right.Suzy Chase: Aside from this cookbook and your others, what is your all-time favorite cookbook and why? John: Oh, all-time favorite book, that's really hard. Can it only be one? Suzy Chase: Yes. John: Yes, because that was the question, wasn't it? Oh my God, that's really hard. What would be the one book that I would hang onto? I would be Delia Smith, How To Cook. Delia Smith is a stalwart British cookery writer and TV chef from the ... She was really massive ... She's still huge here now, but she was really big in the seventies and eighties. It was before cookery was cool, so on telly. It was a bit like a school teach telling you how to cook. Her recipes really worked. It was everything from how to make an omelet to how to make a roast chicken. I taught myself how to cook with that book. My mom had a copy. The cover, Delia has the most extraordinary, coiffed 1970s haircut you've ever seen. It looks like someone's put a weird bowl over her hair, tilted it backwards, and cut around it. Suzy Chase: I love it. John: It's extraordinary. If you Google it, it will just make you roar with laughter. That book, I learned how to cook from it. I think that would probably be the one book I feel so nostalgic about and hang onto. Suzy Chase: In interviewed James Rich, who wrote the cookbook Apple yesterday. John: Oh, yeah, right. Suzy Chase: He said the same thing! John: Did he? Suzy Chase: Yes! John: That's so funny. That is so funny. Suzy Chase: Okay, so you've done Turkey, Morocco, and Lebanon. What's next? John: I'm entirely sure, actually. I came up with a brilliant, very hair brained idea. I like really weird and wonderful, I love weird and wonderful a lot, and I my publisher thought my idea was way too weird, and perhaps not so wonderful. They've asked me to rethink. Yeah, I definitely want to continue with the Middle Eastern thing. I feel that I want to dip into another country there, because I just love it around there. I've got a trip coming up, actually. I'm going to Gaza in a couple of weeks, which is going to be very, very interesting. Suzy Chase: Oh my gosh. John: Yeah, I'm going with a charity to look at child nutrition out there. It's all quite intense. I think it will be incredible, I think it's going to be really extraordinary going to pretty much a war zone to see how people eat. Yeah, it's going to be quite an intense trip. I would love to go somewhere ... I love the Eastern Mediterranean, it's beautiful. I'd love to do a book in Iranian food, but I don't think now is the time to be going to Iran. Suzy Chase: What does your mom say? Is your mom freaking out?John: Yeah, completely. When I said the G word, they made that teeth wincing noise. She went, “Oh, my baby. What are you doing? Why are you doing that?” I said, I want to go because it's this amazing charity and we're going to help children. It means this tiny thing I can do to contribute could be a really good thing. She was just like, “But why there? Why don't you pick somewhere nicer?” I'm dead excited. I think it'll be great. Suzy Chase: So, where can you find you on the web, and social media? John: So, I use Instagram an awful lot, much to the annoyance of my family. My Instagram handle is @JohnGS. I've got a lot of content on there, I do a lot of free content. I'm trying to stick a couple recipes out every week for people to copy. Then, everything on my website, which is just JohnGregorySmith.com.Suzy Chase: As the Lebanese people say, Sahtain, which means double health. Thanks so much for coming on Cookery by the Book podcast. John: Loved it, and love you. Outro: Subscribe over on CookeryByTheBook.com. Thanks for listening to the number one cookbook podcast, Cookery by the Book.

John Is a LinkedIn expert , Martial Artist Of my favourite Art(Muay Thai) and even tho I wasn’t able to provide an interview here I share the biggest social media lesson he taught me! Here’s how you can connect with John: +447858597253 Email | jmlinkedmba@gmail.com

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John began his career working in politics, including as a writer in the Clinton White House, Office of Presidential Letters and Messages. He was also a Speechwriter in the California Governor's Office during the Davis Administration, and later he became an Attorney. John gave up speechwriting and the law to become a blogger and podcaster! He helps business owners connect with anyone they want to connect with. And they find their businesses grow exponentially because of it. He also owns and operates a website and related Podcast called SmartBusinessRevolution.com where he shows entrepreneurs how to build and use relationships to build more value, revenues and profits in their businesses. John's take on the business: The number one, most important thing that will determine your level of success or failure in business is your relationships. In this Podcast episode John shares his insights on building stronger relationships, and connecting with people that can make a difference in your business. Episode Highlights: John's history as a white house intern, staff writer, attorney and entrepreneur Why “helping first” matters most. How to build relationships without being awkward. How to break the ice with a new group of people. Learn some basic mechanics of talking with people. Making connections brings more value. Why delivering value works best. How making introductions builds value for you. How does John make a living in “networking”. Events where “mixing” is required and new people are attending. How to monetize Podcasting Transcription: Mark: So I remember an event … I think it was three years ago, I was at Pubcon and I had hired a PR firm to be able to help with Quiet Light Brokerage and some things that we were trying … no was it four years ago we were trying to do and I had hired somebody to come with me from a PR firm and she was an awesome networker. I mean she was phenomenal at what she did. And she came out to me laughing at the networking event at Pubcon because she said this is so funny. She's like I'm so used to networking events where everybody's a professional networker and she said people here obviously are not because everyone was looking down at their phones and shuffling their feet and saying I don't really want to introduce myself to anybody so I'm going to pretend like I actually have something to do on my phone. And you know what that was also me. I'm a terrible networker. I'm not really good at it. I'm a natural introvert. Joe, I understand you had John Corcoran and he's a networker and you guys talked about networking. This is an area where I struggle so I'd love to learn a little bit more about what you guys discussed. Joe: You know one of the first things John said was don't fall asleep, don't tune out because it's networking. You can grow your business dramatically by meeting the right people and being introduced to the right people. You don't go at it with that approach ias John's thought it's more just building relationships and those relationships lead to additional connections and relationships that can help grow your business; double, triple the size of your business. It's helped us dramatically through what this podcast we've met so many people. It's broken down doors and they feel like they know us more because of it. The networking that John talks about is exactly the same. It's through all of the different events that we might attend to. And he kind of gives some tips on breaking the ice to make connections and really kind of the Golden Rule approach to networking. It's a fascinating story. John's actually a fascinating guy. He used to work as a speechwriter for … I think it's called presidential letters during the Clinton administration. He did not know Monica Lewinsky. For those listening, I did ask. It was pre-recording but he absolutely didn't know her. Yeah, everybody chuckles poor girl really, seriously. He went to law school after doing that and eventually became a lawyer, practicing attorney and replaced his income as a lawyer by podcasting and blogging and doing that through networking. Pretty impressive guy, great story and I think he can help a great deal with people that don't realize how important networking is in helping other people is to their business at the end of the day. Mark: Awesome let's go right on into it and learn a little bit more about networking. Joe: Hey folks it's Joe Valley from Quiet Light Brokerage and today I've got a very special guest. His name is John Corcoran and he has a ton of experience both as a writer for the White House, as an attorney, and as a networking specialist. John, welcome to the Quiet Light Podcast. John: Thanks to have had me, Joe. Joe: Quite heavy here man. We met at the Prosper Show you're doing that very thing, walking around with a camera and a microphone, networking, talking to people, helping James do a great job there which they always do and I think you've been a big part of that. But that's my intro right there. I need you to tell these folks that are listening all about your background, your experience, who you are, and what you're all about. John: Sure. Well hopefully, people didn't tune out when they heard oh networking I hate that stuff. That's a funny reaction that people have. It's kind of like sales right? We know it's important but we also kind of hate it. And oftentimes that's because we've had some kind of negative interaction or negative experience with it; some guy coming up and sticking you his business card in your hand, in your face trying to sell you on something at a networking event. I'm not an advocate of that. I think there's a lot smarter ways to do it, a lot of tools that we have available. My background you know when I was a kid I moved around a lot. My father lost a job three separate times and each time we had to move across the country 3,000 miles away; away from family and friends. That experience taught me the importance of building relationships in business and it's critically important. And as a result of that, I've had some amazing experiences in my career. As you mentioned right there in the White House, in the Clinton White House years, speechwriter with the Governor of California. I had my own legal practice for a number of years and now I've got a business called Rise25 and a blog and a podcast called Smart Business Revolution. That's really more of my focus now and we bring people together at live events and I really enjoy doing that. Joe: Tell us a little bit about your background in terms of … I'm looking at your bio here and it says you went from party school to the White House. Just for the sake of the people that are listening, how the hell did you make that transition from being at a party school to writing speeches for the president? John: It's strange I know. It's a strange trajectory. So yeah I mean basically I went from an English major, getting a BA in English at a party school to within a year of that I was a writer in presidential letters and messages in the Clinton White House. It's kind of like a second tier speechwriter. I'm kind of like a … you know as a speechwriter has pulled a hamstring then we would step in, that kind of thing. But it was an amazing experience. I had interned in the speechwriting office during college. It was an amazing experience and I went back to college. And networking lesson number one is keep in touch with the people in your network. And once you build a relationship with someone it's really important to keep in touch with them. And so I was back at college, I knew I'd love to get a job at the White House but not all former interns get that kind of gig and so I kept in touch. I would send things from time to time like speeches or articles or passages that I found that I would send to the speechwriters. Not as a way of saying like hey do you have a job for me? But they … it kept me top of mind and what do you know a month or a couple of months later, a year later something like that they reached back out and said hey we heard about this position for you and I ended up applying and getting it. So it was an amazing experience. Joe: Were you taught that or did you just intuitively share information, stayed in touch and tried to help with little bits and informa,tion that you found? John: Yeah looking back I think really it was part of how I grew up and having to be that kid who is new in the class. I remember what it's like to move in the middle of a school year into … I went from Southern California to Massachusetts which is a huge culture shock. From being a kid it was like out at the beach to like dock siders and button downs and stuff like that in Massachusetts. It's a very different kind of culture and showing up in the middle of the school year when everyone had been in the same group of kids for years and years. And so it taught me the importance of being able to go into a new community and be able to make friends essentially. And I did that a number of times growing up and so I just realize the importance of it. And also just with watching my dad struggle when he got laid off a couple of times, the importance of building a network before you need it. You need to have these things so that when the S-H-I-T hits the fan, which it does from time to time, the economy or your company going under or whatever you've got to have that network. You have to have built those relationships first so that you can use them when you need them. Joe: Yeah I think it's essential. There are several mentors in my life that have given imparted wisdom. One of them is along those lines and it kind of goes with what I've recently studied which is a DarrenDaily … they call them DarrenDaily it's a Darren Hardy program, you know essentially it sounds like what you do about speechwriters was you gave something to them first. You didn't expect anything in return. You were giving them something to help them. Hey here's an idea and you were on top of mind because of that. And then you kept giving throughout the year and eventually, you got something back. Maybe it wasn't your intention to get something back but you were there, you were front of mind and you were offering something to them. I find that the same thing applies to what I do. You talked about networking it'll gross folks, don't tune out because of that. Same thing with a broker man, I'm a “broker” right? I'm a business broker. People get sort of turned off by that if they go with the general label of business broker. But more than anything else we just simply try to help. We try to help people with whatever the issue is, with the experiences that we have, with the knowledge that we have, with the relationships that we have. I refer people out all the time helping them connect with bookkeepers, attorneys, whatever it might be expecting absolutely nothing in return. Eventually, we'll run into them at a conference and spend some time with them and build a relationship with them and then they may refer somebody to us or if when they decide to sell their business they'll think of us first. I don't like networking. I don't. I never have. I'm a bit of an introvert. I love doing the podcast because it's just you and me it's not a whole group of people here. I don't have to walk up in a crowded room. I'm a kind of a low talker so people can't hear me. I've got a big microphone now so that helps. How do you advise people to sort of break the ice with a new networking group or a mastermind group or if they're at an event like Rhodium Weekend like E-commerce Fuel like Smart Marketer, like Blue Ribbon Mastermind, and to just walk up to a group of people and start talking? How do you recommend they do that? Just say hey because obviously, they're strangers too? John: Yeah I mean there's a high level and then there's the mechanics of what you use in a physical … a face to face type of interaction like that which also applies to online. You know a lot of networking we do these days can be through tools like LinkedIn or Facebook or something like that where you can really leverage relationships. So I would say first you got to start with okay am I at the right event to begin with? And that requires some really deep soul searching. Are you going in the right direction with your career? And people do pivots all the time. They change, they just … they lose passion for something. So you have to be sure you're going in the right direction because you can't squeeze blood from a turnip. And if you're at the wrong event then you're not going to find the right people there who you're going to want to engage with or you're going to want to talk to. So start with that and then secondly I think you're right about the give approach. You've got to focus on okay I'm going to give, give, give as much as possible and then after that people are going to want to return the favor. And that doesn't mean you should be taken advantage of but it means you should try and deliver value to people first before you try and hit them with a sales pitch. We've all been hit with a sales pitch right off the bat where people tries to get something from us or tries to get us to buy from them and it just doesn't feel right. It sits in our stomachs. So don't be that kind of person. Be a giver first. And then [inaudible 00:11:08.3] talking to people face to face in an event or something like that. Usually, I think people struggle because they over think it and they think okay I want to come up with some brilliant thing that will be related to my vocation, that will get us in a big discussion around what it is I do so that I can sell them on something. Well, the truth is you should spend a lot more time on just more human conversation. It could about hey how about this crazy weather we've been having or when did you get in? If you're at a conference you know where are you from? Maybe it's something on their attire, maybe they have an interesting shirt on or something like that. A lot of times there are little tidbits that you can you can pick out of there and then that gets you into a conversation. And then people leave little breadcrumbs all the time they just require exploring. People will mention oh yeah I was a little delayed my daughter had a volleyball tournament and so I wasn't able to get here when I wanted to. Well, that's a huge opening right there explore that. Go a little bit further and say oh really where did she play volleyball, what was the tournament, what was … how is she doing, what position is she in? Just taking an interest in people will get you really really far. Joe: It almost goes back to our teenage days when our parents told us just to take an interest in the girls and ask questions and it would work out pretty well. John: I know. Joe: We were teenagers and we paid no attention and we got it all wrong. At least I did, I don't know about you though. John: Exactly. I don't even know if my parents gave me that amount of advice so [inaudible 00:12:37.8]. Joe: I'm trying to do with my kids and I know that you're doing something with your son. I saw it on LinkedIn. I love that you're helping him sell some- John: Yeah we're- Joe: It's … I almost said Girl Scout cookies. John: Yeah … oh no, it's Kab Scout. And it's funny he's like a natural born entrepreneur. He just turned eight and loves selling stuff, loves making money and so we're kind of using it as a teaching opportunity. But right there, there's a good example okay. You said I hate networking, a lot of people say that I hate networking but I love connecting with people. They'll follow it up with that and then I'll say okay well what do you think networking is really? I mean it's connecting with people. Maybe you hate being in a room full of strangers and not sure what to say, that's a given and that's fine. I totally get that. A lot of people get uncomfortable in that kind of situation. But me sharing my son's experience and experience we're going through with learning about setting up a website to sell Boy Scout popcorn as a fundraiser you know that's a way of remaining top of mind with people who are in your network on LinkedIn. And people see that and then it's also a way of teaching too because I'm also using it as a teaching opportunity as well. And it also personalizes me. I found … you probably found this too, when people they know more about you personally, a passion, or a hobby that you have or they know something about your kids or something they're a lot more connected to you. And I mean I discovered this a long time ago, long before I had kids. When I asked people about their children before I had kids I would ask too about their children because I notice they would light up. And it just breaks down these walls, breaks down these barriers, it allows you to really accelerate the connecting process so that you get to know that person a lot better and they're a lot more motivated to help you. They start to treat their interactions with you less transactionally and more like a true friend, a relationship; something that they actually are invested in helping. So that's why I do things like that is sharing a little piece … if you share a little piece about your life, it's not everything, but sharing a piece about your life it makes people more connected to me. It makes me top of mind and who knows where it might lead after that. Joe: Right, I couldn't agree more. I saw it and I felt it humanized you and I felt like I knew you a little bit better even though we've only met a couple of times. I was a guest on your podcast, you're a guest on ours, and we met at the Prosper Show. So I totally get it. By way of example a lot of people listening they're either buyers or sellers and they love to monetize things. They say well how can I monetize something? And I want to give an example, I got a text today about two hours before this recording where someone was at an event in Miami and I introduced him to somebody else. They connected and he said to me, he sent me a text and he's like thank you for introducing me to so and so. I feel like I got 1.5 million dollars' worth of value out of that lunch and I'm buying a business from him for much less than that so I feel like I've doubled my money. And they were able to meet face to face for the first time and just get that connection. And that particular individual is making a point of helping lots of different people. I can't give you his name but every time I speak with someone that has connected with him it's not about what they got from him it's what … which they did get it's what he did for them. And that comes back around and it gets monetized in a variety of different ways. Most people listening again are either buyers or sellers thinking how the heck is this going to help me? Back when I sold my business in 2010 there weren't really any Mastermind groups. There were certainly not any Facebook groups. There weren't any Smart Marketer events or Rhodium weekend, any of these things that we go to now and connect with people over and over and over again and it's eventually just a trip to hang out with our friends. Hanging out with those friends now and sharing that information without expectations or getting back anything else is what I think is the way to immaterially monetize it. You can monetize it but you have a hard time calculating it. Do you have any direct experiences or examples where you can say you know I introduced these two people … this person connected with so and so and their business took off because of it? John: Oh … I mean I couldn't narrow it down. I mean I have so many examples of that sort of thing and I do it more than most people. So I don't want to say that you need to spend all your time doing that. There are some connectors who spend too much time going out delivering value, connecting other people. But let me put it this way if you try the alternative … the opposite that certainly doesn't work. We know that doesn't work. If you just go out there and you don't try and deliver value and you just try and pitch people we all know that doesn't work very well right? So if you try the alternative, if you try the give first approach you will see dollars and cents to your bank account, others will see dollars and cents in their bank account. I can think of offhand two situations where I introduced two people to each other, kind of like you, you're just an introduction; no strings attached or anything like that. I just thought you two would get along and they started a business together. In one case those two individuals, they lived in the same state but opposite sides of the state. One ended up moving to the other part of the state so that they could work together and have a business together as a result of that one introduction. And you know those people will walk to the end of the earth for me after I've made that introduction. So it definitely turns into dollars and cents in terms of more clients, more referrals that sort of thing. Joe: But that wasn't your intention right? John: No … I mean it's not my intention but I will say this, look we're all in business, we're all motivated by making money, we want to keep the lights on, we want to keep food in the fridge right? So I don't say at all that you should go out there and you should just be randomly introducing everyone on the street or be doing it matchmaking or something like that. You should do it strategically. You should do it because it's good for your business. I'm not saying go on and do it because for charitable purposes although it is a great thing to do and it does great … it puts great good out into the world. I'm saying do it because it's good for your business. It's good for your career. And it has just been the experience that I've lived. There are great books out there by the way, Give and Take by Adam Grant, Dale Carnegie all the books that he's written. These books they give voluminous examples of people who have resulted in much value coming back to them as a result of the value that they put out in the world. Joe: And you got to a lot of events, a lot of networking events where you have got both business owners, employees, founders, and potential buyers attending them; are there any particular events that you love because specifically the way that it's organized for networking that you can … through off the top of your head, two or three of your favorite events? John: Is this cheating or can I say the ones that we do because they're- Joe: You know people are probably going what the hell does this guy do for a living? It's networking, how does he make money so … answer the question how do you make a living? John: Sure. Joe: You're a networking guy, how do you make a living? What do you do? John: Yeah. So … well, first of all, I was a practicing lawyer for many years. And even when I was a practicing lawyer I mean just introducing your clients is really valuable and giving … thinking about your clients because they will send more business back to you. Your referral partners would send more business back to you. So when I was actually full time practicing law I was practicing what I do today. Eventually, that pivoted into a blog and a podcast which replaced my income as a lawyer and I monetized both of those through a variety of digital courses and through affiliate promotions and that sort of thing. Today I run Rise25 with my business partner. We do live events. We go to conferences and we partner with conferences and hold on connection events like VIP receptions, like dinners, like all-day Masterminds at conferences. Again connecting people but we create the forum. We invite the people. We bring them in. Another thing we do also- Joe: Just to understand so you're not actually putting on the entire event, you're putting on a segment of it or a specific group of attendees. John: Right, and there's an important lesson in that because we've done our own standalone events but the reason that we do a lot of that now … an important lesson for others is it's a lot easier to go where the fish are already gathered to go fishing rather than try and pick some spot in the middle of the lake where there are no fish and attract them back to it. Go to the spot where all the fish are gathered which is what we do around conferences. The other thing we do is we do some Done-For-You lead generation as well. So we do Done-For-You lead gen so helping people with the process that we've used for years to generate leads for our self we help other businesses with that as well. Joe: What types of businesses? John: It's primarily professional services but e-commerce as well. So it's anyone who's … I mean who doesn't need leads right? Every business needs leads whether it's you're trying to connect with someone who might buy your business or whether you're trying to connect with new customers or clients or referral partners or strategic partners or whatever. You know there's a lot of different … the truth is everyone need … and like you're selling like a very inexpensive widget which is often the case with e-commerce there's often someone higher leverage who you are trying to connect with. So that might be other website owners or it might be other people who are selling on the same marketplace as you, or just other sellers that you want to connect with, or other professionals or something. It's a variety of different applications that we'd manage for people. But you asked … so you asked the question earlier was types of events that I'm preferable to. The type of event … and I want to answer that because that's an important question and it actually guides my decision making in what events I go to. I don't like going to events where the culture does not encourage people to mix with one another and what do I mean by that? Oftentimes you have events where at a local … this often happens on a local level like at a chamber of commerce or something like that where you have repeat people coming back month after month and they kind of know enough other people that there isn't enough mixing. I like events personally where I go to an event and I can just stick out my hand and talk to someone or someone else will stick out their hand and just talk to me where you feel free to meet other people. The other thing is I really like formats of events which breaks the mold. They're not just the boring, stuffy kind of reception type of format but I like the ones that are different. So actually just last night we had an event in Chicago which was a VIP food tour and we've done this a number of times, I did one in San Francisco a couple of weeks back and it's like a progressive dinner party meets a networking reception. We kind of combine the two and rather than keeping everyone in one room with watered down drinks and talking to each other all night or maybe being at a dinner table where you're stuck talking to the guy in the right of you and the guy in the left of you for the entire night, we take a group and we take them to multiple locations over the course of an evening. So you're up, you're down; you're sitting next to different people the entire time. You're walking or sitting on a bus next to different people. And we love doing that format because it gets people meeting more people which is really what we're about. So that's another piece of what we do. I realize [inaudible 00:23:45.3] to what we do but you asked the question what types of events so I really enjoy that format. Joe: All right. Tell us about Rise25 and the blog … the podcast and the blog. I want to know more about that. I have a feeling here John that people are going to want to listen to your podcast and learn more about what you do. John: Yeah. Joe: Just … let's hear it. John: Yeah so Smart Business Revolution I started it about eight or nine years ago now. It was a blog and a podcast, it still is. I continue to write there. I continue to publish podcasts. I started … this is an important lesson because now we do help clients with this as well so this is part of the lead generation piece is eight or nine years ago when I was a full time practicing law literally I had a client who came in and he hired me for a tiny little matter. It was $500 of writing a lease for him. I was reading about the guy and I was like wow this is a really interesting guy. He was an entrepreneur. He had started multiple companies one of which had gone public. So he's really successful. I was thinking how can I make … how can I turn this guy into like my best client? You know come back to me over and over again. Literally what I just did is I said hey do you have like 20 minutes I'd love to just like ask you some questions about your career and your businesses and everything. I'm going to record it and I'm going to publish it. I didn't even know how to do that. I didn't even know how to record or publish; podcasting wasn't even a thing back then. And so I ended up doing that, I asked him all these questions. What's amazing is you're publicizing that person. It's exactly what we're doing right now. But you're publicizing that person and you're also asking them questions about their challenges, their opportunities, you're figuring out are there other ways that you can help this person or deliver value to that person? And so what do you know he ended up turning into a great client. He ended up coming back to me and saying hey can you help me with this and this and this other thing too. And it's a strategy that I've used over and over again. I've done it probably three or 400 times with different people where you just simply take an interest in someone else. And you go the extra mile so you actually record it and you publish it and you give them a promotion, give them publicity, you send traffic, you send eyeballs to them. Again it's exactly what you're doing right now. You don't have to have a podcast to do it although podcasting is such an accepted and understood medium these days so that's really the best way to do it today. And I think everyone should have a podcast because it's so powerful. Joe: And you've figured out a way to monetize the podcast and the blog as well which is really weird if we think about the fact that you went to law school, quit to be a podcaster and a blogger and you replaced your income. How did you manage to do that? John: Well so, first of all, you can monetize a podcast … when people hear … I know I just wrote an article about this. I did a research study and I surveyed hundreds of podcasters and I asked them how they monetized their podcast. And so you can go to Smart Business Revolution and you can see the article now. It's at Rise25 also. And people generally thought … they thought of the traditional model, the old school media model. Like I'm just going to build up a big audience and then I'm going to sell ads or sponsorship. And that is only one of dozens of different ways of monetizing a podcast. It's actually probably the worst of all of them and yet everyone thinks that that's what you need to do. It's the most difficult to do. So I mean I've monetized my podcast in a variety of different ways including getting more clients, getting more referrals, filling live events, filling webinars, strategic partnerships; you name it. If you can connect what it is you do which is your business, your profession with the podcast which not everyone does a great job of connecting those two. Sometimes they are completely unrelated and if you have a hobby podcast that's fine that's not what we're talking about here. But if you connect those two and you use them to build more relationships with prospective clients, with referral partners, with strategic partners, you use that podcast in order to build more of those relationships and connect with SALT leaders and gurus and speakers and authors that you would never otherwise have a chance of connecting with then it's an amazing powerful tool. It's … I mean I've been able to have conversations with people who would never give me the time of the day you know what I mean? Like I can't email Gary Vaynerchuk and say hey man I would be in New York can you meet me at a Starbucks for 45 minutes? I want to pick your brain; I'm going to ask some questions about my business. Is that cool? [inaudible 00:28:00.1] like who are you I'm not going to do that but I had him on my podcast even though he's a busy guy because of the nature of the medium. So that's why I'm such a huge fan of the medium it's just … and it's a much better way to network. That's what we're talking about right? Connecting, building relationships, seeing how you can help each other, giving, all of those are encapsulated in the process of doing a podcast and everyone should do it. Joe: I agree 100%. It's what we do; it's why we do it. Because we're connecting with people like you that might be hard to connect to or with otherwise. John: Oh yeah absolutely, I wouldn't return your call if it weren't for that. Joe: I know you're never going to list it … and it personalizes things right? You can write an amazing article, give some amazing advice but without that personality behind it, it's just words on paper. We had people tell us that if they chose someone else to go with someone else it's because they felt like they knew them because they listened to their podcast. John: Yeah. Joe: So I think the personalization of it is important. I think that for those listening that maybe an expert on an advertising business, content, blog, or a SaaS business, or an e-commerce business and you're wondering how the heck do you benefit from this, how would you start a podcast and what … how is it going to work for you? You're going to connect with people that are going to be experts giving advice and you're going to benefit from it in your own business being able to apply some of that advice and being able to pick their brain as well. In addition to other people that have had great success that may come onto to the podcast and share their story and may want to do business with you as well. You just never know what's going to come of it if you just help others and give. And yes it is business we're all in this to put food on the table and hopefully put some money in retirement and stop doing this someday when were not capable anymore but it's fun and it's enjoyable. John: Yeah. Joe: And we get to make a living from it which is kind of nice too. John: Yeah and you know I say it's kind of personal and professional development that also doubles as marketing. Because you're enriching yourself, you're learning, you're asking questions, you're learning and you're also recording it and you're going to put it up on the internet and it's going to exist forever. So it's marketing that will be out there for you forever. And if you're asking well I sell a widget, it … I don't see how that's going to help me or maybe it's some other seller out there that you want to connect with or maybe it's potentially a buyer. I mean that's a great way to use that as a tool. It will help me with hiring, recruitment right? There's so many other ways that you can you can do it. I mean I'm sure Joe you've had this experience, I've had this experience when people come up to me and you have a conversation with them and they're just kind of like smiling as they listen to you talk because you know what's going on in their head they're thinking wow he sounds just like he does in the podcast. And people will say that, they'll be like man you just … you talk just like you do in the podcast. Well, guess what when I'm on the podcast that's me. I'm not putting out an act or anything like that I'm just actually being me you know. And we've had people that would go … a couple of people who came in to our event recently in San Francisco who had gotten to know me from the podcast and the funny thing is … and this takes a little getting used to, the funny thing is that they've been listening on their own time while I'm doing other things to episodes, past episodes, the whole back catalog and when they come up they feel like they've already built a relationship with you. That's wonderful because of the know like and trust process right? You are already that much further along so it then makes it just a lot easier to have a conversation with them around some kind of strategic partnership or a client … a relationship of some sort. It's just a lot easier. You'd move the ball a lot further down the field. Joe: 100%, I couldn't agree more and I would recommend that everybody does it. For those that are going to events and I've been to many of them and I have that stigma of being a broker. We don't pitch at Quiet Light, we're just here to help so we have to get around that stigma some way. But I was at an event last March I think it was and I've had a conversation with two or three other people and this guy walked up and he just stood there and he started to shake his head up and down and you know at the right moment he just stuck his hand out and introduced himself. And that I think taught me a lesson. It's the hardest thing to do when you go to some of these events like this, you see groups of people talking and you'd say damn they all know each other. I really don't know anyone. It's my first time here. The reality is that even though they're talking and having a good time and having a drink and laughing they may have just met. That was exactly the case that night. The three of us had just met and this person came into our conversation not knowing whether or not we really knew each other and he was welcomed into it and that's what these events are all about. You should never be shy about walking up to somebody and saying hello. You should never be shy about talking to someone like John, talking to someone like myself if we have something that we can help with that's our operation. That's exactly what we do. We're going to give you any and all advice we can. And if someone like John and myself try to get their hooks into you for a commission they're the wrong people to work with. Just walk away, get what you can, and move on. But don't be afraid to stick your hand out and shake your hand and just say hello. It starts a conversation. It's the hardest thing to do but it's also the best thing to do wouldn't you agree? John: I totally agree. Absolutely. Yeah. It's just funny as you're saying about having a stigma you know I think a lot of people feel that way. Especially when they're in business which most people are right? You're in business, you're at a networking event and you're thinking oh other people are thinking that I'm just going to try and sell them. I know this because people email me every day about this saying these things. And I think a lot of times we get stuck in our head a little bit and look I mean I totally get it. I worked for politicians. I've been a lawyer. I think I'm going to round up my career by working for the IRS or as a tax professional so just the most detested professions possible. So I'm used to being in that type of position. I totally get it but look if you approach not thinking about okay how am I going to get this person as a client as soon as possible and you approach thinking okay I'm just going to learn about this person. I'm going to learn what I can do if there's some recommendation I can provide. Maybe they're a huge fan of something else I'm a fan of and we can connect over that. That's it. That's all that matters. You're going to build up trust. You're going to get to know them. And then later there might be the possibility of doing business together but start with that first and that gives you a great foundation. Joe: I agree if you do that enough your pipeline of new business will eventually fill up and it will be continually flowing. John: Absolutely. Joe: John, how do people find out more about you and learn about your experience and get to listen to the podcast and things of that nature? John: Yeah, thank you sir. So Smart Business Revolution is the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, wherever you listen to podcasts. SmartBusinessRevolution.com is the website. Rise25 is the other website and yeah reach out, I love hearing from people who heard me on a podcast so I appreciate it. It's a pleasure being here. Joe: You're a good man John. Thanks for your time. John: Thank you.   Links: John's LinkedIn Profile Smart Business Revolution Blog & Podcast Rise25 Book recommendation: Give and Take by Adam Grant

We had a little "incident" before we started our recording. One of the microphone stands "somehow" toppled over and knocked over TWO bottles of beer... all over the table and my MacBook Pro! So far, the laptop is still working. Fingers crossed. Here's the video if you'd like to see the mayhem! (Click on the image to see the video of the Great Beer Spill!) NEWS [56:14] French air force get their colours wrong in Bastille Day mix-up [59:50] American Woman With Grenade Causes Panic at Austrian Airport [1:02:45] Video Taken from Inside the MartinAir that Crashed in South Africa [1:09:00] Searchers find fourth body after planes collide and crash over the Florida Everglades [1:16:58] Passengers apparently saw danger before pilot crash-landed in Alaska, NTSB says [1:22:56] Battle of Britain RAF Spitfire pilot Geoffrey Wellum dies FEEDBACK [1:26:42] Texas Charlie - The darker side of the beautiful art that is flight [1:31:25] Ben - Single Pilot Freighters [1:36:42] Nelson (Lisboa Nelson) - The Aviation Company he Works for reaches 100 years [1:39:11] Silviu - Useful Drone? [1:43:31] Liz - Helicopter Fuel Leak put 747-8F at Risk of Explosion [1:46:34] Mississippi Matt - Shark Week: Track Southwest's 5 shark-themed Boeing 737s [1:50:35] Nick - Question re: Smoking in the Cockpit [1:58:15] Plane Tale - Thar be sea monsters! [2:19:42] Sean - How is Medical Leave Handled? [2:31:40] John - Is it too late for me to pursue an aviation career? [2:43:30] Tim - Delta Quietly Removing MD-90s from its Fleet [2:50:13] Bill - Is It Legal to Fly Under the Golden Gate Bridge? [2:57:52] Tim - Now We Know what Dana's Doing VIDEO Audible.com Trial Membership Offer - Get your free audio book today! Give me your review in iTunes! I'm "airlinepilotguy" on Facebook, and "airlinepilotguy" on Twitter. feedback@airlinepilotguy.com airlinepilotguy.com ATC audio from http://LiveATC.net Intro/outro Music, Coffee Fund theme music by Geoff Smith thegeoffsmith.com Dr. Steph's intro music by Nevil Bounds Capt Nick's intro music by Kevin from Norway (aka Kevski) Copyright © AirlinePilotGuy 2018, All Rights Reserved Airline Pilot Guy Show by Jeff Nielsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Is it very late here? Apparently, it's 11:49 PM. I don't know how late that is. I was going to go to bed. I was thinking about going to bed. I took my ... well, livestreaming costume off and I put my pyjamas back on, said, goddess vibes but I didn't really care for its vibes of the T-shirt. So, I didn't think it should be on the camera. And then I ate some ... Leo, don't get angry, but I ate some peanut butter. Linda tried to stop me. It was not successful. I ate the peanut butter with a banana, if anyone's wondering why she tried to stop me because in theory, I'm allergic to it. But I decided that I haven't had any for several months and that I should test it out again. And so far, I feel good. So I think it's working for me. Have that, had a banana. She ... can I say what you ate? I'm saying it anyway. Go for it. This is supposed to be a very serious Q&A about my Millionaire Mastermind so that everyone signs up and joins the Millionaire Mastermind before the founding members deal closes in 12 hours and 10 minutes. Linda ate cheese with peanut butter on it. What is happening in the world? She denied so to it which I found somewhat of a higher social standing at least she added some salt. Has anybody else in the world ever eaten cheese with peanut butter on it? Is that a thing? I actually got ... I told her this as well. When I find my friends trigger me, I tell them straight up, straight up from the gate up, I told that, "You're triggering me right now because I feel that your food taste might be even more bizarre than mine and it's making me feel upset." I just couldn't do it. She offered it to me and I couldn't do it. They say never. They say, "You should never eat that." Why? Why. She says, "Why?" She says, "I'll do it." I fucking won't. She didn't say that. [inaudible 00:06:53]. Okay. She did say it. She just said it right then. She's very busy working. Let's not interrupt her. I was going to go to bed and then she was like, "Well, I'm going to be out for hours working, anyway." I was like, "Fine," and I had some more peanut butter and here I am, and that's why we're live. You can thank Linda and the cheese and bizarre peanut butter, cheese eating habits that she has there. [inaudible 00:07:14]. She couldn't do. You do feature a lot of our lives. Your name and Patrick's name gets dropped on to nearly every livestream. We haven't mentioned him yet except that we just mentioned him right then. But most of the time, Linda gets mentioned and Patrick gets mentioned. Other people get mentioned also. Anyhow, for all you know, she's not even there and I'm just putting on a whole show pretending that there's somebody there. Maybe I recorded her voice earlier and, now, I'm playing it back like I'm Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Great. Great. Okay. Angela says she doesn't judge but cheese and peanut butter was so not touch her tongue. Everybody just calm the fuck down. This is supposed to be a sales livestream. I'm going to sell to you now. Sit up and pay attention. Focus. I told you, this won't be silly at all. How did it go my High Vibe Mastermind for you? High Vibe Middle ... what's a called? Let me read my sales page. High Vibe As Fuck Millionaire Mastermind is here. How to know? Well, I feel like I just gave a perfectly complete demonstration of how to know whether or not I'm for you. If you're maybe compelled and fascinated but a little bit horrified, then it's definitely for you. If you can't look away even though you find it quite offensive, then it's even more for you. If you just want some cheese with peanut butter on it, you're going to have to talk to Linda about that. I can't help you. But I do have cheese and I do have peanut butter, but I'm not giving it to you. I won't put my name and my brand to anything like that sort of behaviour. I won't do it and you can't make me. What were we up to? I don't think ... stop filming me in the background. Hello. What are you filming over there? All right, this is serious business. This is serious internet business. We're here to make money on the internet. We're here to tell people things that they should buy. What questions do you have about the Millionaire Mastermind? Send them to me. Give them to me. I'll be very serious now. I did want to say a few things that are actually important. I wanted to address some concerns. Can I address one concern before I go really silly again because I don't know when I'm going to be out like how long I can stay in serious mode for. I'm not sure why it's happening. It just comes out. I mean, blame that peanut butter and Linda combined together. All right, all right, right. That would be a good time for somebody to do an accent. Kat, fix before bed. I'm pretty impressed with myself that so many people are on this livestream when I straight up called it a sales livestream in the description of it. Now, I'm not remotely talking about what I said I would, standard. So, how do you know if my High Vibe As Fuck Millionaire Mastermind is for you? How? You, guys, should answer the question to me. Type the answer and how do you know if it's for you. Your questions answered. If you have a question for me, ask it to me. I'll leave an answer. I promise that I will, no matter what it is. Don't ask me weird cheese peanut butter questions, so I have no answers about that. It's one of those mysteries of the universe that you can't actually explain and you're probably not supposed to know. It would be for your own safety to not know. Anyway, I did have a thing that I wanted to say. I feel like it's going to be boring now and I shouldn't say it. But in case somebody's listening that needs to hear it, the truth is how do you know if it's for you, you know because yourself tells you. Why am I even talking about this? I was just on the phone with one of my clients who makes several hundreds of thousands of dollars, pounds, kicking her ass, she was loving it. She sent me a voice ... sorry, a text message back afterwards and said she's done four miles of laps around her apartment from speaking to me and she's all fired up. One of the things we poke about was why the fuck ... wait, well, we didn't say it this way, but I'm going to say it this way. Why would we need to talk about whether or not it's for you? Why are we talking about this? This was a stupid topic idea. I retract it. I'm going to change the topic except my desktop won't let me. But one thing I will say even though I'm bored with myself already for saying it, if you're just starting out ... okay, tell me, Kit Kat, how do I know if it's for me. Listen, if you're going to refer to me as Kit Kat then I'd prefer Kitty Kat, Kitty Kat, not just Kit Kat, all right, because I don't really like Kit Kats, the chocolates, because one time I bought one in Bali that I thought was mint flavoured and it was green tea. Have you ever heard of a ... I'm not even making this up. It was a green tea flavoured Kit Kat. I mean, I don't know what to do with that. So, I won't be called Kit Kat. I'll go with Kitty Kat. How do you know if it's for you? You know because I reached into your motherfucking soul and I charged it like a battery, like a car battery or like a flat tyre, like a double flat tyre, never heard of such a thing, but apparently, sometimes people hop over a curb and puncture two tyres at once. Sorry, somebody told me once and then I spent all day at the car dealership. What is that? I don't care for that money emoji, Angelo. It's ugly. What is that ugly money emoji there for? Why is the money emoji ugly? It looks like it's throwing up money. I don't find it appealing. Is it supposed to be attractive, because it's just like it's weird that it's throwing up money. So, somebody said a comment on the internet. It's a place where you be very serious then you sell things to people. I'm doing a perfect example of it right now. Somebody said on this internet phrase today that ... what did they say, that they wanted to join the Millionaire Mastermind but they didn't even have an idea or a vision yet for their business so they couldn't join. I was like, "Hold the motherfucking phone. Why does somebody think they shouldn't join if they don't have an idea, which prompted me to do this livestream, which I'm now already bored with so I'm doing whatever I want with it, and we're having the best time ever. But, I guess, I wanted to address that and say, of course, you're going to join the Millionaire Mastermind if you don't have an idea. Would you rather spend 45 years not knowing what the fuck to do and having to figure out which courses to buy which mentors to follow, or would you rather just come in and have somebody reach into your soul from the get-go, and then you can unleash your vision into the world. But the practical answer to the question is we teach you exactly how to build your business, exactly, from soul, from the ground up. It's not for established businesses and it is for established businesses. It's not about where you are in your business. It's about who you are as a person. Thank you, Carla. It was you. Well, it was a great question and I was like, "Shit, I didn't realise people thought that. I don't want people to think that," because we teach from all the things. I have people who have joined the Millionaire Mastermind, some people in there who already have businesses that are overdoing a million a year ... I don't think they're overdoing it. They're doing over a millionaire. They may or may not be over it. And then some people who are just starting out completely and that's always been the way in all my courses, by the way. And so, there'd be some content where you're like, "I'm totally not needing that right now. I'm not up to that yet." But then it was all in the resource library anyhow so then you'll get it when you need to get to it. But because I'm doing all the visioning and the mindset work as well as the ninjas doing all the strategy, it all works perfectly and together. So there you go, I answered that question. What was the other question? Oh, it's a green ... it was puke from the green tea Kit Kat. I understand. Who the fuck thinks that a green tea Kit Kat is a good idea? Well, obviously, it must be popular in Bali I suppose so they wouldn't be selling it. And to add insult to injury, a green tea flares me up like nobody's business. Why can I not read these comments though? I know there was an actual question. So, if you haven't seen the Millionaire Mastermind, then I suppose it just means that you don't obsessively stalk and watch all my content in which case you probably shouldn't join it. so if you haven't seen it, I'm going to assume it's not for you because if it is for you, you would have seen it. because I've been talking about it a lot and because if it is for you, really, you should add me on "See First" notifications and you should be watching me at the middle of the day, the end the day, and the start of the day, and any other time in between. Even if you're not watching me, you could just call me in into dreams and I'll dream coach you. I do it a lot and, apparently, it's free because nobody has fucking paid me for it so far, but they all message me about it in the morning and tell me. So whether or not you choose to access it, it's up to you. Rachel says, "I'm in there but I'm going to chime in. If you follow Kat and participated in the programmes or even haven't, outrageous idea, what a chance to test it out." That is true because it's super low cheap. "And you have a business or plan to have one and you wanted me in a community of kick-ass high vibe people, it's the place for you." Thank you. That's true. It's all 100% accurate, or if you need to have an online business, you've set the intention people will beg you to sell to us and fuck us. That was a different programme where I said that people are going to beg you to fuck them. It was an accident that I said that. It just came out in my copy and I didn't notice until six days later that I'd put it as a benefit of the programme that people will beg you to fuck them. My wording was all off. And then it happened anyway and people were posting sex testimonials into that break the internet group. It was outrageous and fabulous all at the same time. I am not making any of that up. I really did accidentally write it into my sales copy and I didn't realise till six days later. I was like appalled at myself. And then, all of a sudden, I was like, "But why has nobody told me this? Everybody's read it and nobody's told me. None of my staff even." I don't understand about that. What else do you need to know? I've already said this, but I'll say it again. I'm promising nothing. What you're going to get is nothing. I promise nothing. You're signing up and what will I give you? I don't know. I have no idea. I make no promises and I told no lies, but I tell many fabulous jokes, I think. I will give you everything and nothing all at the same time. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to come in from my soul like a rocket ship of energy and I'll unleash forth on to you whatever it is you need, and desire, and require. A lot of people were on my live training, that was the first live how do you do for the Millionaire Mastermind which happened a couple of hours back. How was it if you were there? It was so next level that I nearly vibrated through the roof of this high-rise building. I felt everybody's souls. There was definitely some randomness and some shenaniganry and a little bit of ... well, at one point, everybody in the comments was formulating a fucking band and saying that they were going to go to the Sydney Opera House and perform in a band together right when I was in the middle of some deep visioning work. So I'm still not quite sure what happened there. But it was really freaking deep. We went deep. We went hard. We went all the way in, in a polite manner. And really what I'm doing is going to come in and create out of ... I'm not creating in fan out of you, actually, I will allow you ... help you is the best word, help you empower you, kick your ass to create forth from you whatever it is that you are supposed to be putting out there into the world. But I should say for those who are like, "Well, what the fuck even is it then? She's promising nothing." But delivering everything. It's the ninjas. I've never allowed the ninjas out of the ninja mansion before. Really, they do whatever the fuck they want. They wouldn't really be my team members and staff if they didn't, would they? But in this particular programme, they are bringing all of their awesome gifts, and powers, and talents, and support for you. So, you'll love how I roll it on. Thank you. I can't possibly say your name though. I have no idea how to say that. So, yes, they are going to be teaching all of the strategy, all of the sales, all of the marketing, all of the advertising that we do at The Katrina Ruth Show. I might clown around. Okay, I do ... I might have too much fun. Definitely, there's not such a thing as too much fun. I always say to my kids, "Did you have fun today? Too much fun?" And it's a little in-house joke that we have. I don't know why it's so funny, actually, but it is. So I might definitely have too much fun. I might be here, there, and everywhere. I'm rambling. I'm random, and then it flips into divine downloads from the soul, and I do the deep mindset work with you, and the deep soul and cellular shifting and that's just how it is. My team though, my team, they run things at The Katrina Ruth Show. I don't run a shit at The Katrina Ruth Show. I am the motherfucking show. What do I need to run things for. I'm sitting around, do what I want. I am the show. They, however, they do run the show. Now, here's a thing though, for me to build this business to where it is now, where it's making millions of dollars, yeah, I did run the show. I built the damn show. I built like all the little bits. I did the floors. I did the ceilings. I did the in-between bits. I built the whole show and I ran the whole show. I was here, there, and everywhere and, well, all the hats and learn all the things, and I can do all the, all the, all the internet marketing things, and selling and tech things that you possibly could have known except for coding. That's one thing I never did learn. But all the other shit I could enjoy it. I used to do it all myself and that's how I built this business. Now, I have an amazing team. So I don't have to run around doing everything and I just be the show that I am. What that team do is they run things. They do the marketing. They do the advertising. They do this ... putting together of the sales offers, they're sending out of the sales offers. What else is there, even the social media leveraging, I don't know, a million other things. Anything that you can imagine that gets done behind the scenes, or in front of the scenes, at a multi seven-figure online business. That's what the ninjas do. They also try very unsuccessfully to keep me in order. So, can't really teach that because they're not accomplished at it. But presumably, you're not trying to teach anybody to keep you in order. So they do many amazing marketing and selling things. They run things so that I can run so that I can be the thing. They do all the things that I did in the building phase of my business before I had this badass team. And so, what the Millionaire Mastermind is about is they are going to support you, and train you, and show you on all of those things. Specifically what we're doing is that every month we have the report, the report for the High Vibe As Fuck Millionaire Mastermind which could come in video format, or fancy PDF format, or all manner of modes of delivery, whatever it is. But it shows you exactly what we did that month and exactly how we did it to create our revenue and income and all elements of that from the marketing, to frontal side of things if that was part of it, advertising, obviously, social media, et cetera, how we put it together, how we created it, how we figured out the idea, how we then unleashed ... I was going to say launched and then unleashed at the same time and it went into ... Unleashed it into the world, right? Travis, what's up? How was your leg session? I did legs yesterday. It feels amazing, probably can't get up off this couch at the end of it. So, yes, that's what the report is about, exactly what we did and how we did it, and break down, swipe files, whatever it is so that you can duplicate it and roll it on out. So that happens every month. And then on top of that, on top of us showing you exactly what we did for that month to make our money and how we did it, and then like, "Here you go, just duplicate it if you like." On top of it, we also have all the trainings on all possible things that we do. So, you want to learn about Facebook ads? We got that training going on. You want to learn about automated email marketing, and funnels, and automated recurring income, we got that going on. You want to learn how to create, and launch, and sell your own programmes? Of course, we got that going on. You want to know how to hire your own soulmate team members and how to attract and magnetising the perfect soulmate team members, and then what the fuck to do with them once you got them. We got that going on. Every different thing, social media, I mentioned already; tech stuff, live tech support, live Facebook support, I mean, I can just like sit here and let's talk so much different stuff. What I'm trying to impart you is, obviously, that we're giving you the ability to have your questions answered on every different part of online business, but also demonstrating, and showing you, and even working together with you to bring that to life. Not only will you be able to receive support and mentoring for me, when I float down from the clouds which is often enough I do say. But you'll also be receiving it from my team the whole way through, right? This is a membership programme. So the way it works is that there's a monthly fee for that. That fee, that monthly fee will increase tomorrow at midday my time which is 12 hours minus eight minutes from now. So that's going to be 12:00 noon on Thursday, Brisbane time, which I believe will be 10:00 PM on Wednesday evening, New York, Eastern Standard Time, okay? Just so you know. After that, the countdown timer ends, the monthly membership rate increases by $100 to its actual rate. It's currently just kind of down for funding ... founding members, not only is it just kind of down for life right now but when you join in this next 12-hour period before the doors close, you're a pretty damn good scam artists. I haven't had a comment like that in a hundred years. People reply as you will to John. I really have no time or intent for that. but it's quite amazing. Thank you, John. So, I can't believe I just got that comment but she doesn't even happen anymore. It's not in my experience or my reality, but thank you, anyway, for the somewhat backward compliment. So, yes, in 12 hours, that's right, that's what I was saying. The deal for the founding members is not only that you get for life $100 off, the ongoing price that goes up, goes up legitimately. It will never be that price again. That's legitimate. It's not a thing I'm saying, not a scam. Sorry, John. But for your first month, you're going to pay up like 16.66% total or something like that. I don't even know, some very low rate for the first month trial rate, trial rate for the first month so you can test it out, get all this insane stuff, be amongst the badassery. We did the first live training already this evening several hours ago. The replay is in the group. The group is off the hook and it's really quite a lot of shenanigans going on in that group already that I certainly didn't authorise. And then we will close the doors tomorrow. The price goes immediately up. When we reopen the doors again at some point in time, it will not be back at this price because this is the founding members' price and that's not a thing I'm saying. So I want to be really clear on that because if you've been thinking about it ... okay, Linda Doctor, why are you watching my livestream from your phone when you're right over there? What's happening? But it's how it should be. People should be in another room in your own house and then they should still be watching you on a Facebook livestream. Are you going to leave a friendly comment for John? Is that what's happening? I was going to. Good, do it, do it. Okay, it's very friendly comment, there it is. [inaudible 00:27:07] in it. I feel that I've said all that I need to say, but does anyone have any questions? Why would you have any questions? Just sign the fuck up. But if you do have any questions, ask them to me, I won't mind. In fact, I enjoy getting the questions. In fact, I'm fascinated by the questions. I posted something today where a friend had audio'd me and shared some of the reasons why she felt unsure about working with me to do with feeling a little scared or feeling ... I don't know that I might be a meanie. She didn't say that. I'm paraphrasing. But also one of the things that she mentioned was how great it is that I've got the whole team in there, helping out and doing their content and their support and all that stuff because then she doesn't have to figure out where to learn about Facebook ads from, or where to learn about this, that, or the other thing from. It's just like, "Oh, my god, I'm going to learn it from Kat's team and they're going to be able to actually answer my questions and help me out. So it is a really big deal. It is a big deal. It's something that I feel incredibly proud of and excited about. It is officially now underway. We've officially kicked off. When you sign up now, before the doors close in the next 12 hours, minus a little bit of time, minus 12 minutes, 12 hours minus 12 minutes, then you're going to get into the Facebook group. Okay, you might not be led into tomorrow morning, my time, because now it's like after midnight here, my team on online. But you're going to get right in amongst it and we're about to drop a whole lot of badassery on your ass. So, I wanted to come in here, talk about that real quick, make sure you knew what's up. I thought I was going to do a really serious livestream and I thought I was even going to like read out the sales page, too, or something, but I don't know what the fuck I was thinking with that, and I'm pretty sure the peanut butter, and the cheese, and the banana situation just fucked me right up in the best possible way, in the only beautiful way that it could. And so, now, what you need to do is go to www.thekatrinaruthshow.com. ... no, there's no more dots, www.thekatrinaruthshow.com/millionairemastermind. Type that into your browser, into your Safari, into your soul, read the page, let the page do its magic on you. You'll find it quite an amusing story to read, anyway. I always make ... try to make my sales pages entertaining and just unleash from the heart, and then, then, well, what then, obviously, you click the button and I'll see you inside. That's all. Have an amazing rest of the day or evening, wherever you are in the world. Don't forget buy, peace out, press play.

Tonight Tek Greg & Dr. Bill welcomed John Richardson Back to the Show. John Is a Panelist on one of our Networks' Flagship Shows, The Polite Society Podcast, he also blogs at no Lawyers Only Guns and Money. Also Joining us was Yehuda Remer, Author of Safety On and 10 little Liberals, a Photographer, and hopefully one of our Co-Hosts at SHOT Show (2 hrs)

My listeners have been asking great retirement questions, and this podcast episode is focused on giving answers to some of those. I’m excited today to bring on my awesome sidekick, Nichole, to play the part of the listener and ask the questions. One really important question is whether your financial advisor should have access to your 401(k), including your username and password. While this can be convenient for you and for your advisor, it’s not a good idea and is typically not allowed. Listen to today’s episode to find out why. Important differences in spending cycles for single and two-person households Spending habits change for people, depending on age and household size. The changes in spending habits are important for each household to understand, because they affect planning for retirement. In the Hot Topic section of this episode, I explain why the changes are quite different for single and two-person households, and how each needs to consider how this affects their retirement planning. Listen to find out how spending cycles might affect your household and hear answers to other retirement questions, and then follow up with today’s Smart Sprint and get clear about your financial needs in retirement. Should I lower 401(k) contributions to build up my emergency fund and college savings? Bill is 59 ½ and has all his savings in his 401(k). He puts in 9% with an employer match of 3% and has a son going to college. His retirement question is whether he should lower his contribution to 6% to start building his emergency fund. On this episode, I explain several reasons why it would be a good idea to lower his contributions even further to give him more flexibility in how he makes financial decisions, and Nichole and I have a conversation about whether or not parents should cover college expenses from their retirement account and what other options might be available. When thinking about jobs for pre-tirement, be sure to consider the work environment Mark Miller at careerpivot.com sent in a helpful comment about pre-tirement jobs. He suggests that people carefully consider the physical aspects of the job, such as whether their body can handle walking on cement floors all day. There is also a concern for retirees working in retail environments where the schedules are not given with advanced notice, which creates problems for the time-freedom someone might be expecting in pre-tirement. On this episode, you can hear the details about these considerations, and also get answers to other retirement questions. Listener ideas for pre-tirement Quite a few listeners have chimed in with comments or questions about the pre-tirement episode a few weeks ago. On this episode, we’ll take another look at the math from that show, and demonstrate how numbers significantly lower than the ones we used can still work for you. We’ll also hear the ideas that various listeners have for jobs they would like to do in pre-tirement. Listen in to hear their thoughts and also get answers to other listeners’ retirement questions. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN [0:00] Equifax data breach. Action plan - six steps you can take to minimize credit fraud and stay vigilant. [1:02] To get to great, you have to blow up what’s good! [1:44] Intro this episode - listener questions with Nichole Mills. [2:49] Disclaimer - Don’t take financial advice from me on this show. This is tips and education. HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [3:12] Important differences in spending cycles for single and two-person households. PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [7:17] Bill’s question: Should I lower my 401(k) contribution to start building my emergency fund? [9:47] Should parents consider covering college expenses with their retirement account? [11:47] Should my advisor have access to my 401(k)? [14:08] Mark Miller: When thinking about jobs for pre-tirement, be sure to consider the work environment. [16:16] John: Is the math in the pre-tirement episode a little high to be realistic? [18:36] When is your book coming? [19:26] Ideas for pre-tirement jobs from Michael, John, and others. THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [21:51] You can even make a commute happy as long as you are intentional about it. TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [23:33] 7-day goal: Dial in what your financial needs are for retirement RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Free Credit Action Plan for those affected by the Equifax breach Episode #183 - How PRE-tirement could save your retirement Ask a question Work with Roger (now accepting new clients) 3-Video Series: 5 Minute Retirement Makeover Roger’s retirement learning center The Retirement Answer Man Facebook page

BIO The Socialytes are a DJ/Producer duo that is all about setting trends and defying sterotypes while inspiring people that any dream is achievable no matter where they come from or who they are. The Socialytes are composed of Cortez Crawley and John Mullinix. They are some of the top DJ/producer talents emerging from the Mid Atlantic region. Since their conception, Socialytes have held two residencies and played in over 30 venues all across the east coast (including Pacha, Howard Theatre and Ultra Bar). The DJ/Producer duo has provided direct support to notable acts such as Zedd, Lucky Date, Alvaro, Otto Knowles and more. John Is also The label Manager for Warpaint Records. With a style of all their own and support from some of the most notable blogs in the electronic dance music community, Socialytes are not an act to be missed. With their versatility in DJ styles, club sense and production, Socialytes can command the stage and bring any event to life.  TRACKLIST The Socialytes- Champion (Original Mix)  Disclosure- Bang that (Tommie Sunshine & Kandy Remix) Jetfire & Mr. Black Ft. Sonny Wilson- Boombox (Original Mix)  Hardwell & Wiwek- chameleon (Original Mix)  Kronic & Lil Jon ft. Senor Roar-Beast (Original Mix)  Eye Of The SLVR Bazooka (Arthur White Mashup) Bassjackers, MAKJ - Derp (Original Mix) Say My Name - (Brazzabelle Festival Remix) 200K vs. Heads Will Roll (Dzeko & Torres Edit)  2BLASTGUNS & Johnny Labs- Russian Counting (Original Mix) True Spectrum-ID  Chris Lake - Squeak (Original Mix) Riton - Rinse & Repeat (Sammy Porter's Warehouse Bootleg) 90's by Nature (Tujamo Remix) DiegoMolinams - Egyptology (Hyro Edit) The Socialytes-ID Mad World - Olly James & Ryan & Vin Bootleg The Socialytes & True Spectrum & FlyFox- ID    Nucavani- Banga (Original Mix) Bang My Head - GLOWINTHEDARK Remix Madhatter & AMF- ID   Let Me Clear My Scorpion (Henry Fong Mashup)  Jordy Dazz & Bassjackers - Battle (Original Mix) Jeff Nang- ID  Anna Lunoe - BDD (Retrohandz Remix) The Socialytes- balboa (Original Mix) Crazy Train (Yogi Nando Bootleg)  Indiana-Solo Dancing (Chris Lake Remix) Oliver Heldens - Melody (ANGEMI Bootleg) SAG, MountBlaq & HYRO - That Sound (Original Mix)  Goshfather & Jinco- Ole, Ole (Original Mix) SOCIAL http://www.socialytesmusic.com http://www.facebook.com/thesocialytes http://www.soundcloud.com/thesocialytes http://www.twitter.com/socialytes 

Why is an UNMARRIED couple traveling together as in Luke 2:4-5? What do you think of the argument that God speaking of "we" in Genesis is "the royal we"? What does that mean to have "little faith"? You suggested that Osama and Uthman are the same root name, but that doesn't seem to be true. In The Simpsons Reverend Lovejoy says the Bible does not allow us to go to the bathroom. Is there anything even remotely similar in the Bible? The Lemba should not be considered African Jews, at least not when compared to the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) and the Falash Mura/Beta Abraham (Ethiopian Jews who converted within the last few centuries to Christianity). Is there any basis for the popular belief that, based on Psalm 46, Shakespeare helped translate the KJV? Is there any basis to the notion that the 12 disciples were young rabbinic school dropouts? Are there any church traditions related to the age of the disciples? What do you think is "early" for documents related to Jesus? Christians say God 1) loves mankind and cares for our eternal fate, 2) has issued rules we must follow to avoid damnation, and 3) possesses the absolute power to instantly and unambiguously convey these rules to each of us. Yet He gave His good news only to a dozen illiterate fishers and herdsmen in a remote desert tribe. We are then asked to believe He, in his compassionate power, oversaw the oral transmission, error-prone transcription, and fallible translation of contradictory gospels, leading to divergence and schism. What do you think? Is Genesis 27:5-25 a myth about a solar eclipse? The broad details of Abram going to Egypt during a plague, getting close to Pharaoh, being mixed up in some sexual impropriety, and God smiting the Egyptians with plagues (Gen. 12.10-20) is very similar to the descent of Israel to Egypt and of course the Exodus. Is it likely that this story of Abram was in time extrapolated to apply to the whole nation? What do you think of Madame Blavatsky's explanation of the rumor that Jews worshiped an ass-headed idol? King Herod asks the wise men when the star had appeared, so why doesn't Matthew tell us? Whence the notion of there being a trio of wise men? Why is Jesus called a "child" rather than a toddler once the wise men arrive? Could there have been another, older kid there? During the temptation of Jesus is Satan depicted as a villain? Whence the idea that Jesus was 30 years old? Why do none of the Egyptians seem to realize what's going on during the plagues? What are your thoughts about OT prophecies "of Jesus"? Why do Luke and Acts speak of both "the cross" and "the tree"? Just synonyms? Problems with the apologists' claim that "On that day you will surely die" means "On that day your eventual death becomes certain." Might the Nephilim of Genesis 6 have some connection with the Norse Niflheim? What do you make of Schmithals reading of 1 Cor 1:12? Is it possible that the John of Luke 1 and John the Baptist of Luke 3 are not the same Johns and that their conflation was accidental or half-accidental? Is it possible that Luke 1 was a later interpolation intended to establish the credentials of an early gospel writer named John? Is it possible that the Gospel of John was written specifically to capitalize on the reference to a prophet (not Baptist) John in Luke 1? Is it possible that Luke never meant to say that Jesus was born in a stable, since the underlying Greek word is kataluma, also used for the 'upper room' during the Last Supper?

EntreProgrammers Episode 73 “You Get What You Are…”   3:05 All right we’re live!   Derick is out soaking up some sun in Cali.   7:30 Josh is trying to figure out how make time and do something with the family, twice a month. The rest of the mastermind talk about similar issues trying to make time for family.    10:00 Chuck makes a good point that his hobby is his job. So it seems like he is working all the time.   11:45 John says that as an entrepreneur, work and life are the same thing. “Once you take the blue pill you never go back.”   14:40 Chuck says “just being present and being there is enough” It does not take to much time to be with the family and make an impression.    18:00 As entrepreneurs, Chuck and John agree that their work and business schedules allow them to make time for their families.   20:00 John recommends reading “As a Man Thinketh by James Allen,” similar to Think and Grow Rich and law of attraction.  The EntreProgrammers discuss the principles found in books of the 1930s, and some of the great thought leaders of the time.  Also how we have to rediscover these principles to become successful as an entrepreneur, marketer, developer, etc.   29:30  Josh mention that just because you’re doing the hardest thing, doesn’t necessarily means it is the most efficient way to get to where you want to go.    30:00  John is working with Elisa from Craft Your Content, who is publishing John’s blogs. John made some connections to get with Glenn Allsopp from ViperChill.com, to help John to get on the Entrepreneur On Fire podcast with John Lee Dumas.  John Is scheduled to record a podcast on October 27, 2015. John mentions he still has to move his podcast from SignalLeaf soon… John mentions that the Simple Programmers Podcast is getting 4000 downloads per week, at 3 episodes per week.    37:35 John learns to drive on the wrong side of the road, and learns to read a European gas gauge.   42:00 Josh says he may ignore his email because he is getting way to many. John like to use SaneMail, thanks to Chuck. John got 3,121 to his personal account and sent 334 email to 221 people.   50:00 Josh takes on a new client, who sells on Amazon. Josh finds out about the dark world of selling on Amazon. Josh is trying to spend time writing after this week of being unproductive. Josh is trying to figure out what to do with his Ad Words project, but has not gotten any conversions yet.    1:04:00 Josh shares details about his project with marketing for a client who operates a Explainer Video company. Josh talks about creating free reports, getting opt-ins, and conversions.     1:17:10 John got Josh thinking about real estate investing. Josh shares his interest in possibly doing investing in the future and how to go about it.  John suggests real estate over investing in stocks or 401K. John shares what Josh should do if he wants to get started in real estate today.    1:25:00 Josh ask John what he pays they real estate managers. Johns mentions paying 8-10 percent of the rent. John gives some steps of what to do before offers and acquires real estate manager personnel    1:30:00 John says that in the long term a bad investment has slowly turned, and he is glad he had invested. Short term investments unless your lucky, are not going to get you a good return on investment.  Josh is thinking about switching the CPA or tax guy.     1:42:00 Chuck is asking about landing pages for his testing project. John ask what is the main pain that he is fixing for customer.      1:45:50 Josh suggest that Chuck needs to be specific to what his project is about, in order to set up an offer.  John suggests a complete guide to test in Rails. Chuck covers different kinds of testing scenarios that he is thinking about doing. Josh thinks that Chuck may need more time to get this project done.   Thoughts for the Week   John - You get what you are   Josh - Being productive is better than procrastinating    Chuck - Simplify   Resources Mentioned in this episode     Book - “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen   Glen Allsopp http://www.viperchill.com                         

Xiaohua: A shopping mall in Northeast China's Dalian city has rolled out wider and bigger parking spaces for their female customers. The spaces, outlined in hot pink with a sign saying, "Women only," are located by the road and close to the mall's entrances. So do you think that is actually thoughtful or thoughtless to set up female-only parking? Heyang: Oh, I think no matter what it is, it is credibly sexist. John: Thank you for saying that. I am glad you said that. Heyang: It’s reinforcing that’s stereotypical view on women being very bad at driving, and may cause more accidents, which is completely false when we look at a few studies done before. John: It’s not completely false actually. So what we find in the US as well as in Europe, in Germany, what they found is that men are involved in more accidents total, total accidents. But what happens is that number one men are involved more in accidents with vitalities or causalities, so people die or they get injured. However, women are involved in more minor accidents, such as scrapes, bumps, slight dents and things like that. Heyang: So I think there could be an argument for in the parking lot when there seems be a place where is high risk for scrapes and accidently touching another car, that kind of thing. But I think this more or less seems like a marketing stunt, or this shopping mall is trying to send out the message that we are female friendly, but in fact I still think that it is just not sending out the right message. And I don’t think girls need this kind of extra treatment, so to speak, for, you know, getting parking a car correctly. Xiaohua: I think it’s really difficult for me to picking a side here. Because on the hand we do have studies showing that, as John says, also there is another study showing that many more accidents in parking lots caused by female drivers vs by male drivers. John: Why not making all the parking spaces larger? Heyang: We don’t have that much space. John: You build up, right? So we are talking about parking lots. What about parking garages? Come on, I think it is very sexist. Number one, we assume that all women are bad drivers, that they don’t know how to park their car. We have a similar case in Germany, where in one area, of one city, they had male-only parking spaces. It was only two, in one specific parking lot, but they said, they used the same argument that men are better parkers than women, which is not always the case. So I think number one, in general, it is important to recognize the strengths and the weaknesses of both sexes, and accept them for what they are. Look, we are all different. That’s just what it comes done to, and there are differences, there are general differences among the sexes. But I think that in terms of, we still need to treat people with the same opportunities, we still need to give them the same chances, and so you know what these spaces doing is automatically assuming that just because you are a woman that you are gonna hit another person’s car. And they are close to the exits. I mean come on, so what, women are not lazy? They shouldn’t have to move? Xiaohua: They have high heels. Heyang: That could be why. John: Take off your high heels, damn it. Heyang: Also I think what was kind of an argument for them, initially I had, was that I think actually the parking lot can be a very dangerous place because… well, the reason why women always carry pepper spray… John: Is it legal? In China? Heyang: Ok, in China maybe. And then so there are potential dangers in parking lot, but not really from parking. That was why I thought, oh, they want this thing. But in the end, it turned out it’s not. And it’s really just… John: No, I mean if you look at a German study from 2003, only one of one thousand crimes in parking garages was actually sexual in nature and they found that molestation and attacks on women occurred no more often in parking garages than any other places. So you know parking garage is the same as anywhere else. Xiaohua: So it’s a fake, sort of conception that parking lots are more dangerous. John: Right, they might seem more dangerous, because there is less people around. But bottom line, they just happen as much. I mean also you have to remember that a lot of crimes of molestation, of robbery, of theft in the road, these are almost always a crime of convenience. And if we’re talking about the six-floor parking garage, come on, who is gonna just wonder around the six-floor parking garage? Xiaohua: Back to, you know, the larger parking lot question. On the one hand, I am really angry because I think it’s sexist. And also, note that, I’m a very good driver (Heyang: Me too.) and I’m very good at parking. But on the other hand, I have seen numerous examples of horrible female drivers. Heyang: And horrible male drivers too. John: I think the thing is especially in China. I think there is a very, very strong conception that women are bad drivers. Because they are actually driving safer than most of the male drivers, which means that everyone thinks that everyone is an unsafe driver, so they act that way. And there is at least in Beijing a fairly low incidence of accidents, but then if you have someone who is driving safe in the area that anyone else is not driving safe, it actually make things more dangerous because our predictions are all messed up. Xiaohua: So instead of singling out the female, we should actually promote safer driving. John: Exactly, and better parking course for everyone.

WWPOD (The Trouble With John) Mike and James are back to discuss John Cena.... What now for John ? Is he stale ? Heel turn ? Also we discuss just why, maybe, the WWE product is a tiny bit stale ?

Please bear with us as John works the bugs out the podcast, he has only been doing online shows for about 6 year so what do you expect? John invites the wonderful Amy in to discuss all manner of strangeness including why she is wearing her husband’s socks. Do people prefer Unicorns over flying horses? Why did John’s friend Corey leave his wife alone with John? Is it possible that Amy will one day become the lawyer John needs to represent him in a court case wherein this podcast will be used against him? All these questions and more will be answered…maybe.