Podcasts about strangely

40-year-old Diane Augat left her sister's Hudson, Florida home the morning of April 10, 1998, and never returned. Just a few days later, Diane's mother received a disturbing voicemail with Diane screaming for help before the call disconnected. Diane's family became even more terrified when Diane's severed finger was found alongside a Florida highway.  Strangely, more clues potentially related to Diane's case were uncovered over the next year and a half leaving many to wonder.... Is it possible Diane is still alive?     Sources:  2222DFFL - Diane Louise Augat. (n.d.). https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2222dffl.html Prosecutors Podcast. (2024, November 26). 278. The disappearance of Diane Augat -- third finger, left hand [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bla9QMJRM7M Missing Person / NAMUS #MP10727 | NAMUS. (n.d.). NamUs. https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP10727   Join The Dark Oak Discussion: Patreon The Dark Oak Podcast Website Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok Youtube This episode of The Dark Oak was created, researched, written, recorded, hosted, edited, published, and marketed by Cynthia and Stefanie of Just Us Gals Productions with artwork by Justyse Himes and Music by Ryan Creep

Strangely enough, the best way to get more done is to give yourself less time to do it.Was this helpful? If so then you need to check out the 7 Fundamentals Of Self Improvement which features short summaries of the most popular and impactful episodes from the past 7 years.Takes only 5 minutes to read through them today but it'll help you avoid years of making things so much harder than they need to be. Plus, I bet you'll be surprised to learn what they are...

Chock full of concrete and practical tips that ONLY take a couple minutes (at least most of them) and can supercharge the connection in your relationship! Really pragmatic advice and great ideas for people who struggle to know what to do on a daily basis to keep the love alive.Subscribe if you love the DPM show! ⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/drpsychmomshow/subscribe⁠⁠⁠ and you'll get all my awesome bonus episodes! Most recent: "Strangely, Expecting The Worst Can Transform Your Life For The Better!"For my secret Facebook group, the "best money I've ever spent" according to numerous members: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/drpsychmom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠For coaching from DPM, visit ⁠⁠⁠https://www.drpsychmom.com/coaching/⁠⁠⁠For therapy or coaching, contact us at ⁠⁠⁠https://www.bestlifebehavioralhealth.com/⁠

A Host of Troubles Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, “There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb which he bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; rather he took the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David's anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.” Nathan then said to David, “You are the man!  The rich man was quite a host! The hospitality he offered his guest was not real hospitality at all. He faked his compassion for the weary traveler. He was so stingy that he killed another man's beloved pet and passed it off as his own sacrificial gift for the guest's benefit. This would be a prime place for a political commentary on the current state of affairs in the United States' political situation, but the reader is intelligent enough to understand that facet of the parable. Fake hospitality deceives people into thinking the host really cares and has compassion. What the wicked host offers is nothing more than someone else's hard work and property. To review from last week's text in this heavenly hospitality series, a righteous guest seeks a righteous home for hospitality, and he/she has the authority to bless that home with peace: “Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” (Mt 10:9-15)   Yeshua sent out his disciples as his messengers. They were to practice what they'd seen Yeshua do: teach, preach, immerse, comfort, exhort, rebuke, heal, and so on. "Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." (He 13:1-2) These are not random strangers who visit, but "brothers" in the faith. No doubt the rich man had some level of acquaintance with the poor man he robbed. He knew where and when to steal the poor man's lamb, perhaps while the poor man was working or gone to the market. A lamb who was raised like his own daughter would not have been left unguarded very often. The rich man's act was premeditated, cunning, a masquerade of righteousness over a filthy act of cruel robbery. Strangely, Scripture links two concepts in the same neighborhood, called smikhut (placement). Those two concepts are lack of hospitality and fornication/adultery. In David's case, he was the adulterer “rich man” who slaughtered the poor man's lamb to prepare for the guest. This was also in the neighborhood of hospitality to strangers and "angels" in Hebrews Thirteen. Just skip one verse down: “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” (He 13:4) A wicked person may seem to offer hospitality,

Back to @OspreyGames Heirs To Heresy (available Here) Having talked to Pairaud the Templars have a difficult conversation about whether they should help to.. Melt… Avignon. Strangely they don’t seem too sold on the plan… Cult 578 – Heirs To Heresy – The Chalice of Fear – The Question Of Avignon – Session 2 Please […]

Morning Mantra: “I can do hard things.”Strangely, life can get harder when you try to make it easier. Exercising might be hard, but a body that never moves makes life harder. Uncomfortable conversations are hard, but avoiding every conflict is harder. Mastering your craft is hard, but having no skills is harder. Relationships are hard, but loneliness is harder.Work is hard, but not having an income is harder.Eating healthy is hard, but disease from a poor diet is harder.Choose your hard wisely.#BeWillingToDoTheHardStuff #BeHappy #BeHorsey #BeHippie #HorseHippie #MorningMantra #inspirationalQuotes #MorningMotivation #Equestrian #HorseLover #QuotesToInspire #HorseHippieBrand #HorseHippieBoutiqueQuote: Glennon Doyle

This cognitive reframe can be transformational. It is very similar to my episode on the switch in your 50's from old young person to young old person. If you or your partner struggles with any chronic mental or physical health issue, this episode is for you!For the Midlife Women's Group: drpsychmom.com/mwgSubscribe if you love the DPM show! ⁠⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/drpsychmomshow/subscribe⁠⁠ and you'll get all my awesome bonus episodes! Most recent: "Strangely, Expecting The Worst Can Transform Your Life For The Better!"For my secret Facebook group, the "best money I've ever spent" according to numerous members: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/drpsychmom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠For coaching from DPM, visit ⁠⁠https://www.drpsychmom.com/coaching/⁠⁠For therapy or coaching, contact us at ⁠⁠https://www.bestlifebehavioralhealth.com/⁠

The Bishop's Hotwife: Part 4Asking forgiveness instead of permission.Based on a post by Wendy Trilby, in 5 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels."Saturday, Caleb has a soccer tournament all afternoon, and Sunday, oh, I know how much you love Sundays."Yes, I did, and she could see my eyes light up."Tell you what, you come to church with us, we'll take the crew to Sonic for lunch and then home; I'm pretty sure I can be plastic balls deep in your ass by two."She was so matter of fact about this."So, church?"I didn't want to go to church with her and the family, but there was a certain wicked allure to attending services, knowing I'd be feasting on her later in the day."Can't I just wait for you until after church?""If you're there with us, I know I'll be sweating just a little more than usual."She knew my kinks far too well. I couldn't resist her Sunday savor and quickly agreed.This strange conversation was made even stranger as she was now scheduling me to attend church with her, then the exact time she would sodomize me. Salvation and sin in a single afternoon.I didn't have to say yes, she knew I'd be there from the reaction of my cock that began to thicken rapidly. She gently stroked it and looked at it."You're right, seven and a half inches. Would you be a dear and get the coconut oil and that big ass plug from the bedside table?""Now?""If I'm going to shove seven inches up your cute bottom tomorrow, it's only fair you should shove your seven and a half inches up mine today.""You mean; ?"She bit her lip in a sensuous way and rolled over presenting her ass to me.I move quickly to the side table, my breath quickening."You're sure?""I've been waiting for you to knock at my back door for a while. That Gideon thing really put a damper on our progress."We had done just about everything else we could this summer, and now she was offering me her ass. Of course there was a price, my ass in exchange.I and been fingers deep, I had probed with my tongue, pressed my cock on that pink knot of door and had surrendered to the notion it wasn't going to happen, but now she was granting me entry.I found the coconut oil and the large ass plug and returned to her. She met me with a gentle kiss."Here's what I want you to do. Put that in me. All the way"She rolled over so she was face down, then took several pillows and shoved them under her tummy, so she was tilted down with her ass up. Relaxing, she and opened her legs, a trickle of my cum leaked from her pussy to my pillow covers.I approached her gently, smearing the soft coconut oil on her. The room was chilly enough that the oil was semi-solid, the consistency of soft butter. When it contacted her sealed puckernut, her body heat turned it to liquid in an instant. I wiped more on, gently poking into her tight ring with my forefinger. I pushed into the first knuckle and could tell she was receptive to what was to come.I took the large plug and pushed it against her ass. I was tentative, not wanting to bring any pain."You can go harder."With her permission I pushed again, and her anus dilated, opening a small gape, but that was all I needed and fed the pointed end inside to trap her muscles open.Another push and her anus widened with remarkable ease. At its widest this ass plug was thicker than my cock so I was confident she could accommodate me.When her anus was opened to its zenith, the plug was half in and half out, a push could reject it. A pull could accept it.Her muscles took over, a gentle squeeze and a pull the entire ass plug was swallowed the plug sealing shut with gentle fart sound, leaving only the jeweled handle showing."You've been practicing," I whispered."I know you want to cum in my ass," she whispered, "do you have condoms?""Really? We need condoms?""You can cum in my ass inside a condom. But then you have to put the contents into my cunt."I didn't have to ask why. She had made it perfectly clear all summer where my sperm had to end."No, I don't have any.""Go to my house. Bedside table, right side, under a booklet of evening prayers. There are some there.""You want me to go to your house for condoms?""No one is home. Go now while I let this toy relax my muscles. Hurry."I sat up and thought about this."This is nuts.""I want this for you," she whispered. "The backdoor is open."I assumed she meant the backdoor to her house, but either way, I jumped up, threw on some sweats, and hurried out of my house to the bushes separating our two homes.I looked around; no one was in sight, so I dashed for the back door. It was open. Inside, I hurried up the stairs, searching for the master bedroom.Once I arrived, I approached the bed, opened the bedside table, and saw a metal liquor flask.I then realized I was on the wrong side of the bed, so I jumped over to the right side, opened the drawer, shuffled through some religious materials, and found several condoms. I took one, shut the drawer, then opened it again and took two more. Why settle for one and done?I gazed at the enormous bed and envisioned Mandy in it with The Bishop. That diminished some of the excitement.But then I noticed her clothes hamper and lifted the top. Several pairs of her LDS garments were calling to me. I grabbed a pair and inhaled that scent that drove me wild. In seconds, I was back on track. I held on to the panties, stuffing them into my pocket to enjoy later, and I sprinted back to my house.Stashing the garment in a kitchen drawer, I wondered who I had become. Two months ago, if you had told me I'd be having an affair with the woman next door and now be stealing her used underwear, I would have laughed. But that was me now; and I didn't mind at all.I walked into the bedroom holding the condoms like a trophy.Mandy was on the bed, on her knees, facing away from me. I think she had been in this position since I left, enjoying the expansion in her rectum.Her hands were on her thighs just below where her ass cheeks met her legs. She was holding her ass cheeks open wide.The ass plug handle was glaring at me.I just stood there as she began to push. Her ass flexed and the ass plug pushed out then quickly retreated back in. She did it again, and again. Each time the plug came further out, widening her tight brown ring with each push."Can you push it out, or should I pull it?""What do you want me to do?""Push it out," I said. Goddam I wanted to see this.She bent forward and placed her hands on her thighs to catch her breath. She resumed pushing, letting out a small moan with each push. From this view I could see her long pussy lips hanging below her, thick from her lust.She was both putting on a show to please me and training her body to obey her commands, rather than nature's instructions. So, I practiced the virtue of patience.She gripped her cheeks and gave a strong push, the egg-shaped toy crowned. She gave another push, and it popped out, followed by a small rush of fouled coconut oil that had been trapped inside. There was a little noise, half air, half wetness.Then her asshole closed and quickly opened again. She flexed her core, and it remained open like a small mouth, fixed to whistle, ready for me to enter.She had a penchant for doggy style, something I realize other women liked as well. I always felt self-conscious in this position, because it felt so dominant, and I wasn't sure if that was my sexual personality; until this summer when Mandy assured me, she was mine to do with as I wanted. I grew to love the control doggy style gave me over her.Strangely, she had trained me to be more assertive, to encourage and bring out any dominant traits I had kept buried. So, as she presented her ass to me, I knew it was mine to enjoy; so long as I didn't cum in there.I quickly unwrapped the condom and rolled it on my cock. It was pre-lubed, but so was her ass as clear drips of coconut oil dribble down her perineum to her cunt.I chose to stand, bending my knees to bring my cock to the waiting hole. Her sphincter looked like a large round bullseye against the paleness of her ass. I wasn't sure how long she could keep it open, so I grasped my cock and pushed the thick cap past the open barrier.She groaned with pleasure as I expanded her slightly upon entry. Putting a hand back to my thigh, she slowed me."Give it a second, baby, just a second."I paused and could feel her tight muscles on my cock tip, slowly that grip faded and pushed forward."Easy now,""Oh my God, you're big. You're;"I wasn't sure if she was just trying to stroke my ego or making a declarative statement. I put one hand on her back, the other on my leg and continued inward.She let out a high-pitched howl, three times in a row, something I had never heard before.I gave a hard push."Oh my God, not all the way in yet, please." She begged.I hesitated. Then decided I was in charge and pushed inward. She reacted with a long groan. I gave several pushes then withdrew to admire her open ass.Holding my latex covered cock in hand I admired the view of her waiting for my next plunge. Her unused pussy lips were visible below, confused by the blood swelling them, but lack of attention.I thrust deep in her ass this time driving myself to the hilt. While the ass plug might have been wider than me at its midpoint it wasn't longer, and my cock entered the deeper areas of her rectum unexplored by fingers or toys.Her internal muscles went to work on my cock enclosing around it and doing what nature created them to do, ripple and pulse to expel anything in the area. So, while her rectum tried to push me out, I overpowered it will be pushing inward, and the battle of pleasure began for the two of us.I let out a low groan."You like that filthy hole, don't you?" she said.I certainly did, and I also enjoyed hearing her speak in this manner. Not that she didn't speak during sex; she was always vocal. But she didn't say things like that."All I could think of in church was that thick cock of yours in my ass," she continued. "I soaked my panties thinking of you."Wow, she was going places, but I didn't reply instead began to push and pull my cock creating a frenzy of pleasure. I responded with a groan, but she wanted more.I tried my hand at it."All I could think about in that hot church was to bend you over the pew and fuck your ass in front of the entire congregation."I pressed harder to emphasize my claim on her, and she responded with a long, submissive moan. I was confident the mental imagery I painted in her mind was compelling."I would make The Bishop watch me defile you."She liked that and replied."He would be so angry, knowing I let you in my ass."As obscene as that image was, it emboldened me to fuck her ass harder as I fantasized about The Bishop being forced to watch me take his wife in that sacred sanctuary.I could have finished but the position was causing my legs to cramp.I withdrew, my cock to with a loud fart sound from the air I had pushed into her colon. She was caught her off-guard, but I gave her no time to react and then dragged her body back, so her feet were off the bed, torso on the bed, and her ass was presented to me at the perfect height to defile it.A thick glob of coconut oil mixed with her anal moistures rolled down her inner thigh as I was quick to reenter her, only now I was pushing hard and no longer exploring her ass, I was fucking it mercilessly.But this position wasn't perfect either. I pulled out to another rush of air and noise."It feels numb; It's so good. Keep going," she begged.I moved her forward, this time flat on the bed, her legs spread open. I crawled on the bed on my knees, her ass under my balls. Guiding my cock back to the hole I desired. Perfect. This was the way to fuck a woman's ass.

Dr. Rachel Singer is awesome. She's a psychologist in my area and is a wonderful, kind, and intelligent therapist for anxious kids (and adults, and parents). This is an awesome conversation that really I did not keep on track even slightly because we had so much fun discussing our own experiences with anxiety in childhood and all about the SPACE program for kids. Parent resources: https://www.spacetreatment.net/Breaking Free of Child Anxiety & OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents Learn about Dr. Singer:https://www.resnikpsychology.com/about/therapy-team/dr-rachel-singer/Follow her Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@strategiesforself-care7170Subscribe if you love the DPM show! https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/drpsychmomshow/subscribe⁠⁠ and you'll get all my awesome bonus episodes! Most recent: "Strangely, Expecting The Worst Can Transform Your Life For The Better!"For my secret Facebook group, the "best money I've ever spent" according to numerous members: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/drpsychmom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠For coaching from DPM, visit ⁠⁠https://www.drpsychmom.com/coaching/⁠⁠For therapy or coaching, contact us at ⁠⁠https://www.bestlifebehavioralhealth.com/⁠

On this episode, my guest is Stephen Jenkinson, culture activist and ceremonialist advocating a handmade life and eloquence. He is an author, a storyteller, a musician, sculptor and off-grid organic farmer. Stephen is the founder/ principal instructor of the Orphan Wisdom School in Canada, co-founded with his wife Nathalie Roy in 2010. Also a sought-after workshop leader, articulating matters of the heart, human suffering, confusions through ceremony.He is the author of several influential books, including Money and the Soul's Desires, Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble (2018), A Generation's Worth: Spirit Work While the Crisis Reigns (2021), and Reckoning (2022), co-written with Kimberly Ann Johnson. His most recent book, Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart's Work, was released in August 2025. He is also involved in the musical project Nights of Grief & Mystery with singer-songwriter Gregory Hoskins, which has toured across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.Show Notes:* The Bone House of the Orphan Wisdom Enterprise* Matrimony: Ritual, Culture and the Heart's Work* The Wedding Industry* Romantic Sameness and Psychic Withering* The Two Tribes* The Roots of Hospitality* The Pompous Ending of Hospitality* Debt, And the Estrangement of the Stranger* More Than Human Hospitality* The Alchemy of the Orphan Wisdom SchoolHomework:Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart's Work | PurchaseOrphan WisdomThe Scriptorium: Echoes of an Orphan WisdomTranscription:Chris: This is an interview that I've been wondering about for a long time in part, because Stephen was the first person I ever interviewed for the End of Tourism Podcast. In Oaxaca, Mexico, where I live Stephen and Natalie were visiting and were incredibly, incredibly generous. Stephen, in offering his voice as a way to raise up my questions to a level that deserve to be contended with.We spoke for about two and a half hours, if I remember correctly. And there was a lot in what you spoke to towards the second half of the interview that I think we're the first kind of iterations of the Matrimony book.We spoke a little bit about the stranger and trade, and it was kind of startling as someone trying to offer their first interview and suddenly hearing something [00:01:00] that I'd never heard before from Stephen. Right. And so it was quite impressive. And I'm grateful to be here now with y'all and to get to wonder about this a little more deeply with you Stephen.Stephen: Mm-hmm. Hmm.Chris: This is also a special occasion for the fact that for the first time in the history of the podcast, we have a live audience among us today. Strange doings. Some scholars and some stewards and caretakers of the Orphan Wisdom enterprise. So, thank you all as well for coming tonight and being willing to listen and put your ears to this.And so to begin, Stephen, I'm wondering if you'd be willing to let those who will be listening to this recording later on know where we're gathered in tonight?Stephen: Well, we're in... what's the name of this township?Nathalie: North Algona.Stephen: North Algona township on the borders, an eastern gate [00:02:00] of Algonquin Park. Strangely named place, given the fact that they were the first casualties of the park being established. And we're in a place that never should have been cleared - my farm. It should never have been cleared of the talls, the white pines that were here, but the admiralty was in need back in the day. And that's what happened there. And we're in a place that the Irish immigrants who came here after the famine called "Tramore," which more or less means "good-frigging luck farming."It doesn't technically mean that, but it absolutely means that. It actually means "sandy shore," which about covers the joint, and it's the only thing that covers the joint - would be sand. You have to import clay. Now, that's a joke in many farming places in the world, but if we wanted any clay, we'd have to bring it in and pay for the privilege.And the farm has been in [00:03:00] my, my responsibility for about 25 years now, pretty close to that. And the sheep, or those of them left because the coyotes have been around for the first time in their casualty-making way... They're just out here, I'm facing the field where they're milling around.And it's the very, very beginnings of the long cooling into cold, into frigid, which is our lot in this northern part of the hemisphere, even though it's still August, but it's clear that things have changed. And then, we're on a top of a little hill, which was the first place that I think that we may have convened a School here.It was a tipi, which is really worked very well considering we didn't live here, so we could put it up and put it down in the same weekend. [00:04:00] And right on this very hill, we were, in the early days, and we've replaced that tipi with another kind of wooden structure. A lot more wood in this one.This has been known as "The Teaching Hall" or "The Great Hall," or "The Hall" or "The Money Pit, as it was known for a little while, but it actually worked out pretty well. And it was I mean, people who've come from Scandinavia are knocked out by the kind of old-style, old-world visitation that the place seems to be to them.And I'd never really been before I had the idea what this should look like, but I just went from a kind of ancestral memory that was knocking about, which is a little different than your preferences, you know. You have different kinds of preferences you pass through stylistically through your life, but the ones that lay claim to you are the ones that are not interested in your [00:05:00] preferences. They're interested in your kind of inheritance and your lineage.So I'm more or less from the northern climes of Northern Europe, and so the place looks that way and I was lucky enough to still have my carving tools from the old days. And I've carved most of the beams and most of the posts that keep the place upright with a sort of sequence of beasts and dragons and ne'er-do-wells and very, very few humans, I think two, maybe, in the whole joint. Something like that. And then, mostly what festoons a deeply running human life is depicted here. And there's all kinds of stories, which I've never really sat down and spoken to at great length with anybody, but they're here.And I do deeply favour the idea that one day [00:06:00] somebody will stumble into this field, and I suppose, upon the remains of where we sit right now, and wonder "What the hell got into somebody?" That they made this mountain of timber moldering away, and that for a while what must have been, and when they finally find the footprint of, you know, its original dimensions and sort of do the wild math and what must have been going on in this sandy field, a million miles in away from its home.And wherever I am at that time, I'll be wondering the same thing.Audience: Hmm.Stephen: "What went on there?" Even though I was here for almost all of it. So, this was the home of the Orphan Wisdom School for more than a decade and still is the home of the Orphan Wisdom School, even if it's in advance, or in retreat [00:07:00] or in its doldrums. We'll see.And many things besides, we've had weddings in here, which is wherein I discovered "old-order matrimony," as I've come to call it, was having its way with me in the same way that the design of the place did. And it's also a grainery for our storage of corn. Keep it up off the ground and out of the hands of the varmints, you know, for a while.Well that's the beginning.Chris: Hmm. Hmm. Thank you Stephen.Stephen: Mm-hmm.Chris: You were mentioning the tipi where the school began. I remember sleeping in there the first time I came here. Never would I have thought for a million years that I'd be sitting here with you.Stephen: It's wild, isn't it?Chris: 12 years later.?: Yeah.Chris: And so next, I'd like to do my best in part over the course of the next perhaps hour or two to congratulate you on the release of [00:08:00] your new book, Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart's Work.Stephen: Thank you.Chris: Mm-hmm. I'm grateful to say like many others that I've received a copy and have lent my eyes to your good words, and what is really an incredible achievement.For those who haven't had a chance to lay their eyes on it just yet, I'm wondering if you could let us in on why you wrote a book about matrimony in our time and where it stands a week out from its publication.Stephen: Well, maybe the answer begins with the question, "why did you write a book, having done so before?" And you would imagine that the stuff that goes into writing a book, you'd think that the author has hopes for some kind of redemptive, redeeming outcome, some kind of superlative that drops out the back end of the enterprise.And you know, this is [00:09:00] the seventh I've written. And I would have to say that's not really how it goes, and you don't really know what becomes of what you've written, even with the kind people who do respond, and the odd non-monetary prize that comes your way, which Die Wise gamed that.But I suppose, I wrote, at all partly to see what was there. You know, I had done these weddings and I was a little bit loathe to let go, to let the weddings turn entirely into something historical, something that was past, even though I probably sensed pretty clearly that I was at the end of my willingness to subject myself to the slings and arrows that came along with the enterprise, but it's a sweet sorrow, or there's a [00:10:00] wonder that goes along with the tangle of it all. And so, I wrote to find out what happened, as strange as that might sound to you. You can say, "well, you were there, you kind of knew what happened." But yes, I was witness to the thing, but there's the act of writing a book gives you the opportunity to sort of wonder in three-dimensions and well, the other thing I should say is I was naive and figured that the outfit who had published the, more or less prior two books to this one, would kind of inevitably be drawn to the fact that same guy. Basically, same voice, new articulation. And I was dumbfounded to find out that they weren't. And so, it's sort of smarted, you know?And I think what I did was I just set the whole [00:11:00] enterprise aside, partly to contend with the the depths of the disappointment in that regard, and also not wanting to get into the terrible fray of having to parse or paraphrase the book in some kind of elevator pitch-style to see if anybody else wanted to look at it. You know, such as my touchy sense of nobility sometimes, you know, that I just rather not be involved in the snarl of the marketplace any longer.So, I withdrew and I just set it aside but it wasn't that content to be set, set aside. And you know, to the book's credit, it bothered me every once in a while. It wasn't a book at the point where I was actually trying to engineer it, you know, and, and give it some kind of structure. I had piles of paper on the floor representing the allegation of chapters, trying to figure out what the relationship was [00:12:00] between any of these things.What conceivably should come before what. What the names of any of these things might be. Did they have an identity? Was I just imposing it? And all of that stuff I was going through at the same time as I was contending with a kind of reversal in fortune, personally. And so in part, it was a bit of a life raft to give me something to work on that I wouldn't have to research or dig around in the backyard for it and give me some sort of self-administered occupation for a while.Finally, I think there's a parallel with the Die Wise book, in that when it came to Die Wise, I came up with what I came up with largely because, in their absolute darkest, most unpromising hours, an awful lot of dying people, all of whom are dead now, [00:13:00] let me in on some sort of breach in the, the house of their lives.And I did feel that I had some obligation to them long-term, and that part of that obligation turned into writing Die Wise and touring and talking about that stuff for years and years, and making a real fuss as if I'd met them all, as if what happened is really true. Not just factually accurate, but deeply, abidingly, mandatorily true.So, although it may be the situation doesn't sound as extreme, but the truth is, when a number of younger - than me - people came to me and asked me to do their weddings, I, over the kind of medium-term thereafter, felt a not dissimilar obligation that the events that ensued from all of that not [00:14:00] be entrusted entirely to those relatively few people who attended. You know, you can call them "an audience," although I hope I changed that. Or you could call them "witnesses," which I hope I made them that.And see to it that there could be, not the authorized or official version of what happened, but to the view from here, so to speak, which is, as I sit where I am in the hall right now, I can look at the spot where I conducted much of this when I wasn't sacheting up and down the middle aisle where the trestle tables now are.And I wanted to give a kind of concerted voice to that enterprise. And I say "concerted voice" to give you a feel for the fact that I don't think this is a really an artifact. It's not a record. It's a exhortation that employs the things that happened to suggest that even though it is the way it is [00:15:00] ritually, impoverished as it is in our time and place, it has been otherwise within recoverable time and history. It has.And if that's true, and it is, then it seems to me at least is true that it could be otherwise again. And so, I made a fuss and I made a case based on that conviction.There's probably other reasons I can't think of right now. Oh, being not 25 anymore, and not having that many more books in me, the kind of wear and tear on your psyche of imposing order on the ramble, which is your recollection, which has only so many visitations available in it. Right? You can only do that so many times, I think. And I'm not a born writing person, you know, I come to it maniacally when I [00:16:00] do, and then when it's done, I don't linger over it so much.So then, when it's time to talk about it, I actually have to have a look, because the act of writing it is not the act of reading it. The act of writing is a huge delivery and deliverance at the same time. It's a huge gestation. And you can't do that to yourself, you know, over and over again, but you can take some chances, and look the thing in the eye. So, and I think some people who are there, they're kind of well-intended amongst them, will recognize themselves in the details of the book, beyond "this is what happened and so on." You know, they'll recognize themselves in the advocacy that's there, and the exhortations that are there, and the [00:17:00] case-making that I made and, and probably the praying because there's a good degree of prayerfulness in there, too.That's why.Chris: Thank you. bless this new one in the world. And what's the sense for you?Stephen: Oh, yes.Chris: It being a one-week old newborn. How's that landing in your days?Stephen: Well, it's still damp, you know. It's still squeaky, squeaky and damp. It's walking around like a newborn primate, you know, kind of swaying in the breeze and listening to port or to starboard according to whatever's going on.I don't know that it's so very self-conscious in the best sense of that term, yet. Even though I recorded the audio version, I don't think [00:18:00] it's my voice is found every nook and cranny at this point, yet. So, it's kind of new. It's not "news," but it is new to me, you know, and it's very early in terms of anybody responding to it.I mean, nobody around me has really taken me aside and say, "look, now I want to tell you about this book you wrote." It hasn't happened, and we'll see if it does, but I've done a few events on the other side of the ocean and hear so far, very few, maybe handful of interviews. And those are wonderful opportunities to hear something of what you came up with mismanaged by others, you know, misapprehend, you could say by others.No problem. I mean, it's absolutely no problem. And if you don't want that to happen, don't talk, don't write anything down. So, I don't mind a bit, you know, and the chances are very good that it'll turn into things I didn't have in mind [00:19:00] as people take it up, and regard their own weddings and marriages and plans and schemes and fears and, you know, family mishigas and all the rest of it through this particular lens, you know. They may pick up a pen or a computer (it's an odd expression, "pick up a computer"), and be in touch with me and let me know. "Yeah, that was, we tried it" or whatever they're going to do, because, I mean, maybe Die Wise provided a bit of an inkling of how one might be able to proceed otherwise in their dying time or in their families or their loved ones dying time.This is the book that most readily lends itself to people translating into something they could actually do, without a huge kind of psychic revolution or revolt stirring in them, at least not initially. This is as close as I come, probably, to writing a sequence of things [00:20:00] that could be considered "add-ons" to what people are already thinking about, that I don't force everybody else outta the house in order to make room for the ideas that are in the book. That may happen, anyway, but it wasn't really the intent. The intent was to say, you know, we are in those days when we're insanely preoccupied with the notion of a special event. We are on the receiving end of a considerable number of shards showing up without any notion really about what these shards remember or are memories of. And that's the principle contention I think that runs down the spine of the book, is that when we undertake matrimony, however indelicately, however by rote, you know, however mindlessly we may do it, [00:21:00] inadvertently, we call upon those shards nonetheless.And they're pretty unspectacular if you don't think about them very deeply, like the rice or confetti, like the aisle, like the procession up the aisle, like the giving away of someone, like the seating arrangement, like the spectacle seating arrangement rather than the ritual seating arrangement.And I mean, there's a fistful of them. And they're around and scholars aside maybe, nobody knows why they do them. Everybody just knows, "this is what a wedding is," but nobody knows why. And because nobody knows why, nobody really seems to know what a wedding is for, although they do proceed like they would know a wedding if they saw one. So, I make this a question to be really wondered about, and the shards are a way in. They're the kind of [00:22:00] breadcrumb trail through the forest. They're the little bits of broken something, which if you begin to handle just three or four of them, and kind of fit them together, and find something of the original shape and inflection of the original vessel, kind of enunciates, begins to murmur in your hands, and from it you can begin to infer some three-dimensionality to the original shape. And from the sense of the shape, you get a set sense of contour, and from the sense of contour, you get a sense of scale or size. And from that you get a sense of purpose, or function, or design. And from that you get a sense of some kind of serious magisterial insight into some of the fundament of human being that was manifest in the "old-order matrimony," [00:23:00] as I came to call it.So, who wouldn't wanna read that book?Chris: Mm-hmm.Thank you. Mm-hmm. Thank you, Stephen. Yeah. It reminds me, just before coming up here, maybe two weeks ago, I was in attending a wedding. And there was a host or mc, and initially just given what I was hearing over the microphone, it was hard to tell if he was hired or family or friends. And it turned out he was, in fact, a friend of the groom. And throughout the night he proceeded to take up that role as a kind of comedian.Audience: Mm-hmm.Chris: This was the idea, I guess. Mm-hmm. And he was buzzing and mumbling and swearing into the microphone, [00:24:00] and then finally minimizing the only remnant of traditional culture that showed up in the wedding. And his thing was, okay, so when can we get to the part where it's boom, boom, boom, right. And shot, shot, shot, whatever.Stephen: Right.Chris: There was so much that came up in my memories in part because I worked about a decade in Toronto in the wedding industry.Mm-hmm. Hospitality industry. Maybe a contradiction in terms, there. And there was one moment that really kind of summed it up. I kept coming back to this reading the book because it was everything that you wrote seemed to not only antithetical to this moment, but also an antidote.Anyways, it was in North Toronto and the [00:25:00] owner of the venue - it was a kind of movie theatre turned event venue - and there was a couple who was eventually going to get married there. They came in to do their tasting menu to see what they wanted to put on the menu for the dinner, for their wedding.And the owner was kind of this mafioso type. And he comes in and he sees them and he walks over and he says, "so, you're gonna get married at my wedding factory."Audience: Mm-hmm.Chris: In all sincerity.Stephen: Mm-hmm.Chris: Right.Without skipping a beat. Could you imagine?Stephen: Yeah.I could. I sure could.Chris: Yeah. Yeah.Stephen: I mean, don't forget, if these people weren't doing what the people wanted, they'd be outta business.Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: No, that's the thing. This is aiding and abetting. This is sleeping with the enemy, stylistically-speaking. [00:26:00] The fact that people "settle" (that's the term I would use for it), settle for this, the idea being that this somehow constitutes the most honest and authentic through line available to us is just jaw dropping. When you consider what allegedly this thing is supposed to be for. I mean, maybe we'll get into this, but I'll just leave this as a question for now. What is that moment allegedly doing?Not, what are the people in it allegedly doing? The moment itself, what is it? How is it different from us sitting here now talking about it? And how is it different from the gory frigging jet-fuelled aftermath of excess. And how's it different from the cursing alleged master of ceremonies? How can you [00:27:00] tell none of those things belong to this thing?And why do you have such a hard time imagining what doesAudience: Hmm mmChris: Well that leads me to my next question.Stephen: Ah, you're welcome.Chris: So, I've pulled a number of quotes from the book to read from over the course of the interview. And this one for anyone who's listening is on page 150. And you write Stephen,"Spiritually-speaking, most of the weddings in our corner of the world are endogamous affairs, inward-looking. What is, to me, most unnerving is that they can be spiritually-incestuous. The withering of psychic difference between people is the program of globalization. It is in the architecture of most things partaking of the internet, and it is in the homogeneity of our matrimony. [00:28:00] It is this very incestuous that matrimony was once crafted and entered into to avoid and subvert. Now, it grinds upon our differences until they are details.And so, this paragraph reminded me of a time in my youth when I seemed to be meeting couples who very eerily looked like each other. No blood or extended kin relation whatsoever, and yet they had very similar faces. And so as I get older, this kind of face fidelity aside, I continue to notice that people looking for companionship tend to base their search on similitude, on shared interests, customs, experiences, shared anything and everything. This, specifically, in opposition to those on the other side of the aisle or spectrum, to difference or divergence. And so, opposites don't attract anymore. I'm curious what you think this psychic [00:29:00] withering does to an achieve understanding of matrimony.Stephen: Well, I mean, let's wonder what it does to us, generally, first before we get to matrimony, let's say. It demonizes. Maybe that's too strong, but it certainly reconstitutes difference as some kind of affliction, some kind of not quite good enough, some kind of something that has to be overcome or overwhelmed on the road to, to what? On the road to sameness? So, if that's the goal, then are all of the differences between us, aberrations of some kind, if that's the goal? If that's the goal, are all the [00:30:00] differences between us, not God-given, but humanly misconstrued or worse? Humanly wrought? Do the differences between us conceivably then belong at all? Or is the principle object of the entire endeavor to marry yourself, trying to put up with the vague differences that the other person represents to you?I mean, I not very jokingly said years ago, that I coined a phrase that went something like "the compromise of infinity, which is other people." What does that mean? "The compromise of infinity, which is other people." Not to mention it's a pretty nice T-shirt. But what I meant by the [00:31:00] phrase is this: when you demonize difference in this fashion or when you go the other direction and lionize sameness, then one of the things that happens is that compromise becomes demonized, too. Compromise, by definition, is something you never should have done, right? Compromise is how much you surrender of yourself in order to get by. That's what all these things become. And before you know it, you're just beaten about the head and shoulders about "codependence" and you know, not being "true to yourself" as if being true to yourself is some kind of magic.I mean, the notion that "yourself is the best part of you" is just hilarious. I mean, when you think about it, like who's running amuck if yourself is what you're supposed to be? I ask you. Like, who's [00:32:00] doing the harm? Who's going mental if the self is such a good idea? So, of course, I'm maintaining here that I'm not persuaded that there is such a thing.I think it's a momentary lapse in judgment to have a self and to stick to it. That's the point I'm really making to kind of reify it until it turns ossified and dusty and bizarrely adamant like that estranged relative that lives in the basement of your house. Bizarrely, foreignly adamant, right? Like the house guest who just won't f**k off kind of thing.Okay, so "to thine own self be true," is it? Well, try being true to somebody else's self for ten minutes. Try that. [00:33:00] That's good at exercise for matrimony - being true to somebody else's self. You'll discover that their selves are not made in heaven, either. Either. I underscore it - either. I've completely lost track of the question you asked me.Chris: What are the consequences of the sameness on this anti-cultural sameness, and the program of it for an achieved understanding of matrimony.Stephen: Thank you. Well, I will fess up right now. I do so in the book. That's a terrible phrase. I swear I'd never say such a thing. "In my book... I say the following," but in this case, it's true. I did say this. I realized during the writing of it that I had made a tremendous tactical error in the convening of the event as I did it over the years, [00:34:00] and this is what it came to.I was very persuaded at the time of the story that appears in the chapter called "Salt and Indigo" in the book. I was very, very persuaded. I mean, listen, I made up the story (for what it's worth), okay, but I didn't make it up out of nothing. I made it up out of a kind of tribal memory that wouldn't quite let go.And in it, I was basically saying, here's these two tribes known principally for what they trade in and what they love most emphatically. They turn out to be the same thing. And I describe a circumstance in which they exchange things in a trade scenario, not a commerce scenario. And I'm using the chapter basically to make the case that matrimony's architecture derives in large measure from the sacraments of trade as manifest in that story. [00:35:00] Okay. And this is gonna sound obvious, but the fundamental requirement of the whole conceit that I came up with is that there are two tribes. Well, I thought to myself, "of course, there's always two tribes" at the time. And the two tribe-ness is reflected in when you come to the wedding site, you're typically asked (I hope you're still asked) " Are you family or friend of the groom or friend of the bride?" And you're seated "accordingly," right? That's the nominal, vestigial shard of this old tribal affiliation, that people came from over the rise, basically unknown to each other, to arrive at the kind of no man's land of matrimony, and proceeded accordingly. So, I put these things into motion in this very room and I sat people accordingly facing each other, not facing the alleged front of the room. [00:36:00] And of course, man, nobody knew where to look, because you raised your eyes and s**t. There's just humans across from you, just scads of them who you don't freaking know. And there's something about doing that to North Americas that just throws them. So, they're just looking at each other and then looking away, and looking at each other and looking away, and wondering what they're doing here and what it's for. And I'm going back and forth for three hours, orienting them as to what is is coming.Okay, so what's the miscalculation that I make? The miscalculation I made was assuming that by virtue of the seating arrangement, by virtue of me reminding them of the salt and indigo times, by virtue of the fact that they had a kind of allegiance of some sort or another to the people who are, for the moment, betrothed, that those distinctions and those affiliations together would congeal them, and constitute a [00:37:00] kind of tribal affiliation that they would intuitively be drawn towards as you would be drawn to heat on a cold winter's night.Only to discover, as I put the thing into motion that I was completely wrong about everything I just told you about. The nature of my error was this, virtually all of those people on one side of the room were fundamentally of the same tribe as the people on the other side of the room, apropos of your question, you see. They were card carrying members of the gray dominant culture of North America. Wow. The bleached, kind of amorphous, kind of rootless, ancestor-free... even regardless of whether their people came over in the last generation from the alleged old country. It doesn't really claim them.[00:38:00]There were two tribes, but I was wrong about who they were. That was one tribe. Virtually everybody sitting in the room was one tribe.So, who's the other tribe? Answer is: me and the four or five people who were in on the structural delivery of this endeavour with me. We were the other tribe.We didn't stand a chance, you see?And I didn't pick up on that, and I didn't cast it accordingly and employ that, instead. I employed the conceit that I insisted was manifest and mobilized in the thing, instead of the manifest dilemma, which is that everybody who came knew what a wedding was, and me and four or five other people were yet to know if this could be one. That was the tribal difference, if you [00:39:00] will.So, it was kind of invisible, wasn't it? Even to me at the time. Or, I say, maybe especially to me at the time. And so, things often went the way they went, which was for however much fascination and willingness to consider that there might have been in the room, there was quite a bit more either flat affect and kind of lack of real fascination, or curiosity, or sometimes downright hostility and pushback. Yeah.So, all of that comes from the fact that I didn't credit as thoroughly as I should have done, the persistence in Anglo-North America of a kind of generic sameness that turned out to be what most people came here ancestrally to become. "Starting again" is recipe for culture [00:40:00] loss of a catastrophic order. The fantasy of starting again. Right?And we've talked about that in your podcast, and you and I have talked about it privately, apropos of your own family and everybody's sitting in this room knows what I'm talking about. And when does this show up? Does it show up, oh, when you're walking down the street? Does it show up when you're on the mountaintop? Does it show up in your peak experiences? And the answer is "maybe." It probably shows up most emphatically in those times when you have a feeling that something special is supposed to be so, and all you can get from the "supposed to" is the allegation of specialness.Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: And then, you look around in the context of matrimony and you see a kind of febral, kind of strained, the famous bridezilla stuff, all of that stuff. [00:41:00] You saw it in the hospitality industry, no doubt. You know, the kind of mania for perfection, as if perfection constitutes culture. Right? With every detail checked off in the checkbox, that's culture. You know, as if everything goes off without a hitch and there's no guffaws. And in fact, anybody could reasonably make the case, "Where do you think culture appears when the script finally goes f*****g sideways?" That's when. And when you find out what you're capable of, ceremonially.And generally speaking, I think most people discovered that their ceremonial illiteracy bordered on the bottomless.That's when you find out. Hmm.Chris: Wow.Stephen: Yeah. And that's why people, you know, in speech time, they reach in there and get that piece of paper, and just look at it. Mm-hmm. They don't even look up, terrified that they're gonna go off script for a minute as [00:42:00] if the Gods of Matrimony are a scripted proposition.Chris: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that with us, that degree of deep reflection and humility that I'm sure comes with it.Stephen: Mea Culpa, baby. Yeah, I was, I got that one totally wrong. Mm-hmm. And I didn't know it at the time. Meanwhile, like, how much can you transgress and have the consequences of doing so like spill out across the floor like a broken thermometer's mercury and not wise up.But of course, I was as driven as anybody. I was as driven to see if I could come through with what I promised to do the year before. And keeping your promise can make you into a maniac.Audience: Hmm hmm.Chris: But I imagine that, you [00:43:00] know, you wouldn't have been able to see that even years later if you didn't say yes in the first place.Stephen: Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I wouldn't have been able to make the errors.Chris: Right.Stephen: Right. Yeah. I mean, as errors go, this is not a mortal sin. Right, right. And you could chalk it up to being a legitimate miscalculation. Well, so? All I'm saying is, it turns out I was there too, and it turns out, even though I was allegedly the circus master of the enterprise, I wasn't free and clear of the things we were all contending with, the kind of mortality and sort of cultural ricketiness that were all heirs to. That's how I translated it, as it turns out.So, PS there was a moment, [00:44:00] which I don't remember which setting it was now, but there was a moment when the "maybe we'll see if she becomes a bride" bride's mother slid up to me during the course of the proceedings, and in a kind of stage whisper more or less hissed me as follows."Is this a real wedding?"I mean, that's not a question. Not in that setting, obviously not. That is an accusation. Right. And a withering one at that. And there was a tremendous amount of throw-down involved.So, was it? I mean, what we do know is that she did not go to any of the weddings [00:45:00] that she was thinking of at the time, and go to the front of the room where the celebrant is austerely standing there with the book, or the script, or the well-intentioned, or the self-penned vows and never hissed at him or her, "is this a real wedding?"Never once did she do that. We know that.Right.And I think we know why. But she was fairly persuaded she knew what a real wedding was. And all she was really persuaded by was the poverty of the weddings that she'd attended before that one. Well, I was as informed in that respect as she was, wasn't I? I just probably hadn't gone to as many reprobate weddings as she had, so she had more to deal with than I did, even though I was in the position of the line of fire.And I didn't respond too well to the question, I have to say. At the moment, I was rather combative. But I mean, you try to do [00:46:00] what I tried to do and not have a degree of fierceness to go along with your discernment, you know, just to see if you can drag this carcass across the threshold. Anyway, that happened too.Chris: Wow. Yeah. Dominant culture of North America.Stephen: Heard of it.Chris: Yeah. Well, in Matrimony, there's quite a bit in which you write about hospitality and radical hospitality. And I wanted to move in that direction a little bit, because in terms of these kind of marketplace rituals or ceremonies that you were mentioning you know, it's something that we might wonder, I think, as you have, how did it come to be this [00:47:00] way?And so I'd like to, if I can once again, quote from matrimony in which you speak to the etymology of hospitality. And so for those interested on page 88,"the word hospitality comes from hospitaller, meaning 'one who cares for the afflicted, the infirm, the needy.' There's that thread of our misgivings about being on the receiving end of hospitality. Pull on it. For the written history of the word, at least, it has meant, 'being on the receiving end of a kind of care you'd rather not need.'"End quote.Stephen: That's so great. I mean, before you go on with the quote. It's so great to know that the word, unexamined, just kind of leaks upside, doesn't it? Hospitality, I mean, nobody goes "Hospitality, ew." [00:48:00] And then, if you just quietly do the obvious math to yourself, there's so much awkwardness around hospitality.This awkwardness must have an origin, have a home. There must be some misgiving that goes along with the giving of hospitality, mustn't there be? How else to understand where that kind of ickiness is to be found. Right? And it turns out that the etymology is giving you the beginnings of a way of figuring it out what it is that you're on the receiving end of - a kind of succor that you wish you didn't need, which is why it's the root word for "hospital."Chris: Hmm hmm. Wow.Audience: Hmm.Chris: May I repeat that sentence please? Once more."For the written history of the word, at least, it has meant, [00:49:00] 'being on the receiving end of a kind of care you'd rather not need.'"And so this last part hits home for me as I imagine it does for many.And it feels like the orthodoxy of hospitality in our time is one based not only in transaction, but in debt. And if you offer hospitality to me, then I owe you hospitality.Stephen: Right.Chris: I'm indebted to you. And we are taught, in our time, that the worst thing to be in is in debt.Stephen: Right?Chris: And so people refuse both the desire to give as well as the learning skill of receiving. And this is continuing on page 88 now."But there's mystery afoot with this word. In its old Latin form, hospice meant both 'host' and 'guest.'"Stephen: Amazing. One. Either one, This is absolutely amazing. We're fairly sure that there's a [00:50:00] acres of difference between the giver of hospitality and the receiver that the repertoire is entirely different, that the skew between them is almost insurmountable, that they're not interchangeable in any way. But the history of the word immediately says, "really?" The history of the word, without question, says that "host" and "guest" are virtually the same, sitting in different places, being different people, more or less joined at the hip. I'll say more, but you go ahead with what you were gonna do. Sure.Chris: "In it's proto Indo-European origins, hospitality and hospice is a compound word: gosh + pot. And it meant something like [00:51:00] 'stranger/guest/host + powerful Lord.'It is amazing to me that ancestrally, the old word for guest, host, and stranger were all the same word. Potent ceremonial business, this is. In those days, the server and the serve were partners in something mysterious. This could be confusing, but only if you think of guest, host, and stranger as fixed identities.If you think of them as functions, as verbs, the confusion softens and begins to clear. The word hospice in its ancient root is telling us that each of the people gathered together in hospitality is bound to the others by formal etiquette, yes, but the bond is transacted through a subtle scheme of graces.Hospitality, it tells us, is a web of longing and belonging that binds people for a time, some hithereto unknown to each other is a clutch of mutually-binding elegances, you could say. In its ancient practice, [00:52:00] hospitality was a covenant. According to that accord, however we were with each other. That was how the Gods would be with us. We learn our hospitality by being on the receiving end of Godly administration. That's what giving thanks for members. We proceed with our kin in imitation of that example and in gratitude for it."Mm-hmm.And so today, among "secular" people, with the Gods ignored, this old-time hospitality seems endangered, if not fugitive. I'm curious how you imagine that this rupture arose, the ones that separated and commercialized the radical relationships between hosts and guests, that turned them from verbs to nouns and something like strangers to marketplace functions.[00:53:00]Stephen: Well, of course this is a huge question you've asked, and I'll see if I can unhuge it a bit.Chris: Uhhuh.Stephen: Let's go right to the heart of what happened. Just no preliminaries, just right to it.So, to underscore again, the beauty of the etymology. I've told you over and over again, the words will not fail you. And this is just a shining example, isn't it? That the fraternization is a matter of ceremonial alacrity that the affiliation between host and guest, which makes them partners in something, that something is the [00:54:00] evocation of a third thing that's neither one of them. It's the thing they've lent themselves to by virtue of submitting to being either a host or a guest. One.Two. You could say that in circumstances of high culture or highly-functioning culture, one of the principle attributes of that culture is that the fundament of its understanding, is that only with the advent of the stranger in their midst that the best of them comes forward.Okay, follow that. Yeah.So, this is a little counterintuitive for those of us who don't come from such places. We imagine that the advent of strangers in the midst of the people I'm describing would be an occasion where people hide their [00:55:00] best stuff away until the stranger disappears, and upon the disappearance of the stranger, the good stuff comes out again.You know?So, I'm just remembering just now, there's a moment in the New Testament where Jesus says something about the best wine and he's coming from exactly this page that we're talking about - not the page in the book, but this understanding. He said, you know, "serve your best wine first," unlike the standard, that prevails, right?So again, what a stranger does in real culture is call upon the cultural treasure of the host's culture, and provides the opportunity for that to come forward, right? By which you can understand... Let's say for simplicity's sake, there's two kinds of hospitality. There's probably all kinds of gradations, [00:56:00] but for the purposes of responding to what you've asked, there's two.One of them is based on kinship. Okay? So, family meal. So, everybody knows whose place is whose around the table, or it doesn't matter - you sit wherever you want. Or, when we're together, we speak shorthand. That's the shorthand of familiarity and affinity, right?Everybody knows what everybody's talking about. A lot of things get half-said or less, isn't it? And there's a certain fineness, isn't it? That comes with that kind of affinity. Of course, there is, and I'm not diminishing it at all. I'm just characterizing it as being of a certain frequency or calibre or charge. And the charge is that it trades on familiarity. It requires that. There's that kind of hospitality."Oh, sit wherever you want."Remember this one?[00:57:00]"We don't stand on ceremony here.""Oh, you're one of the family now." I just got here. What, what?But, of course, you can hear in the protestations the understanding, in that circumstance, that formality is an enemy to feeling good in this moment, isn't it? It feels stiff and starched and uncalled for or worse.It feels imported from elsewhere. It doesn't feel friendly. So, I'm giving you now beginnings of a differentiation between how cultures who really function as cultures understand what it means to be hospitable and what often prevails today, trading is a kind of low-grade warfare conducted against the strangeness of the stranger.The whole purpose of treating somebody like their family is to mitigate, and finally neutralize their [00:58:00] strangeness, so that for the purposes of the few hours in front of us all, there are no strangers here. Right? Okay.Then there's another kind, and intuitively you can feel what I'm saying. You've been there, you know exactly what I mean.There's another kind of circumstance where the etiquette that prevails is almost more emphatic, more tangible to you than the familiar one. That's the one where your mother or your weird aunt or whoever she might be, brings out certain kind of stuff that doesn't come out every day. And maybe you sit in a room that you don't often sit in. And maybe what gets cooked is stuff you haven't seen in a long time. And some part of you might be thinking, "What the hell is all this about?" And the answer is: it's about that guy in the [00:59:00] corner that you don't know.And your own ancestral culture told acres of stories whose central purpose was to convey to outsiders their understanding of what hospitality was. That is fundamentally what The Iliad and The Odyssey are often returning to and returning to and returning to.They even had a word for the ending of the formal hospitality that accrued, that arose around the care and treatment of strangers. It was called pomp or pompe, from which we get the word "pompous." And you think about what the word "pompous" means today.It means "nose in the air," doesn't it? Mm-hmm. It means "thinks really highly of oneself," isn't it? And it means "useless, encumbering, kind of [01:00:00] artificial kind of going through the motions stuff with a kind of aggrandizement for fun." That's what "pompous" means. Well, the people who gave us the word didn't mean that at all. This word was the word they used to describe the particular moment of hospitality when it was time for the stranger to leave.And when it was mutually acknowledged that the time for hospitality has come to an end, and the final act of hospitality is to accompany the stranger out of the house, out of the compound, out into the street, and provision them accordingly, and wish them well, and as is oftentimes practiced around here, standing in the street and waving them long after they disappear from view.This is pompous. This is what it actually means. Pretty frigging cool when you get corrected once in a while, isn't it? [01:01:00] Yeah.So, as I said, to be simplistic about it, there's at least a couple of kinds, and one of them treasures the advent of the stranger, understanding it to be the detonation point for the most elegant part of us to come forward.Now, those of us who don't come from such a place, we're just bamboozled and Shanghai'ed by the notion of formality, which we kind of eschew. You don't like formality when it comes to celebration, as if these two things are hostile, one to the other. But I'd like you to consider the real possibility that formality is grace under pressure, and that formality is there to give you a repertoire of response that rescues you from the gross limitations of your autobiography.[01:02:00]Next question. I mean, that's the beginning.Chris: Absolutely. Absolutely. Mm-hmm. Thank you once again, Stephen. So alongside the term or concept of "pompe," in which the the guest or stranger was led out of the house or to the entrance of the village, there was also the consideration around the enforcement of hospitality, which you write about in the book. And you write that"the enforcement of hospitality runs the palpable risk of violating or undoing the cultural value it is there to advocate for. Forcing people to share their good fortune with the less fortunate stretches, to the point of undoing the generosity of spirit that the culture holds dear. Enforcement of hospitality is a sign of the eclipse of hospitality, typically spawned by insecurity, contracted self-definition, and the darkening of the [01:03:00] stranger at the door.Instead, such places and times are more likely to encourage the practice of hospitality in subtle generous ways, often by generously treating the ungenerous."And so there seems to be a need for limits placed on hospitality, in terms of the "pompe," the maximum three days in which a stranger can be given hospitality, and concurrently a need to resist enforcing hospitality. This seems like a kind of high-wire act that hospitable cultures have to balance in order to recognize and realize an honorable way of being with a stranger. And so I'm wondering if you could speak to the possibility of how these limits might be practiced without being enforced. What might that look like in a culture that engages with, with such limits, but without prohibitions?Stephen: Mm-hmm. That's a very good question. [01:04:00] Well, I think your previous question was what happened? I think, in a nutshell, and I didn't really answer that, so maybe see how I can use this question to answer the one that you asked before: what happened? So, there's no doubt in my mind that something happened that it's kind of demonstrable, if only with the benefit of hindsight.Audience: Right.Stephen: Or we can feel our way around the edges of the absence of the goneness of that thing that gives us some feel for the original shape of that thing.So you could say I'm trafficking in "ideals," here, and after a fashion, maybe, yeah. But the notion of "ideals," when it's used in this slanderous way suggests that "it was never like that."Chris: Mm-hmm.Stephen: And I suggest to you it's been like that in a lot of places, and there's a lot of places where it's still like that, although globalization [01:05:00] may be the coup de grâce performed upon this capacity. Okay. But anyway.Okay. So what happened? Well, you see in the circumstance that I described, apropos of the stranger, the stranger is in on it. The stranger's principle responsibility is to be the vector for this sort of grandiose generosity coming forward, and to experience that in a burdensome and unreciprocated fashion, until you realize that their willingness to do that is their reciprocity. Everybody doesn't get to do everything at once. You can't give and receive at the same time. You know what that's called? "Secret Santa at school," isn't it?That's where nobody owes nobody nothing at the end. That's what we're all after. I mean, one of your questions, you know, pointed to that, that there's a kind of, [01:06:00] what do you call that, teeter-totter balance between what people did for each other and what they received for each other. Right. And nobody feels slighted in any way, perfect balance, et cetera.Well, the circumstance here has nothing of the kind going with it. The circumstance we're describing now is one in which the hospitality is clearly unequal in terms of who's eating whose food, for example, in terms of the absolutely frustrated notion of reciprocity, that in fact you undo your end of the hospitality by trying to pay back, or give back, or pay at all, or break even, or not feel the burden of "God, you've been on the take for fricking hours here now." And if you really look in the face of the host, I mean, they're just getting started and you can't, you can't take it anymore.[01:07:00]So, one of the ways that we contend with this is through habits of speech. So, if somebody comes around with seconds. They say, "would you like a little more?"And you say, "I'm good. I'm good. I'm good." You see, "I'm good" is code for what? "F**k off." That's what it's code for. It's a little strong. It's a little strong. What I mean is, when "I'm good" comes to town, it means I don't need you and what you have. Good God, you're not there because you need it you knucklehead. You're there because they need it, because their culture needs an opportunity to remember itself. Right?Okay. So what happened? Because you're making it sound like a pretty good thing, really. Like who would say, "I think we've had enough of this hospitality thing, don't you? Let's try, oh, [01:08:00] keeping our s**t to ourselves. That sounds like a good alternative. Let's give it a week or two, see how it rolls." Never happened. Nobody decided to do this - this change, I don't think. I think the change happened, and sometime long after people realized that the change had had taken place. And it's very simple. The change, I think, went something like this.As long as the guest is in on it, there's a shared and mutually-held understanding that doesn't make them the same. It makes them to use the quote from the book "partners," okay, with different tasks to bring this thing to light, to make it so. What does that require? A mutually-held understanding in vivo as it's happening, what it is.Okay. [01:09:00] So, that the stranger who's not part of the host culture... sorry, let me say this differently.The culture of the stranger has made the culture of the host available to the stranger no matter how personally adept he or she may be at receiving. Did you follow that?Audience: A little.Stephen: Okay. Say it again?Audience: Yes, please.Stephen: Okay. The acculturation, the cultured sophistication of the stranger is at work in his or her strangerhood. Okay. He or she's not at home, but their cultural training helps them understand what their obligations are in terms of this arrangement we've been describing here.Okay, so I think the rupture takes place [01:10:00] when the culturation of one side or the other fails to make the other discernible to the one.One more time?When something happens whereby the acculturation of one of the partners makes the identity, the presence, and the valence of the other one untranslatable. Untranslatable.I could give you an example from what I call " the etiquette of trade," or the... what was the word? Not etiquette. What's the other word?Chris: The covenant?Stephen: Okay, " covenant of trade" we'll call it. So, imagine that people are sitting across from each other, two partners in a trade. Okay? [01:11:00] Imagine that they have one thing to sell or move or exchange and somebody has something else.How does this work? Not "what are the mechanics?" That can be another discussion, but, if this works, how does it work? Not "how does it happen?" How does it actually achieve what they're after? Maybe it's something like this.I have this pottery, and even though you're not a potter, but somebody in your extended family back home was, and you watched what they went through to make a fricking pot, okay?You watched how their hands seized up, because the clay leached all the moisture out of the hands. You distinctly remember that - how the old lady's hands looked cracked and worn, and so from the work of making vessels of hospitality, okay? [01:12:00] It doesn't matter that you didn't make it yourself. The point is you recognize in the item something we could call "cultural patrimony."You recognize the deep-runningness of the culture opposite you as manifest and embodied in this item for trade. Okay? So, the person doesn't have to "sell you" because your cultural sophistication makes this pot on the other side available to you for the deeply venerable thing that it is. Follow what I'm saying?Okay. So, you know what I'm gonna say next? When something happens, the items across from you cease to speak, cease to have their stories come along with them, cease to be available. There's something about your cultural atrophy that you project onto the [01:13:00] item that you don't recognize.You don't recognize it's valence, it's proprieties, it's value, it's deep-running worth and so on. Something happened, okay? And because you're not making your own stuff back home or any part of it. And so now, when you're in a circumstance like this and you're just trying to get this pot, but you know nothing about it, then the enterprise becomes, "Okay, so what do you have to part with to obtain the pot?"And the next thing is, you pretend you're not interested in obtaining the pot to obtain the pot. That becomes part of the deal. And then, the person on the making end feels the deep running slight of your disinterest, or your vague involvement in the proceedings, or maybe the worst: when it's not things you're going back and forth with, but there's a third thing called money, which nobody makes, [01:14:00] which you're not reminded of your grandma or anyone else's with the money. And then, money becomes the ghost of the original understanding of the cultural patrimony that sat between you. That's what happened, I'm fairly sure: the advent, the estrangement that comes with the stranger, instead of the opportunity to be your cultural best when the stranger comes.And then of course, it bleeds through all kinds of transactions beyond the "obvious material ones." So, it's a rupture in translatability, isn't it?Chris: You understand this to happen or have happened historically, culturally, et cetera, with matrimony as well?Stephen: Oh, absolutely. Yeah.Yeah. This is why, for example, things like the fetishization of virginity.Audience: Mm-hmm. [01:15:00]Stephen: I think it's traceable directly to what we're talking about. How so? Oh, this is a whole other long thing, but the very short version would be this.Do you really believe that through all of human history until the recent liberation, that people have forever fetishized the virginity of a young woman and jealously defended it, the "men" in particular, and that it became a commodity to trade back and forth in, and that it had to be prodded and poked at to determine its intactness? And this was deemed to be, you know, honourable behavior?Do you really think that's the people you come from, that they would've do that to the most cherished of their [01:16:00] own, barely pubescent girls? Come on now. I'm not saying it didn't happen and doesn't still happen. I'm not saying that. I'm saying, God almighty, something happened for that to be so.And I'm trying to allude to you now what I think took place. Then all of a sudden, the hymen takes the place of the pottery, doesn't it? And it becomes universally translatable. Doesn't it? It becomes a kind of a ghosted artifact of a culturally-intact time. It's as close as you can get.Hence, this allegation of its purity, or the association with purity, and so on. [01:17:00] I mean, there's lots to say, but that gives you a feel for what might have happened there.Chris: Thank you, Stephen. Thank you for being so generous with your considerations here.Stephen: You see why I had to write a book, eh?Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: There was too much bouncing around. Like I had to just keep track of my own thoughts on the matter.But can you imagine all of this at play in the year, oh, I don't know, 2022, trying to put into motion a redemptive passion play called "matrimony," with all of this at play? Not with all of this in my mind, but with all of this actually disfiguring the anticipation of the proceedings for the people who came.Can you imagine? Can you imagine trying to pull it off, and [01:18:00] contending overtly with all these things and trying to make room for them in a moment that's supposed to be allegedly - get ready for it - happy.I should have raised my rates on the first day, trying to pull that off.But anyway.Okay, you go now,Chris: Maybe now you'll have the opportunity.Stephen: No, man. No. I'm out of the running for that. "Pompe" has come and come and gone. Mm.Chris: So, in matrimony, Stephen, you write that"the brevity, the brevity of modern ceremonies is really there to make sure that nothing happens, nothing of substance, nothing of consequence, no alchemy, no mystery, no crazy other world stuff. That overreach there in its scripted heart tells me that deep in the rayon-wrapped bosom of that special day, the modern wedding is scared [01:19:00] silly of something happening. That's because it has an ages-old abandoned memory of a time when a wedding was a place where the Gods came around, where human testing and trying and making was at hand, when the dead lingered in the wings awaiting their turn to testify and inveigh."Gorgeous. Gorgeous.Audience: Mm-hmm.Chris: And so I'm curious ifStephen: "Rayon-wrapped bosom." That's not, that's not shabby.Chris: "Rayon-wrapped bosom of that special day." Yeah.So, I'm curious do you think the more-than-human world practices matrimony, and if so, what, if anything, might you have learned about matrimony from the more-than-human world?Stephen: I would say the reverse. I would say, we practice the more-than-human world in matrimony, not that the more-than-human world practices matrimony. We practice them, [01:20:00] matrimonially.Next. Okay. Or no? I just gonna say that, that's pretty good.Well, where do we get our best stuff from? Let's just wonder that. Do we get our best stuff from being our best? Well, where does that come from? And this is a bit of a barbershop mirrors situation here, isn't it? To, to back, back, back, back.If you're thinking of time, you can kind of get lost in that generation before, or before, before, before. And it starts to sound like one of them biblical genealogies. But if you think of it as sort of the flash point of multiple presences, if you think of it that way, then you come to [01:21:00] credit the real possibility that your best stuff comes from you being remembered by those who came before you.Audience: Hmm.Stephen: Now just let that sit for a second, because what I just said is logically-incompatible.Okay? You're being remembered by people who came before you. That's not supposed to work. It doesn't work that way. Right?"Anticipated," maybe, but "remembered?" How? Well, if you credit the possibility of multiple beginnings, that's how. Okay. I'm saying that your best stuff, your best thoughts, not the most noble necessarily. I would mean the most timely, [01:22:00] the ones that seem most needed, suddenly.You could take credit and sure. Why, why not? Because ostensibly, it arrives here through you, but if you're frank with yourself, you know that you didn't do that on command, right? I mean, you could say, I just thought of it, but you know in your heart that it was thought of and came to you.I don't think there's any difference between saying that and saying you were thought of.Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: So, that's what I think the rudiments of old-order matrimony are. They are old people and their benefactors in the food chain and spiritually speaking. Old people and their benefactors, the best part of them [01:23:00] willed to us, entrusted and willed to us. So, when you are willing to enter into the notion that old-order matrimony is older than you, older than your feelings for the other person, older than your love, and your commitment, and your willingness to make the vows and all that stuff, then you're crediting the possibility that your love is not the beginning of anything.You see. Your love is the advent of something, and I use that word deliberately in its Christian notion, right? It's the oncomingness, the eruption into the present day of something, which turns out to be hugely needed and deeply unsuspected at the same time.I used to ask in the school, "can you [01:24:00] have a memory of something you have no lived experience of?" I think that's what the best part of you is. I'm not saying the rest of you is shite. I'm not saying that. You could say that, but I am saying that when I say "the best part of you," that needs a lot of translating, doesn't it?But the gist of it is that the best part of you is entrusted to you. It's not your creation, it's your burden, your obligation, your best chance to get it right. And that's who we are to those who came before us. We are their chance to get it right, and matrimony is one of the places where you practice the gentle art of getting it right.[01:25:00] Another decent reason to write a book.Chris: So, gorgeous. Wow. Thank you Stephen. I might have one more question.Stephen: Okay. I might have one more answer. Let's see.Chris: Alright. Would I be able to ask if dear Nathalie Roy could join us up here alongside your good man.So, returning to Matrimony: Ritual, Culture and the Heart's Work. On page 94, [01:26:00] Stephen, you write that"hospitality of the radical kind is

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we reveal why rent control is good, actually, on SRSLY WRONG, discuss ways the climate movement can be more inclusive on PULLBACK, explain why solution-focused energy reporting has become more important than ever on the Sierra Club's THE ENVIRONMENT IN CANADA and unpack the story of how a small group of Waffle-aligned activists managed to briefly take over the 1971 New Brunswick NDP on THE ALBERTA ADVANTAGE.This episode is brought to you by the new Between the Lines Books release ‘Strangely, Friends: A History of Cuban-Canadian Encounters', by Canada's coalition of 31 progressive publishers at unrigged.ca and by your friends at The Alberta Advantage.The Harbinger Media Network includes 83 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Harbinger Showcase is a weekly podcast featuring highlights from Canada's #1 coast-to-coast community of politically and socially progressive podcasts. On this episode we reveal why rent control is good, actually, on SRSLY WRONG, discuss ways the climate movement can be more inclusive on PULLBACK, explain why solution-focused energy reporting has become more important than ever on the Sierra Club's THE ENVIRONMENT IN CANADA and unpack the story of how a small group of Waffle-aligned activists managed to briefly take over the 1971 New Brunswick NDP on THE ALBERTA ADVANTAGE.This episode is brought to you by the new Between the Lines Books release ‘Strangely, Friends: A History of Cuban-Canadian Encounters', by Canada's coalition of 31 progressive publishers at unrigged.ca and by your friends at The Alberta Advantage.The Harbinger Media Network includes 83 podcasts focused on social, economic and environmental justice and featuring journalists, academics and activists on shows like The Breach Show, Tech Won't Save Us, Press Progress Sources & more.Harbinger Showcase is syndicated to community and campus radio and heard every week on CKUT 90.3FM in Montreal, at CFUV 101.9FM in Victoria, at CIVL 101.7FM in Abbotsford, at CHLY 101.7FM in Nanaimo, on CJUM 101.5FM and CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, at CiTR 101.9FM, CJSF 90.1FM and at CFRO 100.5FM in Vancouver, at Hamilton's CFMU 93.3FM, at Radio Laurier in Waterloo, at CJTM 1280AM in Toronto, at CJAM 99.1FM in Windsor and at CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Find out more about the network, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and support our work at harbingermedianetwork.com.

The Blair government threw itself into action as soon as it was formed.Rather confirming the existence of a deal between them, something they've never confirmed, Blair quickly appointed Gordon Brown Chancellor. As well as steps, such as making the Bank of England independent and introducing a minimum wage, on which they fully agreed, there's also evidence that, as suspected, Blair had promised Brown authority of his own, unprecedented for a Chancellor, over social security. Brown focused on families with children and on pensioners, and his reforms did bring in a significant redistribution of wealth, increasing the incomes of the poorest at the expense of the richest. Strangely, however, this led to no reduction in inequality: since the 1980s, the time of Thatcher and Reagan, the pressure towards growing inequality, whose effect we feel strongly today in the power of so-called oligarchs, had been sustained and was apparently irresistible. The Blair government acted to improve gay rights, equalising the age of consent for straight and gay sex, abolishing the notorious Section 28 and introducing civil partnerships for gay couples.It also worked on devolution, with parliaments set up for both Scotland and Wales, with substantial powers though nothing like independence, and a new strategic authority for London, which had been without one since Thatcher abolished the Greater London Council in 1986.When it came to Northern Ireland, there was still a lot of work to do. Referendums in both the Republic and in the North endorsed the Good Friday Agreement, despite far lower enthusiasm among Northern Protestants than among Catholics in the province and citizens of the Republic. Now there was some hard, detailed work to do to implement the agreement. That would include a sad collateral casualty. That, though, is something which we'll talk about next week.Illustration: Blair and Brown, working in partnership. For now, Photo from 'The New Statesman'.Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

Prior to the killing of Charlie Kirk the Israeli government issued a total evacuation order for Gaza, beginning their final solution push, and also bombed Qatar. After Kirk was killed, a few strange things occurred: Israeli operatives began blaming Islam and Qatar for his death and/or claiming what a great supporter of Israel he was, the Israeli Prime Minister went on numerous news shows to publicly state his country did not kill the conservative commentator, and countless influencers used Kirk's death to remind the public of September 11, which happened one day after his death. Strangely, just as Kirk had been killed Russia sent a drone into Poland, reminding the world also of WWII - strange because September 10 is the Jewish day of Elul which corresponds to the Nazi invasion of Poland. The location of Charlie's death wasn't just Utah Valley University, but a specific area which appears to be a menorah. The mysterious jet that possibly transported the real shooter was owned by Derek & Shelaine Maxfield Foundation, the family that funds Chabad Lubavitch. If that wasn't enough it is true that Charlie appeared confused prior to his death about why Israel would target him for criticism considering how much of his career and life he had laid down for the country. The foremost rightwing protector of Israel and Jews was targeted by the same for supposed antisemitism. Reportedly, the IDF-MOSSAD do target the necks of their victims, too, and in Jewish mysticism, the neck is said to be attacked by AMALEK, the arch enemy of faith, to sow doubt and apathy, feelings many have after the assassination. Either way, the result is war, and people calling for war with the political left, which Charlie was right about, is run mostly by radical by Jews. Why not kill the man randomly instead of in front of a crowd unless it was a message. After all, America First was classified by the ADL as antisemitic. *The is the FREE archive, which includes advertisements. If you want an ad-free experience, you can subscribe below underneath the show description.FREE ARCHIVE (w. ads)SUBSCRIPTION ARCHIVEX / TWITTER FACEBOOKWEBSITECashApp: $rdgable EMAIL: rdgable@yahoo.com / TSTRadio@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-secret-teachings--5328407/support.

On December 19, 2017, 17-year-old Nathaniel Holmes was dropped off at high school for the last day of school before Winter Break, and was never seen by friends or family again. When his mother went to pick him up at the end of the day, she was informed by administration that Nathaniel wasn't at school, and hadn't been to classes all afternoon. He seemingly just left the building. Strangely, Nathaniel didn't take any of his belongings with him–no phone, money, or anything that a “runaway” might want to take with them, if they were planning on running away. None of it made any sense. If you have information on Nathaniel's disappearance, please contact the Westminster Police Department Tip Line at +1 (303) 658-4360. Facebook:  / 947043105470701    NCMEC Page: https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NC... Source Material: https://pastebin.com/QhemjixY This episode is sponsored by: Rula - Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/tckr #rulapod Rocket Money — Check out my foundation: Higher Hope Foundation: https://www.higherhope.org/ Watch my documentaries: 530 Days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjUWkmOjNLk Apartment 801: https://bit.ly/2RJ9XXr  True Crime with Kendall Rae podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3rks84o Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jC66pr Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop Check out my other podcasts: Mile Higher (True Crime) @milehigherpod YouTube: https://bit.ly/2ROzJcw Instagram: http://instagram.com/milehigherpod The Sesh (Current events, a little true crime, pop culture, and commentary) https://bit.ly/3Mtoz4X @the_seshpodcast Instagram: https://bit.ly/3a9t6Xr *Follow My Social!* @KendallRaeOnyt Instagram: http://instagram.com/kendallraeonyt Facebook: https://bit.ly/3kar4NK True Crime TikTok: https://bit.ly/3VDbc77 Personal TikTok: https://bit.ly/41hmRKg REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://zfrmz.com/yg9cuiWjUe2QY3hSC2V0 Form for people directly related/close to the victim: https://zfrmz.com/HGu2hZso42aHxARt1i67 Join my discord to chat with other viewers about this video, it's free! https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN C O N T A C T: For Business Inquiries - kendallrae@night.co Send me mail: Kendall Rae 8547 E Arapahoe Rd Ste J #233 Greenwood Village, CO 80112

Ron Dufficy's reputation as an astute judge of racehorses evolved very early in his apprenticeship to Bart Cummings. It wasn't long before Randwick trainers like Tommy Smith were chasing the young jockey to ride some high profile horses in trackwork. “Duff” rode Kingston Town on a few occasions, and partnered Red Anchor in many gallops. When a nagging shoulder injury forced him out of the saddle in 1988, Ron was left unsure about his future career direction. It was Ray Warren who encouraged him to do a regular Saturday morning spot on 2KY, and the rest is history. Ron kicked off by tipping the Doncaster winner Lygon Arms at 40/1, and has been a favourite with punters ever since.  The 63 year old took time out from his busy work schedule last week to join me on the podcast. He talks about a normal working week in the life of a racing form analyst. Ron looks back on the days when punters had nowhere near the amount of information they enjoy in the modern era. He summarises his radio commitments for the week and talks about the Sunday morning TV programme he co-hosts with good friends Greg Radley and Corey Brown. The former jockey pays tribute to his long time mentor Graham McNeice who passed away exactly twelve months ago. Ron looks at the newspaper facet of his media career. . He talks about his early education at James Cook High School at Kogarah. Despite some encouraging work in the class room, he decided to quit school at age fourteen. . Ron remembers his grandfather Ron and father Maurice who were both involved in off course betting, still rife in the 1960's. He was taking phone bets for his father from age seven. He looks back on his first taste of stable life with Canterbury trainer Dennis Maynard. Ron reminisces about the early days of his apprenticeship to Bart Cummings. He's never forgotten the thrill of his first winning ride at Nowra in 1979. Strangely enough memories of his first city win are slightly blurred. Ron remembers the disruption at Leilani Lodge when the Bart Cummings trained Lloyd Boy returned a positive swab after winning the Carlyon Cup in Melbourne. Cummings incurred a three months ban, and Mal Barnes was appointed as caretaker trainer. “Duff” talks about the transfer of his indentures to Barnes when Bart Cummings returned to training. He has nothing but praise for Barnes who was already a recognised tutor of apprentice jockeys. Ron remembers his best ever day as a professional jockey- a winning treble at Rosehill with two close seconds on the same programme. He remembers a Gr 1 ride in Perth on the Mal Barnes trained Tsar Royal. Ron looks back on a thrilling Black Opal win on the curiously named Beans for Mal Barnes and owner John Singleton. He and a fellow apprentice actually floated the filly to Canberra.  Overnight rain dimmed Ron's confidence in the filly's chances, and he advised “Singo” to reduce his bet. The advertising guru was delighted nevertheless, when Beans scored an easy win.  Ron looks back on the reputation he developed as an astute judge of trackwork and race form. The former jockey talks of a long association with Tommy Smith and pays tribute to two high profile horses he got to ride in trackwork. He remembers a stakes winner he rode for Smith in 1986. He was surprised when given the ride. Ron looks back on his stint as a jockey manager, and the shock decision by stewards to stand him down for what they perceived as a conflict of interest. Ron Dufficy is one of the great success stories in the Australian racing media. He shares that story with us on this week's podcast.

As the clock ticks down toward the looming release of Hollow Knight Silksong, we say goodbye to a bygone era. Strangely enough, that era ends with us revisiting three established franchises with vastly different approaches to modernization. Nick and Chris Davis talk about the impressive - but slightly unambitious - remake, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Brad delves into Shinobi: Art of Vengeance which has reinvented the franchise with a shift of genre and a beautiful new coat of paint. Meanwhile, Krispy declares No Man's Sky: Voyagers to be the ultimate expansion which softens the barrier-to-entry and out Starfield's Starfield. Impressions - Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (12:10) Impressions - Shinobi: Art of Vengeance (45:15) Impressions - No Man's Sky: Voyagers (1:00:40) 4Player Minute (1:18:00)

The hosts of Mr. Zhou's Ghost Stories reunite with the director and guests of video series Mr Zhou's Ghost Stories@Singapore Sightings S2 to share behind-the-scenes moments and chilling encounters during filming. The director revealed that after shooting in Malaysia, it felt as though a “spiritual switch” had been turned on — back in Singapore, the team became more sensitive and prone to sensing unusual presences. Fortunately, they carried protective talismans given by a master. One even bore mysterious scratches, interpreted as having warded off an attempted possession. A guest remarked at first sight, “You carry a very strong energy,” confirming the talisman’s protective effect. Meanwhile, Mindy shared a spine-chilling experience at home: her three-year-old daughter, placed safely in a raised crib, dressed in a sleep sack she couldn’t remove on her own, was seen sound asleep on the baby monitor. Yet, at 10 p.m., the child appeared at the second-floor staircase crying, “Mommy.” Strangely, both the baby monitor and CCTV had gone dark at the same time… 《周公讲鬼》七夕特别篇上线！主持群与【周公讲鬼 哪里有鬼2】导演嘉宾齐聚，分享幕后故事与拍摄趣事。导演与嘉宾透露，在马来西亚拍摄后，灵感似乎被“开启”，回到新加坡后变得更敏感，容易感应到异常。所幸随身携带师傅所赐符咒，符纸表面甚至出现刮痕，被解读为挡下“鬼上身”的前兆。某嘉宾初见便直言“你身上有股强大的能量”，印证了符咒确实发挥保护作用；Mindy分享发生在家中的离奇事件：三岁的女儿被安置在加高的婴儿床里，穿着无法自行脱下的睡袋，被监控摄像头确认安稳入睡。谁料深夜十点，孩子竟出现在二楼楼梯口哭喊“妈妈”。诡异的是，房内婴儿机与闭路电视同时“断片”...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's Keepin It Real, Cam discusses his largely sedentary life and the fulfillment he gets on the rare occasions he can see the results of his work.  ----- Most weeks, my work mainly involves pushing electrons around. I sit at a computer and do stuff. Recently it's been requests for short training videos for clients to use with their teams. I write scripts, edit scripts and record videos. Other weeks I prepare presentations. Lots of PowerPoint editing, lots of rehearsing content. Lots of time online. Lots of buying tickets. It's all sedentary stuff. Me plus a keyboard plus a computer plus a screen, pushing electrons. Last Saturday, though, was different. I was in Clark County at my father's property near Grove Hill. I climbed on a tractor shortly after 7:30am. It's a small John Deere with a scoop on the front and a mower on the back. I didn't climb off until well after 2pm. For about seven hours I mowed and pushed downed trees out of roads and fields. I was bitten by every biting insect in North America. My arms and neck got burned. My work pants smelled of diesel fuel. I added a couple more tears to my already torn work TShirt. My socks balled up inside my boots, sweaty, and my back hurt from lifting 50 lb bags of wheat. When I washed my hands, the white sink turned brown with dirt and dust that had stuck to my sweaty arms. A mystery bruise was beginning to ache and turn purple on my shoulder. I sat down in my father's small camp, told him I'm just going to close my eyes for a second, and fell solidly asleep. And I was deeply deeply happy. Pushing electrons is what I've chosen to do for a living. At the end of every day, I typically leave my office with my checklist complete. I make a large one on Monday, add a little bit to it each day, cross some stuff off, and by Friday have largely worked through it. But I do not get the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of my work. At the end of the bricklayer's workday, he can step back and see the progress he's made. He started there in the morning and is now finishing here. His progress is easy to see. Pushing electrons doesn't offer the same satisfaction. But that was not the case last Saturday. Fields and roads were mown. Trees were pushed away. Progress was obvious. And it felt good. And tiring. The soreness was welcome. And the nap on the couch was earned. Fall means it's time to cut firewood. It's the wood we'll use next fall, giving it a year to season and dry on the rack. I love cutting firewood. The feel of the chainsaw, going from tree to log to cut wood pieces to split pieces and the stack slowly growing in front of me. My hands rough and my back aching. Later, a cold beer and college football. And the sleep that night is an earned slumber. I live a largely sedentary life. I go to work and sit. Then on to a meeting and sit. Then on to the next place and sit. A day seeing the progress of my work is needed every now and then. Strangely, the bruises and the soreness and the exhaustion make me feel alive. I'm Cam Marston, just trying to keep it real.  

As with the murders of Israeli embassy workers Yaron Lischinsky and Sara Lynn Milgrim in 2025, a story that conveniently ran interference for Israeli soldiers threatening to kill foreign diplomats in the West Bank just hours before, the August 27, 2025, mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School-Church did something similar for another story about Israel twice bombing a hospital the same week, killing patients, aid workers and journalists. The shooter, Robin Westman, was classified by the following political affiliations as such:   The political right blamed his trans identity, implying drugs were involved, and accused the political left of inciting the violence because one of the messages written on his equipment included “kill Donald Trump.” The whole of LGBTQ was indicted, and he was referred to as having been “groomed.”  The political left blamed the far-right, guns, and Nazism, because among a collection of writings and messages the shooter had scribbled on his equipment phrases like “6 million wasn't enough,” “Israel must fall” and “Jew gas.” He had also spoken of murdering “filthy Zionist Jews” in a video manifesto and wrote in a journal “Free Palestine” using the Cyrillic alphabet.  Robin Westman (or Westwoman) also strangely wrote “release the list” next to an upside down cross that we can be assured had nothing to do with St. Peter. On two separate ammo magazines he wrote “suck on this” and “where is your God” respectively. Strangely, it appeared that below the former he drew a bird above the Arabic word “Mashallah.” These details were used as evidence that his influence was Islam, and that Muslims were coming to kill Jews.   However true any of the above actually is the fact remains that a supposedly antisemitic mass shooter decided to take his anger about Zionism out on Catholics, and children specifically, at a facility where his mother found employment. Something was seriously wrong with this story. First, the concerns of drugs, hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and radical leftwing rhetoric is a valid concern; but blaming the shooting on “transgenderism” serves no other role than to incite and obfuscate. Second, the accusations of Nazism against Westman by the leftwing seem to be a great example of why you aren't supposed to throw stones in a glass house; isn't the political left perceptually the party of anti-Israel? Third, someone who wants “the list,” presumably of Jeffrey Epstein's clients, released could be motivated by either political bias, or by an anarchial spirit against all organized government. Fourth, the tropes about “6 million” dead Jews and Jews being gassed are nothing but atrocity propaganda and gas lighting in light of the facts. Also, the phrase “Israel will fall” is itself anti-Nazi since the latter helped to establish the former. Fifth, the phrase “Free Palestine” has been associated with nearly every act of public violence in the U.S. since October 7, 2023. Sixth, the idea that this shooter was influenced by Islam makes even less sense if he wrote “where is your God,” unless that phrase was meant to imply that he believed the Christian God was different than Allah, an Arabic word for God; and for added confusion on this point, there are three Abrahamic religions, including Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Seventh, the word “Mashallah” denotes the beauty or greatness of something and is a protective charm against the evil eye; it is especially popular among Arabic Christians. Eighth, why would a kid who grew up in a Christian community, presumably, grow to hate Jews, Israel, and Zionists so bad that he would decide to carry out an act of violence against… Catholic children?Within hours, understandably, the FBI began investigating the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.”  We are to believe the word “Mashallah” indicates his Islamic inspiration, which itself is beyond confusing because the word draws on beauty and peace, not violence. Put another way, a Christian anti-Zionist who hated Jews became a Muslim, though he doesn't actually believe in God, and then killed Catholics.An equally peculiar question can be asked about why someone who wanted to “kill Donald Trump,” a leftist chant, would write supposedly radical, rightwing, Nazi phrases - themselves the modern language of the political left - on their equipment before carrying out a shooting against the Church?  It seems clear that the rhetoric here is meant to convince us once again that not only are Muslims terrorists, but godless ones that should be shown no mercy; we are to imagine that Muslims hate Jews and Christians so much they will slaughter their children; the mysterious writing is intended to confuse and obfuscate, creating unclear conditions where emotions override critical thinking; the upside down cross facilitates the subconscious Christian reaction. Even more bizarre is the fact that above the Arabic word “Mashallah”, itself semitic, was what appeared to be a bird drawn on one of the magazines. Birds play a role in the Islamic holy texts as symbols of wisdom and guides from Allah, similar to Huginn and Muninn, the sacred ravens of Odin. Birds also fly, swim, walk on land, and are symbols of fiery rebirth like the phoenix. This must have a deeper meaning because not only is a bird representative of the four elements, i.e., GOD, but the shooter wrote “like a phoenix we rise from the ashes” on his equipment too. For the layman these things appear to indicate some sort of cryptic symbolism, which no doubt Internet sleuths will argue over for months or years to come. But what it may mean in context is yet another covert insult to God. Finally, we read from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency of another curious phrase written by the shooter: “A YouTube account believed to have belonged to Westman shared videos prior to the shooting in which gun parts and smoke grenades can be seen with neo-Nazi messaging including, ‘6 million wasn't enough,' ‘Burn Israel,' ‘Israel must fall' and ‘Destroy HIAS,' a reference to the Jewish humanitarian organization. The videos were removed after the shooting. HIAS was also targeted in online writing by Robert Bowers, the man convicted of murdering 11 Jews in the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018.”                    Based on what we learned about HIAS earlier, the picture here begins to form into a clear remedy for all the confusion. Why would a Christian inspired by Islam and a hatred of Jews, specifically blaming HIAS for facilitating illegal immigration, also hate Donald Trump while simultaneously writing or saying things considered rightwing, and then after all is said and done kill Catholic children as punishment for what the Jews supposedly had done? All the propaganda and rhetoric surrounding Jews conveniently became a national story just as the country is questioning why Israel bombed a hospital, waited for journalists and aid workers to arrive with help, and then bombed the facility a second time. According to the New York Post, “the deranged gunman mused about assassinating President Trump and Jews,” but instead decided on the “children of innocent civilians.” The Robin Westman shooting appears to be CIA-Mossad intelligence operations, if not the even itself then the response.*The is the FREE archive, which includes advertisements. If you want an ad-free experience, you can subscribe below underneath the show description.FREE ARCHIVE (w. ads)SUBSCRIPTION ARCHIVEX / TWITTER FACEBOOKWEBSITECashApp: $rdgable EMAIL: rdgable@yahoo.com / TSTRadio@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-secret-teachings--5328407/support.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Houston Rep. and Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu addressed the opening day of the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oo1tgO5JhkThe Texas House Republican Caucus voted yesterday to crank up the penalties against future quorum breakers: https://www.statesman.com/news/politics/state/article/house-quorum-bust-sanctions-21014411.php...Strangely, a move to formally censure the quorum breaking Democrats fell short - the MAGA mob is not happy: https://thehill.com/homenews/5469277-texas-house-republicans-vote-against-retroactive-punishments-for-quorum-breakers/The Texas House State Affairs Committee advanced the latest version of the bathroom bill yesterday - it is now headed to the full House: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/22/exas-house-transgender-bathroom-senate-bill-8/...They also advanced the latest attack on reproductive freedom, a bill forbidding abortion medication to be imported into Texas: https://www.expressnews.com/politics/article/texas-abortion-pill-ban-bill-20827609.php...Trump-era Republican strategies include vigilante lawsuits, insulation from court review, and lately, the "sue and settle" maneuver that lets Trump bypass Congress and state legislatures: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/25/texas-redistricting-trump-lawsuits-courts/?_bhlid=4e3cbbe9c0975580d05d460fb89ad84e4add5cc7Ken Paxton is insisting, despite the Ten Commandments school posting law being temporarily blocked by a federal judge, that Texas schools put them up anyway: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/religion/article/paxton-ten-commandments-texas-21014419.php...His insistence that the Ten Commandments are the basis of American law is disputed by many legal and historical experts: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/religion/article/ten-commandments-history-20824467.phpAustin friends: tickets are on sale now for our live podcast taping with legendary Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver on September 15 at Hopsquad Brewing in Austin! Tickets are limited and are available here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://act.progresstexas.org/a/allstaractivism_2025⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Progress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-drive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

I'm signing up for races all over the place. I guess that means getting out of the house and actually running.Strangely, a memory came up on Facebook the other day. It was a photo of me and Orly (Hundo) with Normita looking on as we wrung out our socks midway through a 20-miler. I mentioned that I went out later and got in 3 more miles. (!) Those were the days when I was training for a 50-miler.I look back on that time and realize it likely won't happen again. But, I'm grateful to have had the ability to get through almost three 50s.

शीशे  वाला कमरा  In 2020, a businesswoman in a Bandra penthouse took her own life under mysterious circumstances. The police never found the hidden room beneath the floorboards until the landlord discovered it during renovations. The room's walls and ceiling were covered in shattered glass, with bloodstains on the ground. Strangely, instead of her own reflection, the mirrors showed the eerie image of a woman. This apparition appeared every evening, telling the chilling story of how she was murdered. One night, a glass shattered into fifty pieces, but the reflection never disappeared, leaving a haunting mystery behind.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The headlines on the Wall Street Journal have been marvelling at the lack of inflationary pressure as a result of tariffs. The latest CPI announcement had the annualized rate at 2.7% against the backdrop of a weakening labor market. This is converging on the Fed's 2% target for inflation. We are looking at inflation because the Fed's interest rate policy is linked to balancing both price stability and maximizing employment. If inflation is too high, they raise rates in order to suppress demand. If unemployment is too high they lower rates to stimulate investment. Of course we know it is not just the rates which affect the economy, it's access to credit which is infinitely more important. We know that tariffs have been making headlines for most of this year. Tariffs have been in effect on a wide range of goods for many countries since April 1. There have been several delays to the implementation of tariffs which were designed to incentivize new trade deals with the US. Some of these have concluded and others like Canada and China are still in process. Last Friday the Producer Price Index was published and it showed that prices increase 0.9% for the month of July. That's a huge jump in a month. Is this all the result of tariffs? No. The services component of the PPI rose 1.1% and the goods component rose 0.7%. Tariffs are not the whole story. When I consider that companies need to maintain profitability, there are several ways they can do this. For example, retailers might hold the line on prices for goods that have tariffs attached to them. But I think the cost pressure from tariffs and the incentive to bring manufacturing to the US will have two effects.Any new manufacturing in the US will take time to implement. In the meantime, companies will have to find other ways to cut costs. If and when they do eventually bring new manufacturing to the US, it will be very highly automated to minimize the impact of higher wages in the US. With the advent of AI, manufacturers will be looking for ways to eliminate other positions in the company and reduce headcount to improve operating margins. The drive to save costs will accelerate the adoption of AI in companies and speed up the elimination of jobs. Strangely, this will have the opposite effect that the White House is hoping for. So if inflation ticks up as a result of tariffs, can the Fed do anything about it? The answer is a resounding NO. Raising interest rates won't make the tariffs go away. Increasing costs for businesses won't cause demand to fall enough to suppress prices. So the Fed would be rendered completely impotent to bring price stability from an artificial imposition of tariffs causing prices to increase. You see these economic models assume normal economic behaviour. But if the model doesn't explain the real situation on the ground, then at a certain point you have to abandon the computer simulation and look out the window to see what's happening.--------------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” — John 18:11 I sometimes carry a small pocket knife—not for protection, but for small tasks like slicing apples to eat. Peter, however, carried a sword for protection on the night that Jesus was arrested. Anticipating a deadly trap, Peter concealed a sword in his cloak. And when some soldiers came along with several religious leaders to arrest Jesus, Peter drew out his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest's servant. When Jesus saw Peter's violent act, he rebuked him, healed the servant's ear (Luke 22:51), and challenged Peter, saying, in effect, “Shall I not do what the Father has given me to do?” Strangely, in an earlier passage in Luke, Jesus seems to advise his disciples to carry swords (Luke 22:36-38). Was Jesus speaking figuratively there about swords for spiritual warfare, as Paul does in Ephesians 6:10-18? Though that passage in Luke is a bit unclear, we can be certain of one thing: Jesus never condones physical violence in order to spread the good news of his salvation. Submitting to God's will, Jesus gave himself as a humble sacrifice to demonstrate his love for us all. And he invites us to do the same for others. Jesus, Prince of Peace, help us to submit our will to you, and with acts of humble obedience may we love and serve you in the world. Amen.

Lindas First Love 49-05-04 3198 Miss Boothbee Missing - Baldwin Acts Strangely

Nintendo Switch, the Nokia 7110… what are the tech devices and gadgets that changed your life? How about you biggest disappointments?In this episode of Tech Deciphered, we will share ours. We look forward to hearing yours. Share on LinkedIn or via email or XNavigation:Intro (01:34)Tech That Changed Our LivesOur Worst Tech PurchasesReflection & TakeawaysConclusionOur co-hosts:Bertrand Schmitt, Entrepreneur in Residence at Red River West, co-founder of App Annie / Data.ai, business angel, advisor to startups and VC funds, @bschmittNuno Goncalves Pedro, Investor, Managing Partner, Founder at Chamaeleon, @ngpedroOur show: Tech DECIPHERED brings you the Entrepreneur and Investor views on Big Tech, VC and Start-up news, opinion pieces and research. We decipher their meaning, and add inside knowledge and context. Being nerds, we also discuss the latest gadgets and pop culture news Subscribe To Our Podcast Bertrand SchmittWelcome to Tech Deciphered, episode 67. This will be a lighter episode as summer is upon us. We will discuss and talk about tech that changed our lives, as well as tech that disappointed.Some of you might know, some of you might not know, but both me and Nuno are tech nerds. We have played with tech most of our lives, always looking for the next available new piece of technology to use or collect. We are going to talk about that and maybe start on the positive side. The tech that changed our lives.Nuno Goncalves PedroI'm sure everyone has their stories. Even if you're not a nerd, there's going to be that piece of equipment, that mobile phone, that gaming console, that whatever, that dramatically changed you, made you more productive, or allowed you to do something that you'd never done before, et cetera.It's always an interesting conversation to have, and it creates a lot of wonderful memories. It brings you back to places, it brings you back to that moment where you bought the device, that first time that you used it, the experiences you had, some of them maybe actually, not necessarily positive. We'll come back to the worst tech purchases of all time. Shall I launch Austilities, Bertrand? Shall I tell my first one?Bertrand SchmittSure, Nuno, feel free.Nuno Goncalves PedroGood stuff. I'll start with maybe the one that I've had the longest memory on, which is the Philips Videopac. Now, many of you will have no clue what I'm talking about.Bertrand SchmittNo idea.Nuno Goncalves PedroThe Videopac. Even Bertrand, which is impressive. The Videopac was a video game console that worked with cartridges, launched obviously via Philips. I'm not sure if the one I had was actually from Philips, question mark. It was the same format and I remember it very fondly.It was really a gaming console with a little joystick. Very basic thing. The Videopac was actually launched first thing in '83. I'm not sure when I first started using it, but I suspect I was 7 or 8 years old, so that would have been a couple of years thereafter.I remember it fondly. We got it from Andorra. If you guys know, I was born in Portugal. Andorra is this small-owned country between Spain and France, and they had no sales taxes back then, so you'd go there and buy stuff really cheaply. I think that's what we bought when I went there with my parents.I remember it very fondly. I remember playing games on it. Strangely enough, I don't remember any of the games I played on it, but I remember it very fondly as one of my first computer experiences and stuff. That was pretty cool.Bertrand SchmittNice. I think in France. I'm not sure this one was available. At least it doesn't ring a bell. I think we had some Atari consoles in France. Me, actually, I didn't start with a console. I started with a regular computer. Not the PC kind. It was an Atari computer. Actually Atari 520ST, very popular in Europe.There was also Amiga that had similar computers. It was Motorola CPU 68000 if I remember.

Lion's Choice

Humans are moving towards a day when there are space colonies in orbit, on the Moon, and the planet Mars, places where the force of gravity ranges between zero and 38% of what we experience every day. What effect will such different environments have on the regeneration of liver, skin, and other human body organs? To discover how the remarkable ability of Planaria flat worms to regenerate amputated body parts functions in a weightless environment researchers at Tufts University compared a group of whole and amputated flat worms which had lived for 5 weeks on the International Space Station with control groups which remained behind on planet Earth. The space faring flatworms were found to have undergone metabolic and other body function changes which persisted after they returned to Earth. Strangely one of the amputated worm fragments sent into space developed into an extremely rare double headed worm. Researchers were astonished since they had not seen this happen once during 5 years of observations of 15,000 worms. Further when both heads were removed from the space traveling double headed worm's middle section it grew 2 heads indicating that its body modification plan was permanent. The implications of these experiments for humans in space, if any, remain to be determined. Bottom line is we just don't know enough about how human reproduction and development will work off the Earth to plan on having permanent sustainable colonies elsewhere.

How many Air Bud movies are there? A handful, right? Maybe if you have really big hands. And next year there'll be another one, because we're in the golden age of nostalgia baiting. And speaking of nostalgia, remember when the Twins were good? Strangely, it seems that paying everyone tens of millions of dollars is not necessarily improving the game.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dear friends,Strangely, some people find it easier to believe in Satan than to believe in God. But what they think of Satan can be so different to the Bible as to not be recognisable. Moving to Genesis 3 has given us an opportunity to pause and think about Satan: his character, his nature, and his ways of operation. I don't want you to enjoy a discussion on Satan, but I do hope you find it stimulating and informative.Yours,Phillip This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe

The Prince of Darkness has left us. Strangely, after all this time, a day that many of us much younger than him thought we'd never live to see.

Matt Spiegel and Laurence Holmes opened their show by reacting to the National League winning the All-Star Game in a home run swing-off Tuesday. After that, Spiegel shared his top moments from the All-Star Game.

In this episode, we examine a curious detail tucked into the final chapters of Solomon's story in 1 Kings 11:14–25: the sudden introduction of adversaries—foreign “satans”—raised up by God as instruments of discipline and judgment. Strangely, these figures are never mentioned during the development or height of Solomon's reign, even though one, Hadad the Edomite, had been active from the beginning. Why does the narrator wait until the end to reveal them?We explore the theological significance of this narrative choice, noting that both adversaries emerge from outside of Israel—Hadad from the south (Edom) and Rezon from the north (Aram/Syria)—strategically positioned at the entry points to Israel's land. It's as if God is encircling Solomon's kingdom, initiating judgment from the very edges of the nation's security and prosperity.Then, we leap forward to the New Testament where Peter, in Matthew 16:21–23, becomes an unexpected “satan” to Jesus—an adversary not from the outside, but from within. Peter's well-meaning but misguided rebuke tempts Jesus to embrace a human-centered vision of kingship, one that avoids the cross. But unlike Israel's previous kings, Jesus does not deviate. He discerns the difference between the “things of God” and the “things of men,” and chooses the path of obedience.Through this contrast, we uncover what makes Jesus not only the rightful King of Israel but the sovereign King over all nations: He alone withstands the adversary's in his life - internal and external - whether foreign or familiar, and remains wholly aligned with the will of God.Key Passages:1 Kings 11:14-25Matthew 16:21-23Explainer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Video⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on how to use ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.biblehub.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.blueletterbible.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leave us a question or comment at our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website podcast page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.* Intro Music: "Admirable" Carlos Herrera Music

Matt Spiegel and Laurence Holmes reacted to the National League winning the All-Star Game in a home run swing-off.

The nerve ablation from January is fully worn off and the nerves in my legs and back are firing all the time now…mostly in the middle of the night. Strangely and oddly enough, a few swigs of Diet Coke kill the leg cramps! Modern science…it is a wonder to behold!  The Music Authority Podcast...download, listen, share, repeat…heard daily on Belter Radio, Podchaser, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Listen Notes, Mixcloud, Player FM, Tune In, Podcast Addict, Cast Box, Radio Public, Pocket Cast, APPLE iTunes, and direct for the source distribution site: *Podcast - https://themusicauthority.transistor.fm/  AND NOW there is a website! TheMusicAuthority.comThe Music Authority Podcast! Special Recorded Network Shows, too! Different than my daily show! Seeing that I'm gone from FB now…Follow me on “X” Jim Prell@TMusicAuthority*The Music Authority on @BelterRadio Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 7 pm ET & Wednesday 9 pm ET*Radio Candy Radio Monday Wednesday, & Friday 7PM ET, 4PM PT*Rockin' The KOR Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 7PM UK time, 2PM ET, 11AM PT  www.koradio.rocks*Pop Radio UK Friday, Saturday, & Sunday 6PM UK, 1PM ET, 10AM PT! *The Sole Of Indie https://soleofindie.rocks/ Monday Through Friday 6-7PM EST!*AltPhillie.Rocks Sunday, Thursday, & Saturday At 11:00AM ET!July 16, 2025, Wednesday, set two…@Lisa Mychols - Go All The Way [Power Pop Unplugged] (@Zero Hour Records)@TheJivePowerPop - Heart Of Gold (@Rum Bar Records)@Tamar Berk - June Lake [Start At The End]@The Happy Somethings - A Kind Of Loving@Ronnie D'Addario - Pop Rock [Good For You] (@You Are The Cosmos )@Fernando Perdomo With @Brent Bourgeois - Hello It's Me [Someone Anyone - A Fifty Year Tribute To @Todd Rundgren's “Something Anything” Album'@Herb Eimerman - Sentimental In Berlin [Five Dimensional Man]@Atomic - Hey Now Right Now@The Chickenbackers - The Surfer Chicken [Yeh, Right Yeah!] (koolkatmusik.com)@Jim Basnight & @The Moberlys - You Came And You Conquered [Seattle - New York - Los Angeles]@Paul Davie & The BFF's - I'll Stand By You [Half And Half - Originals And Eclectic Covers]@The Knack - Can't Put A Price On Love [Retrospective - The Best Of The Knack]@The Kowalskis - Oh Dee Dee [30 Years Of Goofballs] (@Rum Bar Records)@The Ramones - We're A Happy Family@The Sellwoods - Joyride Through Sellwood City@The Sun Sawed In Half - Before The Fall [Before the Fall]@Telephone – Woman@Chris Church – Understudy Blues [Limitations Of Source Tape] (@Spyder Pop Records) (@Big Stir Records)@Straight Eight – I'm Sorry

Prayer. Deeply sacred. Nearly universally practiced. Kind of weird. Strangely secretive for many people. Rarely discussed in public. Prayer.Rev. Dani Hillyer and Matt Mattson dive deeply into their understanding of and experience with prayer in this episode. How do you pray? Take some time to enjoy this sacred episode exploring the wild and wonderful world of prayer with Matt and Dani.

Dave and Eric welcome Matt from Top Secret! Minute! for the first week of a new podcast. Strangely, a movie about an LA cop opens in Beirut, Lebanon.

Building a business can feel a lot like dancing on knives. Strangely enough, The Little Mermaid has quite a bit to say about that. In this episode, Ron Tester and I explore how her excruciating transformation from sea creature to human mirrors the messy leap from corporate life to entrepreneurship. We talk about the power of voice, why leaning into your strengths matters more than vague dreams + why having a plan beats just following a dream. And of course—the importance of double checking your vendor costs – giving up your voice at a crucial moment, is not good business. This is a Classics episode where we take a story that definitely isn't a business book + see what lessons we can learn anyway. Look for more shows in this series. Book discussed in this episode: The Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Andersen Ron's Website: rontestercoaching.com ==== If you'd like my help with your Business go to www.lizscully.com/endlessClients ==== And don't forget to get your reading list of the 10 essential reads for every successful biz owner - these are the books Liz recommends almost on the daily to her strategy + Mastermind clients. This isn't your usual list of biz books, these answer the challenges you've actually got coming up right now. Helpful, quick to read and very timely.

Send us a textIn Episode 209 of Book Talk, Etc., Tina and Hannah are sharing thoughts on weird girl books! In this episode we share some books that worked for us, some that missed the mark, and discuss some heroines that we found strangely endearing and relatable - even in their weird quirks.If you prefer other shopping options, you can find today's books on Bookshop.org or Blackwell's. Purchasing through these links supports us with a small commission, at no extra cost to you.Loving LatelyJunk Journaling (T)Nenna's AccountPrime Drinks (H)Latest ReadWhat Kind of Paradise | Janelle Brown (T)Heartwood | Amity Gaige (H)Weird Girl BooksImmaculate Conception | Ling Ling Huang (T)Victorian Psycho | Virginia Feito (H)Sky Daddy | Kate Folk (T)Deadly Animals | Marie Tierney (H)Shelf AdditionThe Widow | John Grisham (T)August Lane | Regina Black (H)If you enjoy our commercial-free podcast, please consider supporting us on Patreon! Your membership will give you access to our exclusive bonus episodes, including Niche Novels, Books We DNFed, and What's in the Mailbag! Plus, you'll receive invites to monthly events like Mood Reader Happy Hour and Bookstore Browsing, and a private Facebook group and Discord server where you can interact with other fans of the show... all for just $5 a month!Support the showLet's Connect... Email us at booktalketc@gmailBTE on YoutubeTina's TikTok , IG @tbretc YT @tbretcHannah's TikTok , IG @hanpickedbooksJonathan IG @infiltrate_jayPodcast IG @booktalketcRenee's Substack Newsletter , IG@Itsbooktalk

The beauty of the writings of the fathers and in particular the lived experiences of the monks as described in the Evergetinos brings to life the spiritual life in an unparalleled fashion. They show us that there is no part of the spiritual life that can be seen outside the context of our relationship with God. In other words, there is no spiritual practice or discipline, no spiritual fruit or experience that does not begin and end with God and his grace.  Contrition is love! It is rooted in the growing experience of loss that one has by turning away from God because of one's attachment to the things of this world or to one's own judgment. When contrition emerges within the human heart, when the  sword of sorrow that pierced through our Lord‘s heart allows us to taste its metal, and when tears begin to flow without measure, one does not distract oneself from the experience. To do so would be to turn away from God.  So often we want to control or manage, not only circumstances, but our experience of what is going on internally and in our relationship with God.  It is difficult for us to allow ourselves to be taken by the hand and guided by Christ along the path that leads to our sanctification and intimacy with him. Strangely enough, we often become the focus of our own spiritual life; how well we are doing things, the disciplines that we keep, the sins that we avoid, the regularity of our prayer. However, we are shown that God can bestow upon a soul the gift of contrition and tears in a moment of domestic work. God does this in order that we might have no illusion about where this gift comes from. Whenever we tie contrition to what it is that we are doing, we either take hold of it as if it were our own or we seek to distract ourselves from it. Often it is emotionally hard for us to linger long in such sorrow and humility. Yet the fathers show us that this gift is precious, not to be turned away from quickly, but rather fostered.  Such teaching becomes a stark reminder that our faith is rooted in a relationship with a God who has come to us to heal us; that humble sorrow and that flood of tears become the very means by which He lifts us up. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:10:54 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 254, 2nd paragraph of # 18 00:11:15 Adam Paige: Reacted to "515714551_18143336329396209_7085918453142515818_n.jpg" with ☦️ 00:15:36 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 254, 2nd paragraph of # 18 00:26:16 Una: So don't stop weaving the baskets? 00:31:18 Kathleen: God have mercy on our lack of awareness. 00:38:57 Anthony: When I try to pray the "right" way, my mind usually trips me up.  Prayer is easier when walking, not paying attention to "I have to do this right....oh no, bad thought, distraction.....I have to do this right.....pay attention,  why did you have that distraction....." etc. 00:40:17 Forrest Cavalier: Reacted to "When I try to pray t..." with

HELP SUPPORT US AS WE DOCUMENT HISTORY HERE: https://gogetfunding.com/help-keep-wam-alive/# GET NON-MRNA FREEZE DRIED MEAT HERE: https://wambeef.com/ Use code WAMBEEF to save 20%! GET HEIRLOOM SEEDS & NON GMO SURVIVAL FOOD HERE: https://heavensharvest.com/ USE Code WAM to save 5% plus free shipping! Josh Sigurdson reports on the strange extreme weather kicking off not just throughout the United States but worldwide as Texas suffers a massive storm in Kerr County causing devastating floods with water as high as 42 feet. We've all heard by now of the tragedy in Texas as massive floods hit near Kerrville leading to an entire girl's Christian summer camp (Camp Mystic) being destroyed with at one time, 23 girls missing. Our hearts are with them and their families at this time. So, what happened? The Guadalupe River rose in some areas 42 feet in just 1-3 hours and in other areas 26 feet in 45 minutes. People have been found clinging to trees after an entire day. The images are horrifying and apocalyptic. Strangely, cloud formations that mimic a hurricane were quickly spotted on weather maps with specific areas having non-stop rain for days. The flashes of red and orange on the weather maps seems to point to weather modification. It does not seem normal. It so happens that there is indeed a rain enhancement project over that exact area where cloud seeding is done to force rain in the area. We saw similar things in Dubai which lead to massive flooding. The same goes for Spain recently which faced intense and deadly floods. It also so happens that there many be a land grab to build a massive $175 million natural gas power plant in the area of Kerrville and there could be a move to bring in a smart city type grid in the region. We saw the same in Asheville, North Carolina as well as in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu in California which is now facing imminent domain for all surviving structures. Why do these so-called "coincidences" keep adding up? What is the modus operandi? Clearly, with massive food shortages and about 50 crises happening simultaneously, it's order out of chaos. We know that tyranny comes under the guise of convenience. We know they want a technocratic grid with food and grid rations based on social credit and digital IDs. With the United Nations Pact For The Future signed by 193 countries, this is already underway. As we see the grid go down in Czechia, we also see strange events happening in Las Vegas and Michigan where both places saw a sudden collapse of countless power poles for miles down the road after freak winds. Whether it is via weather modification, Bird Flu, war, economic collapse or attacks on farmers, it's clear the agenda remains the same. Are you prepared? Stay tuned for more from WAM! DITCH YOUR DOCTOR! https://www.livelongerformula.com/wam Get a natural health practitioner and work with Christian Yordanov! Mention WAM and get a FREE masterclass! You will ALSO get a FREE metabolic function assessment! GET YOUR APRICOT SEEDS at the life-saving Richardson Nutritional Center HERE: https://rncstore.com/r?id=bg8qc1 Use code JOSH to save money! Get local, healthy, pasture raised meat delivered to your door here: https://wildpastures.com/promos/save-20-for-life/bonus15?oid=6&affid=321 USE THE LINK & get 20% off for life and $15 off your first box! SIGN UP FOR HOMESTEADING COURSES NOW: https://freedomfarmers.com/link/17150/ Get Prepared & Start The Move Towards Real Independence With Curtis Stone's Courses! GET YOUR WAV WATCH HERE: https://buy.wavwatch.com/WAM Use Code WAM to save $100 and purchase amazing healing frequency technology! GET ORGANIC CHAGA MUSHROOMS HERE: https://alaskachaga.com/wam Use code WAM to save money! See shop for a wide range of products! GET AMAZING MEAT STICKS HERE: https://4db671-1e.myshopify.com/discount/WAM?rfsn=8425577.918561&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=8425577.918561 USE CODE WAM TO SAVE MONEY! GET YOUR FREEDOM KELLY KETTLE KIT HERE: https://patriotprepared.com/shop/freedom-kettle/ Use Code WAM and enjoy many solutions for the outdoors in the face of the impending reset! BUY GOLD HERE: https://firstnationalbullion.com/schedule-consult/ PayPal: ancientwonderstelevision@gmail.com FIND OUR CoinTree page here: https://cointr.ee/joshsigurdson PURCHASE MERECHANDISE HERE: https://world-alternative-media.creator-spring.com/ JOIN US on SubscribeStar here: https://www.subscribestar.com/world-alternative-media For subscriber only content! Pledge here! Just a dollar a month can help us alive! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2652072&ty=h&u=2652072 BITCOIN ADDRESS: 18d1WEnYYhBRgZVbeyLr6UfiJhrQygcgNU World Alternative Media 2025

One of the most shocking stories in scripture is that of Abraham and Isaac. You know the story: In Genesis, Abraham is visited by an angel of God, who instructs Abraham to sacrifice his son. Strangely, Abraham immediately obeys and begins a journey up a mountain with Isaac to do just that.What do we do with this story today? In this episode, our hosts unpack the context of this wild tale, share its absurdities, and invite listeners to interpret it differently.Thank you for listening! Don't forget to subscribe or follow the podcast so you don't miss a single episode.Enjoyed the episode? Share it with a friend, and leave a rating and review to help us reach more people!We need your questions! Email commonspace@ahumc.org or visit https://ahumc.org/questions to submit your faith-related questions.Email us at podcasts@ahumc.org or visit ahumc.org to learn more about Alamo Heights UMC.Recommended Resources:‘Not in God's Name' by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks‘Breathing Under Water' Chapter 3 by Richard Rohr“All Directions” Music Video by Son LuxHosts: Chris Estus, Ryan Jacobson, and Darrell Smith

This week, Lindy wears a hat!!!!It's Hat Girl Summer, and Lindy is patient zero. We know that could be the whole episode, BUT we have business to discuss. We have landed on a name for our $12 Patreon tier. Hint: It's NOT Big Beautiful Listeners, but you miiiight just see BBL designated to something else in the near future. We love love loved hearing from you all on the Patreon. Never stop pitching us names and your weird little ideas over at patreon.com/textmebackpod!Next on the docket, we have a Whatcha Watchin' where Meagan shares her thoughts on Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning. Spoiler: it f*ckin' ROCKS. Tell us your Tom Cruise trivia and MI thoughts via the BFF Party Phone at (703) 829-0003. Strangely, Lindy categorizes yet another worm under the Normal News category instead of Snake of the Week??? What is she trying to say???? Notes app apology in progress?And finally, it's Segment Pubes, where Lindy and Meagan process the eldritch horror that is Elon Musk stepping down from his unelected ketamine-drenched government puppet master role. It's just another week with your BBLs and BBWs. Sign up for the newsletter, subscribe to the Patreon, tell us how you're processing everything in the world, and always remember: hat.NEVER LISTENED TO THE POD BEFORE? HERE IS YOUR STARTER KIT TO BEING BFFS WITH US!Revisit the first appearance of Dr. Freek Vonk and Freekaconda in Lindy and Meagan have Died of DysenteryMeet Kevin in: Lindy and Meagan Need to Talk About KevinLearn why they keep saying BBW in Lindy and Meagan Are Officially BBWsDiscover the Kayak Dad Lore in: It's Our First Episode!WE NEED OUR ACCOLADES! It helps people find the show.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 stars only please) on Spotify⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 stars only please) on Apple PodcastsGive us Rave Reviews and Accolades on Apple Podcasts! REAL LIFE EXAMPLE:“Inspiring, silly, so good! Thanks Meagan and Lindy. Best podcast ever.”SHMADS23 **YOU'RE** THE BEST PODCAST EVER!!!!STUFF TO CHECK OUT:NEWSLETTER ME BACK (A FREE WAY TO SUPPORT THE SHOW!)New $12 tier is live! Hop on over to Patreon to check out our new name

This one's an eclectic collection of thoughts emerging from listener messages and the ongoing experience of running games in the wake of recent episodes.When I started this podcast, it was really about getting my concern about losing gamers to the experience of play - of people giving up the play which enriches our lives under the pressures of modern living. At the same time, I was aware that the title - Roleplay Rescue - implies that the show is about recovering the art and depth of roleplaying. Strangely, all these years later, that is what is emerging.This episode, I tune back in to the community with a handful of messages received over the past month. I'll share a few thoughts, riffing off those calls and I hope that'll give us a worthwhile few minutes of content.Thanks to Steve, Jason, Patrick, and Jon for the call-in!Game on!Roleplay Rescue Details:Voice Message:speakpipe.com/roleplayrescuePatreon:patreon.com/rpgrescue Email:roleplayrescue@pm.meBlogroleplayrescue.com Bluesky Social:https://bsky.app/profile/ubiquitousrat.bsky.socialMeWe:https://mewe.com/p/roleplayrescueLogo and artwork by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We would like to humbly announce that we are ✨ready ✨ to accept that Golden Globe for Podcasting despite them not being particularly interested!!! We won't let that stop us

In a season of Stillness—but I'm still here. ❤️‍

EPISODE SUMMARY One tree in the woods refuses to change, refuses to die. That's not the strangest thing here, as something wants to keep our wanderer from returning home.  SHOW NOTES Under the Autumn Strangely One Shot News & Updates Dragon Age: In Darkness Eternal Follow the cast here! Dillin Brian Flaherty Apollo Pierce Fiona Howat Amelia Som ----------------------------------------------------- Find and call your representatives and be heard (US) Find and call your members of Parliament and be heard (Canada) Find and call your members of Parliament and be heard (UK) ---------------------------------------------------- Music Used in This Episode Creak, Wicked Cinema Three trees. Rest Settle Theme Park Train by Mountain Dreamers Talkers by Heartland Nights Editing and sound design by Shaghik. Find Shaghik online here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EPISODE SUMMARY Under the Autumn Strangely is a SUPER funky pastoral horror game of autumnal melancholy. Let's take a wander through a strange wood and see what it takes to get back home. SHOW NOTES Under the Autumn Strangely One Shot News & Updates Dillin's unhinged game inspired by Mickey 17 Follow the cast here! Dillin Brian Flaherty Apollo Pierce Fiona Howat Amelia Som ----------------------------------------------------- Find and call your representatives and be heard (US) Find and call your members of Parliament and be heard (Canada) Find and call your members of Parliament and be heard (UK) ---------------------------------------------------- Music Used in This Episode Creak, Wicked Cinema Three trees. Rest Settle Left for Dead. Wastelander Veil of Secrets. Wicked Cinema Life Fulfilled, Cody Martin Editing and sound design by Shaghik. Find Shaghik online here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Preview: Colleague Conrad Black Comments on the Strangely Exaggerated Campaigning by PM Mark Carney as If Donald Trump Is Planning to Invade. More LATER. 1878 NWMP.