Guest Rooms, Palm Springs, and a Chicken | A Soft, Meandering Wind-Down

In Guest Rooms, Palm Springs, and a Chicken, Amanda and Marco ease into a softly wandering conversation about hospitality, travel, and a few unexpected animal encounters. They begin by reflecting on the comforts they like to offer in a guest room — the small, thoughtful details that make someone feel at home — and what it’s like to shift between being a host and being a guest. From there, Marco shares a curious moment from their recent trip to Palm Springs, which leads to a gentle exploration of the word “non-plussed” and how language can surprise us.
The episode drifts further into lighthearted stories involving a chicken, a cow, and even a goat, each tale told with calm affection and quiet humour. As always, this calming podcast unfolds at an unhurried pace, offering a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. It’s perfect for background listening at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up — just steady companionship, mild musings, and a soft place for your thoughts to land.

​Guest Rooms, Palm Springs, and a Chicken
(Original airdate: Sept 24, 2025)

This podcast is meant to help you drift away and fall asleep if you can

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you drift away and fall asleep if you can. Otherwise, just listen and hopefully this podcast will calm you in some way Shape or form? I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda: You said hopefully funny. You're like, hopefully the buggers will calm you.

Marco: I felt like a weird whistle in the fully part of hopefully come out of my mouth, so it made me pause for a second.

Amanda: Well, I'm Amanda Barker, Marco Timpano's weird whistle.


Our podcast episodes are on supercast now for anyone who wants ad free listens

Marco: Amanda, I want to mention this right off the top of this, episode. Our podcast episodes are on supercast now for anyone who wants to have ad free listens.

Amanda: You've been working so hard to make that happen.

Marco: And what happened, Amanda, was I put them all up with just an RSS feed, but it included.

Amanda: What does that mean, an RSS feed? RSS feed for those of us who don't understand.

Marco: I'll get to that in a minute.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco: When I use that feed, it put the, it put the ads on with those episodes. so some of the people who subscribed to it had said the ads are there. And so I had to contact them and see what was going. Going off there. And now I have to upload each episode going off, what was. What was happening. And so I have to upload each episode individually. So I have this season and last season. I'm uploading all the seasons.

Amanda: He's been working hard, folks. I didn't even know this until this moment, what exactly was happening, but now I understand.

Marco: Yeah, so, so you want ad free listens, you can go to the insomniaproject Supercast CA where you can subscribe and get ad free episodes. So there you have it.

Amanda: And that's obviously by demand. So you've been working hard to make that happen.

Marco: Yeah, some people.

Amanda: Because we did have it before and then they were no longer available.

Marco: Exactly. And some people are perfectly fine just listening to the podcast on their favorite podcast player. And the ads don't bother them, so that's great too.

Amanda: And we work hard to make sure that the ads that are there are ones that hopefully are. Are in tune with the cadence of the podcast. We do our best.

Marco: Sadly, I don't have as much say in that. Yeah, based on ACAST sort of puts them up. And I've, I've had many conversations with them asking them to put calmer ads in those spots.

Amanda: But we love to hear your feedback. if the ads aren't working for you, or anything.

Marco: Yeah, there's an alternative. If there's an episode you would like to hear, let us know.


Amanda, we had some wonderful guests stay at our house last week

So, Amanda, I wanted to talk about this. We had some wonderful guests stay at our house last week.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: How do you like to prepare a guest room and. Or what do you like in a guest room?

Amanda: Oh, interesting. Well, you and I were also guests at our friend's house, the week prior.

Marco: Oh, yes, we were.

Amanda: He looked at me like I was crazy.

Marco: I was like, we were. And I was like, yes, we were, we were.

Amanda: And one thing that I noticed that our host did was she put photos of us and them in that room, which I thought was so sweet. So I like to do the same for my guests. And so I did the same and I always have photos of my family in that room Anyhow, so I featured the photos of the wedding photos and so on of our two wonderful. Are we going to say who our wonderful guests were?

Marco: Well, we certainly can.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco: It was our nephew and our sister in law, Carrie, and they were beyond delightful guests and they're some of our favorite people in all the world. M. And I have to say I

Amanda: got to go to two museums in two days, which is super fun for me. Well, an aquarium is an aquarium. A museum.

Marco: This aquarium, which is the Ripley's aquarium in Toronto, feels like it has a lot of information. So there's a lot of knowledge based information one can gain from that aquarium. So I would say it certainly museum esque.

Amanda: A living museum.

Marco: A living museum. And where was the other museum you went to?

Amanda: It was the Royal Ontario Museum, affectionately referred to as the rom. And I haven't been there in a while, so it was nice to go back.

Marco: Here's a fun fact. if you live in Toronto and you have a library card, you can go to the website and they will have certain museums where you can get a pass to those museums. As long as you bring the pass that you get or on, on your phone and your library card and show them, they will let you and three other people in.

Amanda: I have to say, a library card is a magical, magical thing. We've said it many times on this podcast and since we both have our TPL cards, our Toronto Public Library cards, I was able to use that and the night before, get a pass for a family of four to the Royal Ontario Museum. That's quite a gift.

Marco: It is a gift. And libraries are a gift.

Amanda: They are.

Marco: And if you are thinking I want to donate to a, ah, charity or something, look in into your library, your local library, and see what they may need. M. Money always goes, far for them, but they might need volunteers and just investigate your library before I go

Amanda: back to the guest room and attend your library because they need to show that they are needed. And so, you know, check out a book, read a magazine, go get an audiobook.

Marco: They have lecturers that come. They have guest speakers.

Amanda: That's true.

Marco: Sometimes they'll have, like, workshops. Wonderful. If you're like, oh, the winter keeps me inside. I don't have a lot to do in the winter. Look at your library.

Amanda: And there are over. I mean, we're just so passionate about this. But there are wonderful apps. The overdrive app here in Toronto, I use also the Libby app, which I think you can use, I think, anywhere in the world. And it connects to your local library, and you have access to all of their ebooks, audiobooks, and more.

Marco: Honestly, I have to say a, special shout out to the Waterloo Public Library that had me as a guest speaker one time, because of this podcast and how much we love libraries

Amanda: and full circle, I won a bunch of things at that event, including passes to the aquarium that we went to.

Marco: There you go.


So back to the RSS feed before we get to the guest room

So back to the RSS feed before we get to the guest room.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco: So an RRS feed stands for Real Simple Syndication, and it is the feed that contains all the information in this case of our podcast. And so what that feed does is it sends a signal to our podcast directory, which in this case is acast, and that feed gets sent to them with all the information. So the show notes, the recorded episode, the picture of our artwork, all that is the RSS feed.

Amanda: Tell me more, because I'm finding this is putting me to sleep.

Marco: So the RSS feed that I used, I just uploaded it to Supercast, thinking, oh, Supercast will remove the ads. But that RSS feed had the ads embedded into it. And so when I sent the RSS feed to Supercast, the ads were embedded into that RSS feed. And so I have to send each episod episode individually to Supercast.

Amanda: Thank you. I'm glad we got that.


Amanda: I like towels for guests. I like to give guests towels, okay

Marco: So back to the guest room. Amanda. I like to give guests towels, okay. So that they have their own lovely towels. And I always try to get our nicest, softest towels for our guests.

Amanda: Yeah, I don't know if any of our towels are particularly soft these days. I think we're in need of some new towels.

Marco: I want to get towels just for guests. So like a, two body towels, or what do you call the big towel?

Amanda: What about those ones we took from Turks and Caicos? Those are nice. I know I stole them from a resort, but still, they don't.

Marco: They look like resort or beach towels to me.

Amanda: I don't know.

Marco: They're pretty nice, but they just look like beach towels.

Amanda: All right, fair.

Marco: I want nice guest towels.

Amanda: I. I like towels that go around me. I don't like it when towels don't go fully around me when. When I kind of put them together and there's a little split down the middle.

Marco: It's so funny because Carrie got you a g. Enormous.

Amanda: Oh, you know what we didn't get? We didn't put the towels out. Oh, I feel so dumb.

Marco: Why?

Amanda: Because I said, what towels should we put out? And you said, these ones we didn't put out. The towel she gave us the big.

Marco: The big giant one that goes around our bodies three times. Yeah, I guess we could have.

Amanda: Why didn't she gave us those?

Marco: Well, Carrie, if you're listening, you'll have to come back.

Amanda: You'll have to come back.

Marco: If you come back, we'll make sure you get them. And the simple solution is we have them back as guests.

Amanda: Yeah. Which my nephew said. We'll be back. It's one of the last things he said very, very sweetly.

Marco: Yeah. So I like towels. I like, I don't know what else I like in a guest room, but. But yeah, I would say towels are important.

Amanda: Okay. There's nothing else you need as a guest.

Marco: Nice pillow, comfortable bed. If I can.

Amanda: I like making sure there's a phone charger in there.

Marco: Oh, that's smart.

Amanda: Yeah. But then it's hard because some people have different kinds of phones and.

Marco: True.

Amanda: So what do you have? One of each, I guess.

Marco: Well, you could have the little. The little nubbin that the phone charger goes in.

Amanda: Definitely the technical term.

Marco: What do you call that little piece? The piece that. The.

Amanda: The nubbin.

Marco: The nubbin. The little nubbin that. Your phone charger.

Amanda: You call it all. A charger. You call the charger.

Marco: The cord.

Amanda: You call the wall thing. The charger.

Marco: What do you call. Each one has a different.

Amanda: I don't know, the core. I don't know, the cord. The charging cord, and then the charging port.

Marco: Oh, yeah, that makes sense.

Amanda: Or the nubbin.

Marco: The nubbin port. One of them, anyways. You choose your own adventure there. Your little nubbin of a charger, I was remembering.


It feels like Palm Springs is like the distant cousin of Miami

So we recently went to Palm Springs with our friends that we were at their place. We were guests at their place. And the hotel that they took us to in Palm Springs was so delightful. It had this beautiful, color to it that was almost pink, almost beige inside.

Amanda: I think that's the official tone of

Marco: palm Springs almost pink, almost beige.

Amanda: I think there's a lot of pinky sort of Miami. It feels like Palm Springs is like the distant cousin of Miami.

Marco: Yeah, it's art deco, it's pastels mid century. It has all that. If you haven't been to Palm Springs, it's a lovely.

Amanda: Drag queens and show tunes.

Marco: Yeah, that's Miami too.

Amanda: Yeah. I think they're cousins.

Marco: They are?

Marco: They are.

Amanda: One's in the desert, one's on the ocean.

Marco: But still, I would say that, Palm Springs is the calmer cousin.

Amanda: Yeah, I think you're right about that.

Marco: The smaller, older, calmer cousin.

Amanda: Chiller.

Marco: Chiller, yeah.

Amanda: More. More retired cousin.


Did you enjoy Palm Springs? I did. Did you? I was surprised at how A, hot it was

Marco: Did you enjoy Palm Springs?

Amanda: I did. Did you?

Marco: I was surprised at how A, hot it was. I knew we were in the desert,

Amanda: but B. Yeah, you know, it's gonna be hot. But it was hot. It was hot. And smaller than I thought.

Marco: It was smaller than I thought.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: But really quite delightful.

Marco: And you know me, I like to go on a knickknack store. Oh, I should tell. I should tell the story of going into that one store.

Amanda: I don't know. Oh, sure.

Marco: So I went to Starbucks to get a cool drink and I decided to

Amanda: get the, by the way, the Starbucks downtown Palm Springs. I am sorry to interrupt you, but they give like unlimited venti ice waters to everybody and I have to just shout them out because all day, every day, people come in just needing water and they just go for it. They don't.

Marco: They don't roll their eyes.

Amanda: Nope.

Marco: They don't question it.

Amanda: Here's the water. Use the bathroom. Do what you gotta do. We get it.

Marco: So I'm in this wonderful Starbucks in Palm Springs and I wanted to get a cold drink and I know that Amanda doesn't like strawberry, so I didn't get the strawberry lemonade in case Amanda wanted to have some of that drink.

Amanda: Although, to be honest, I don't mind a strawberry drink, but.

Marco: Oh, really? Okay, that's good to know.

Amanda: Yeah, I mean, it depends.

Marco: But anyway, so I decided to get the, Dragon fruit drink. And they said, do you want it with coconut water? And I'm like, sure, like milk or water. I feel like it was milk.

Amanda: It looked milky. Yeah, it looked like a thick. I mean it really. Now listen, I just shot up Starbucks, but it looked like a Pepto Bismo kind of situation.

Marco: It was that color pink. It was a bright, thick, thick pink.

Amanda: And you got a Venti, like a large one.

Marco: I got a Venti because I thought you were going to drink some and Amanda did not want any.

Amanda: I took one sip and went, I'm good.

Marco: So I'm, walking around with this ginormous pink drink and I'm loving life. It's warm. And we go into this fancy store that sells greeting cards and Christmas ornaments.

Amanda: There's a lot of those stores, I have to say, in Palm Springs. There's like a rack of sequin tops. And then the rest of it is like funny, irreverent cards and coffee table books. Yeah, like the, you know, there's like kitschy versions of that and then nicer versions that are campy kitschy, but like also nice. This was more of the latter. Like the campy kitschy nice versus just gag gifts.

Marco: Now a lot of these stores that we went into had a little table to put your drink. This one did not. I need to mention that.

Marco: And so I'm like, you walked in

Amanda: and it said, put your drink here. Which I think is a lovely courtesy because you need a drink to be walking around Palm Springs. It is that hot.

Marco: And once again, this place did not have it.


Amanda spilled a pink drink in a store that was white

Marco: So I think you know where this is going. And everything in this store is white. White tiles, white walls, white, white, white. Even the. Even the man who owned it were white.

Amanda: How could this story end?

Marco: So I'm having a great time and I'm talking to my good friend Nima. And Nima and I are just like, you know, looking at stuff and I'm like, oh, Nima. Or I said, amanda, look at this. Because I saw a really, chunky necklace that was 50% off that I thought you might like, didn't like it. As I turn to kind of gesture to where it was, the drink falls out of my hand. And you know, when you go to grab the drink and you just make it worse, it splonches on the floor and there's just pink everywhere.

Amanda: It's just a sea of, pink ooze.

Marco: I'm mortified.

Amanda: On white tile and white furniture and white everything.

Marco: Yes, I'm mortified. The person who's behind the counter, who I'm assuming is the owner, because it seemed like he was. The owner was non plussed in the

Amanda: largest way, was not having it.

Marco: So I was like, oh my.

Amanda: And by the way, the word nonplussed you. And I might use it wrong just for the rest of the.

Marco: Okay, well he was.

Amanda: If that's triggering for anyone.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: So he wasn't having it.

Marco: He was not happy. So I'm of course, apologetic and wanting to clean it up. And he just throws me a paper towel roll.

Amanda: Yeah, I know. He was like, usually there's a. Like, oh, it's okay. Yeah. No, there was none of that.

Marco: And he kicks a. He kicks a garbage to me. He kicks his little garbage can. Waste basket to me. And I. Sopping it up. And I've done a decent job cleaning up. Shout out to Nima, who was also helping me. M. I'm on the floor in this store, and then the owner throws me a Windex bottle to continue cleaning his floor. And I did. And then I was a little bit annoyed, but I was like, okay, I should. I was the one who spilled it. So I cleaned the floor where I spilt the pink drink was spotless. And then I quickly exited the store. And as I'm leaving, I'm telling Amanda, I want this. This ornament. Buy this. But I was too embarrassed to stay

Amanda: in the store, so I bought the ornament. Just. So we bought something too, because we. I mean, I think you handle it as well as anyone. And you work next to a Starbucks. People are going to come in with their big drinks.

Marco: Exactly.


Nonplussed has two very different meanings, neither of which is ours

So that was the incident in Palm Springs. But you had a lovely little photo shoot in Palm Springs.

Amanda: I did. I was actually just looking up the word nonplus.

Marco: Oh, yeah. So what does it mean?

Amanda: It's such a confusing word. So why don't you define it as you use it and I'll define it as I use it because it has a lot of meaning for me.

Marco: It's someone who's really not impressed. So beyond not impressed. Eye rolly. doesn't want to give you the time.

Amanda: So the opposite would be to be plussed. Like, I'm non plussed. I'm not into it. Yeah, I'm very plussed about that.

Marco: I don't think you can say plus.

Amanda: Well, I don't. You can say whatever you want.

Marco: You're right.

Amanda: We did. We used to say overwhelmed. We never used to say underwhelmed. People, probably don't remember that, but there was a song called underwhelmed, and it was a. It was like that. It was like saying plussed. Because. And. And then the lyric of the song, it's by Sloan, for those in Canada.

Marco: I don't even know that song.

Amanda: She was underwhelmed, if that's a word. I think it's not, because I looked it up. So it. Underwhelmed. We all say underwhelmed.

Marco: Was that a lyric from the Song.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: Yeah, that's a lyric from the song, but it was not a lyric. Like, it was not a word back then.

Marco: I see.

Amanda: But we started saying it. Oh, that was very underwhelming.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: But we. We'd always say overwhelming. We wouldn't say whelming.

Marco: Right.

Amanda: Anyhow, I use it the same way, but I've always known that I probably use it wrong. So I'm going to read you. There's two very different definitions, neither of which is ours. I don't know.

Marco: Oh, wow.

Amanda: So the first one is of a person, a person being surprised and confused so much that they are unsure of how to act. I wish. So here's the example. He would be completely nonplussed and embarrassed at that idea.

Marco: Well, then I wasn't home plused by dropping my drink in that store.

Amanda: And then the second version is not, disconcerted. Or rather, unperturbed would be a synonym. I remember students being nonplussed about the flooding in the city as they become accustomed to it over the years.

Marco: So this person was the opposite of nonplussed because he was not happy.

Amanda: Yeah. And then there's a. Why does nonplussed have two meanings? In the 1580s, the word was used as a noun to mean a state where nothing more can be done or said.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: In the next decade, it transitioned to a verb that meant to perplex in the 1650s.

Marco: Is that what we're talking about? The next decade?

Amanda: In the 1590s?

Marco: Oh, my goodness.

Amanda: Okay. I don't know how anyone knows that. Wow. So I don't know. It has a lot of meanings, and I think we're all using it a little right and a little wrong.

Marco: Oh, there you go. Okay, well, that's good to know.

Amanda: Maybe we'll just start saying plussed.


We have guests coming to our home this month, I'm telling you

Marco: So you had this photo shoot?

Amanda: I did, yes.

Marco: And I think everyone was plussed with

Amanda: was silly and fun. Our very dear friends, wanted to do it because we were in Palm Springs, so she wanted me to wear muumus or feathers or sequins. And, And we just wanted to celebrate our sort of mutual milestone birthdays together.

Marco: It was awesome.

Amanda: Yeah, it was really fun because she had had hers, in Palm Springs, and it was very close to my birthday. So. Yeah, it was really fun.

Marco: We had a great time. And we had a great time with our guests who visited last week.

Amanda: Yeah, we did. Yeah.

Marco: And we have guests coming. Not to our home, but a,

Amanda: lot of friends and family this month, I'm telling you.

Marco: In October.

Amanda: That's a good gift, isn't it?

Marco: We have my aunt coming from Italy.

Amanda: Oh my goodness. No one knows the dates though. Ask every member of the family. They're all like, sometime in October.

Marco: I asked my sister and she said, I think October 7th. And then I thought, my mother will know because it's her sister.

Amanda: I've heard October 4th.

Marco: And my mother's like, isn't it October 7th? I'm like, I'm asking so that I can make plans.

Amanda: No one knows.

Marco: No one knows. So sometime I know they'll be here for Canadian Thanksgiving and explain who is coming. My mother's sister, my aunt Loretta, and

Amanda: her two granddaughters, all of whom who live in Italy.

Marco: Right. So they'll be here and, it should be a lot of fun.

Amanda: What's interesting, if I may, is that your mother's younger sister who lives in Italy, who actually did a lot of her growing up in Canada.

Marco: That's right.

Amanda: and moved back to Italy, right?

Marco: Yes.

Amanda: She was born in Italy.

Marco: She was born in Italy. Came when she was younger than my mother.

Amanda: Very young. Like six, I want to say.

Marco: I think a bit older, but, I could be wrong.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: And. But maybe you're right. She was young and had three kids here.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: And then moved back to Italy and had three more kids.

Amanda: Kids. Okay.

Marco: And so there's six cousins I have in Italy. And,

Amanda: Oh, so she had three kids. Oh, I didn't realize that.

Marco: Yeah, she had three kids here.

Amanda: I thought she had four kids here.

Marco: No, three and then three there.

Amanda: I see.

Marco: So, okay, there you go. And so, and they're coming.

Amanda: And we're very plussed about it.

Marco: We are plussed about it. So my aunt and two of her granddaughters are coming, one of whom I've met when she was very young. Now she's 22.

Amanda: I met her as well. She's very cute. When we met her 20, well, I don't know, like 18 years ago, we

Marco: met her and the other granddaughter, who I don't know, she's got more granddaughters, more grandkids, but those two are coming.

Amanda: Well, you have six kids, you're gonna have a lot of grandkids, right? Yeah.

Marco: So there you go.

Amanda: and do the granddaughters speak English?

Marco: Most likely not.

Amanda: So that's going to be an interesting time.

Marco: So my niece is studying Italian and she's excited.

Marco: Because they'll be staying with them.

Amanda: Most likely her cool Italian cousins are coming.

Marco: And, you've been studying Italian very well. And so we'll see how it all goes.

Amanda: Yeah, I don't know. It's going to be interesting. What should we do with them in the city? Your aunt is going to visit with your mom.

Marco: Right.

Amanda: But these two Italian girls, what are we doing with them?

Marco: I would like to go on the library website and get some passes to various museums and things to do.

Amanda: So which ones do you want to go to?

Marco: If we can. This is the most difficult one to get at the library is the aquarium once.

Amanda: It's gonna be a lot of aquarium

Marco: for us this year. Funny. Funny thing is, I've always been fascinated by the undersea world, and I wanted to be a fisherman and a marine biologist and all those things as a child. So for me, going. Going to that aquarium, I'm always having a good time.


Amanda spent the day yesterday with a cow and a chicken

Okay, so Amanda gets hungry when she goes to the aquarium.

Amanda: I just love fish so much. But, you know, it's funny, I don't know about. I spent the day yesterday with a cow and a chicken, and I don't know, I might have to be off

Marco: milk as one does, and maybe chicken, too. Really?

Amanda: I don't know. We'll see.

Marco: Well, it's interesting because we had chicken for dinner.

Amanda: I know I had already defrosted it in the fridge, so I'm too frugal to. To just throw it away, but I don't know. We'll see how we move forward with this.

Marco: Now it begs the question, why were you hanging out with the chicken?

Amanda: And, I was shooting something I was filming, so I can't really go into. Go into what I was filming, but I was filming something that required me to be standing next to a cow for 12 hours and holding a chicken for most of that.

Marco: Okay, and did you build up a friendship with the chicken that you were holding?

Amanda: Yeah, I feel like the chicken and I were kind of operating as one.

Marco: Oh, cool.

Amanda: Yeah, I felt the chicken makes kind of like a noise, almost like it's purring.

Marco: Oh, really?

Amanda: When it's happy, I think so. When it's content, it kind of has like a. Like a purr. I don't know what it is. And I was like, oh, my gosh. It's like the chicken's purring.

Marco: Oh, cool.

Amanda: Yeah. And I think that's when it was just, like, really, really happy. When it was really, like, kind of hot next to my body. But it was kind of like, okay, I'm safe, I'm good. And I felt pretty good with that chicken.

Marco: Wonderful.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: Well, who knew. Who knew that a chicken could be Amanda's best friend.

Amanda: I mean, maybe. One thing I do know is that a cow cannot.

Marco: Oh, I see.

Amanda: We have another nephew who's obsessed with. Well, I don't know if he still is. I think he secretly loves them, but when he was quite young, obsessed with cows. And, listen, it's. I have a great respect for farmers, as do I, and all that they do. And I am glad that I am not one of them because I thought the feed smelled real gross. The chewing and the drooling and all of that. I can't talk about it much or I'll start to gag.

Marco: Okay, fair enough. Fair enough.

Amanda: Listen, everyone has different things.

Marco: Cows will be cows, is all I can say. Cows gotta be cows, I'm telling you.

Amanda: Funny.

Marco: I. You know, I. Working with animals on set is never easy because I had to. I had to work with a goat many years ago.

Amanda: You did?

Marco: Many, many, many years ago.

Amanda: I didn't know that.

Marco: You know Jameson Kramer. Yeah, Jameson Kramer, who's a great actor here in Toronto. Friend not of the podcast, but I

Amanda: know it sounds like he's famous the way we're talking about him.

Marco: Well, he and I were in this short film with Phil Luzzi, who's a friend of ours who's born on the same day as you.

Amanda: Toronto famous.

Marco: So the three of us are in this mystery and the.

Amanda: What is the story?

Marco: It's a. I've told you about this before. and I'm a crooked cop, if I remember correctly.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco: And Jameson has a goat, and the goat solves the crime. And as I have.

Amanda: I'm sorry, what?

Marco: Yes, the goat realizes I'm a bad cop.

Amanda: Phil Lutzi's from sniffing you.

Marco: I don't even remember. Let's just say it wasn't the best script in the world.


Amanda: The climax of the film was all staged, obviously

Okay, so in the. What do you call the climax, I guess, of the. Of, the film. It's a short film. Couldn't even tell you the name of it. Couldn't tell you anything about it. Don't remember the director. Nothing.

Amanda: I have a feeling it's not on IMDb.

Marco: I don't think so. So. So I have a gun pointed at Jameson Kramer.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco: Because I'm a bad guy, Right?

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: It was not a real gun. It was like, you know, totally, totally safe. And the goat, with its. With its paw. What would you call a goat's hoof, I believe? Hoof. Knocks it out of my hand and. Oh, my gosh.

Amanda: And saves the day.

Marco: And saves the day. I think the goat pushes me downstairs I'm fine. But that's what happened in the scene, right?

Amanda: Oh, that's what was written to happen.

Marco: Yeah, but it was all staged, obviously. Right, but they had a. A. They couldn't use the actual goats hoof, so they had a, fake deer hoof or a deer hoof.

Amanda: Oh, my goodness.

Marco: A taxidermy deer hoof. That actually. So if you know your goat, you'll see the difference between the goat and the goat's hoof.

Amanda: I have a feeling the film had bigger problems than. Than the type of hoof.

Marco: But anyway, so, yeah, we had to work with this goat, and this goat was a diva, like, doing. Doing its thing and could only be on set for so long.

Amanda: Well, they're not made. I mean, animals are not made to be actors, you know, they're. They're animals. Goats got a goat, man. Cow's got a cow. And that chicken had to. Chicken.

Marco: Well, it sounded like the chicken was having a grand old time.

Amanda: I think she was. Yeah.

Marco: There you go. So anyways, that was our adventures for the last couple weeks. And. And hence, you haven't heard an episode because we've been all over.

Amanda: Hence, hence, she was a hen. And a beautiful hen.

Marco: And on that note, we'll say, we hope you had a lovely episode. You enjoyed this one, and until next time, we hope both of us and the chicken and even the cow and the French hen wants you to listen, or hopes you listened and fell asleep.

Amanda: Slept.

Marco: Slept. I couldn't think. All right, until next time, Amanda.

Amanda: We're both very. Bless.