Papaya Seeds and Pepper Mills | Calm Background Listening

In Papaya Seeds and Pepper Mills, Amanda and Marco drift through a gently winding conversation that begins with a watermelon salad mishap and somehow ends up in the spice aisle. Marco reflects on the challenge of choosing a perfectly ripe watermelon, leading to a calm exploration of salad-making rituals and pantry staples like honey and propolis. Along the way, they consider the humble peppermill and why freshly cracked pepper can quietly elevate even the simplest meal.
The episode meanders further into papaya seeds — can you eat them? — and a lighthearted discussion about bikinis and finding the right fit, all handled with their usual easygoing tone. They even ponder whether hosts should try sleeping in their own spare room to better understand the guest experience, turning an ordinary household question into a soothing reflection.
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. Let the everyday details and steady banter guide you gently toward rest.

​Papaya Seeds and Pepper Mills
(Original airdate: August 28, 2024)

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Amanda Barker and Marco Timpano

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about mundane things to hopefully help you find your way to sleep. I'm Your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:  I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco:  Amanda, we haven't recorded for a while because I haven't been feeling very well, so.

Amanda:  So Marco was ill and I didn't want to share. This is a small, modest booth and we share air in here, so we took precautions. And you slept in the spare room, which I'm sure was a real fun time for you.

Marco:  Oh, yeah. It's always nice to sleep in the spare room because you get to see or feel what your guests go through.

Amanda:  And what are our guests going through? Well.

Marco:  I think they have a very comfortable bed with a very comfortable situation, set up there.

Amanda:  There's a great TV in there.

Marco:  Yeah, I don't love the pillows that are in there, I'll say that much.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  But otherwise I think everything's fine.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  you don't want it too comfortable for your guests or they'll stay longer.

Amanda:  Fair enough. Our guests are the ones who listen to this podcast.

Marco:  It's true.

Amanda:  My family. So guests, please. We do want it comfortable for you. Please don't.

Marco:  But not too close.

Amanda:  And it now has a nice TV in it.

Marco:  It's true.

Amanda:  For those who want that. we talked about our bed last time, and I'm enjoying it.

Marco:  Good.

Amanda:  I'm just gonna say I'm really enjoying it. So far so good. Knock on wood.


Marco is in constant search of the perfect watermelon salad

so, yeah, we haven't recorded, so sorry for the delay on that. But you're feeling better now?

Marco:  I'm feeling better now.

Amanda:  I'm sharing the air with you now.

Marco:  Sharing the air with me now.

Amanda:  Our guests have a TV now in the spare room.

Marco:  They can share the air with us too.

Amanda:  And the cable. And, we just had a nice late August lunch.

Marco:  Oh, Amanda, you made such a wonderful lunch. Don't.

Amanda:  Simplest thing ever.

Marco:  Listeners, if you are like me, I'm in constant search of the perfect watermelon and I can never find it. I always pick one that's over or

Amanda:  under, like it's Marco's epic search.

Marco:  And all I want is a perfectly ripe watermelon. And all I get is. Usually I get ones that are overripe.

Amanda:  Oh, really?

Marco:  Yeah. And on the odd, get underripe. But I tend to get overripe, which I don't love at all. And I'm wondering if our listeners have any tips with regards to, watermelon salad.

Amanda:  We bang on the fruit, we listen to it. We've done all that.

Marco:  We look at the shape, we look at the color.

Amanda:  Nothing seems to get us there. But this one I Think was under ripe, right?

Marco:  This one was under yes.

Amanda:  Which for me makes a perfect watermelon salad.

Marco:  It's true. So if you have the same dilemma as me, where it's like, I can't really eat these watermelons with the joy that I want to, Amanda can. Amanda has, for me, made a salad that makes me very joyful.

Amanda:  I mean, I think we've talked about it before. My watermelon drama comes from the fact that you buy these watermelons.

Marco:  Here we go.

Amanda:  I am not a food waster. I try not to be. I try to be pretty frugal and also respectful of all the food that we bring into this home. And so, you know, you cut a slice of watermelon, you cut the thing in half, have a slice, cry in disappointment, and then the rest of it I'm left to contend with. And they are big, and they take up a lot of space. And you have to put them in the fridge, really, because otherwise it becomes little festa de fruit fly.

Marco:  Fruit fly palace.

Amanda:  Yeah. So in the fridge it went, and it's taken up a lot of space. And so today I got on sale. This week I hit some great end of the day dairy sales, I'm happy to say, for cheese, sour cream, a few other things. And, I had this marked down. Cojita cheese. I think that's how you say it. Cohita.

Marco:  Yeah, sure.

Amanda:  Mexican cheese. Anyway. Fresh Mexican cheese. Oh, my gosh. So good.

Marco:  It's a bit salty.

Amanda:  A bit salty.

Marco:  Kind of like, If you don't have it available in recipes, you can substitute feta for it.

Amanda:  Well, feta is usually what you put with watermelon because of the high salt. But I actually went looking for feta, and it was really expensive. And this cojita cheese was like, end of day markdown. So about that. And we have mint, growing out back. now, mind you, it's a pretty. It's a different kind of mint.

Marco:  I want to say that's chocolate mint. It's called.

Amanda:  No, I think it's a pretty stark, like, peppermint.

Marco:  It's a strong mint that way.

Amanda:  It's like an astringent mint. So I used it sparingly. Some maldon salt, as, you know, olive oil, some olive oil, a pasta. That's it. And, with, I grilled some chicken. That was our lunch. Very good.

Marco:  So mint, watermelon, the cheese, olive oil, salt. You could put pepper, too. Pepper goes nicely.

Amanda:  I did put pepper. Yeah, I forgot about that. We have the end of, like, A year, maybe two years ago, a very good friend of ours gave you a basket for your birthday.

Marco:  Oh, that's true.

Amanda:  Full of foods. And there was, this pepper, like three different color peppercorn, pepper grinder thing in it. So I have been using that for pretty much every meal and, it's lasted a long time.

Marco:  we have a fancy peppercorn mill that we got that I really like. And here's a tip. Okay, so this episode might be the peppercorn mill tip episode if you want

Amanda:  to

Marco:  jazz up your meal. Fresh ground peppercorn, I think is one easy way to do so. And you need a quality pepper mill. Doesn't mean it has to be the most expensive.


Invest in a good peppercorn mill. And then have it near your food

But I think you need the pepper mill that allows you to monitor the size of the grind of the pepper. People like me prefer a coarser or thicker ground. Some people prefer very fine pepper. It's all to taste, right? So if you like fine pepper, you don't like the feel of a bit of that grit that you might get from peppercorn grindings, you'll go with a finer grind. Invest in a good peppercorn mill.

Amanda:  Pepper mill I believe they're called.

Marco:  I was losing peppercorn mill. I was losing my breath between the corn mill. Yeah, I was losing my. I had to catch my breath there. And. And so I think that's a great investment.

Amanda:  And.

Marco:  And then have it near your food in the kitchen or where you eat. Just have it nearby. Give yourself a little grind. For me it is, it makes all the difference versus, you know, pepper that you shake out of a pepper shaker. That for me is like, no, Margo,

Amanda:  you're making me laugh so much.

Marco:  Why?

Amanda:  Well, you're talking like, I don't. It's gonna sound rude when I. So I don't wanna sound rude.

Marco:  Well, you gotta sound rude. Now my listeners are gonna be like, what. What does she have to say to him?

Amanda:  Well, you're ta, ah, you're talk. Do all the cooking or any of the cooking.

Marco:  I do eating. I don't.

Amanda:  You do all the eating? Yes.

Marco:  and that comes just before you eat. So.

Amanda:  But also, I mean, I think salt and pepper, like those are the two most basic spices. Like telling people to put pepper on their food.

Marco:  I'm not telling people to put pepper. I'm telling them to put fresh ground pepper. Okay, so that's the difference.

Amanda:  Because you can change restaurant style.

Marco:  Well, yeah, in a nice restaurant where they come over and they grind it for you.

Amanda:  Sketch right where the guy comes and he Keeps grinding the pepper onto the food.


Amanda Barker: I tolerate watermelon because I love watermelon

Marco:  but back to the watermelon.

Amanda:  Yes. Which had fresh ground pepper on it. yes.

Marco:  Do you like watermelon? Because I know. I'm a big fan.

Amanda:  I love watermelon.

Marco:  Oh, you do? I wasn't sure because it made it sound like. No. It made it sound like I'm the one who's in search of perfect watermelon. You're like, I'll tolerate it.

Amanda:  I tolerate it because. Did I just really hit that T?

Marco:  Yes, you did, but it's fine.

Amanda:  I tolerate it. he gave me this look that basically told me, you just hit that T really hard. I could feel it. I tolerate it because I love watermelon. I love it. It's maybe my favorite fruit. I don't even know if you knew that.

Marco:  I did not know that. I thought mango was your favorite fruit.

Amanda:  Mango.

Marco:  I feel like I have mango. I feel like I have episodes.

Amanda:  What are you talking?

Marco:  Where you say mango is your favorite fruit?

Amanda:  No, mango is a very divisive papaya.

Marco:  Papaya is your favorite food.

Amanda:  Papaya is my favorite.

Marco:  Which, by the way, you can put pepper on papaya.

Amanda:  You could also do that with cohita cheese mint. And call yourself, Amanda Barker. Making lunch.

Marco:  I also think, if I'm not mistaken, that the seeds in a papaya are very peppery and they can be used.

Amanda:  You say this, but I have looked it up, and I've never found that. But I think as a child, maybe you saw it and thought that.

Marco:  Why is it as a child?

Amanda:  I think because I think that's something a child would do. Because the seeds and papaya look like peppercorns. But let me tell you, they're not.

Marco:  If you take a papaya seed, I

Amanda:  understand it looks like a pepper.

Marco:  No, no. I think they taste like a peppercorn too.

Amanda:  They don't. And also, no one does that. Okay, but you've told me that many times about these pepper. Now you're looking it up.

Marco:  Might I remind you that you told the world that only Canada has bagged milk?

Amanda:  I don't know if I said it quite like that.

Marco:  No. All right, folks.

Amanda:  I said it's. Well, anyway, I think I probably. Well, maybe I did. I don't know. then I stand by doubling down the packed milk. no. I don't know. You've always told me that. I've never found anything that has suggested that.

Marco:  Okay? So here on just a random search, the question becomes, can you eat papaya seeds?

Amanda:  And are they, like, peppercorns?

Marco:  Here's what they say papaya seeds are edible and contain fiber, healthy fatty acids and other beneficial compounds, including polyphenols and flavonoids. Who doesn't want a good flavonoid in their life?

Amanda:  And favorite wrapper from the 90s.

Marco:  And these, components provide a health benefit.

Amanda:  Yeah. And where does it say dry them out and put them in your pepper mill and see how it works out for you?

Marco:  I never said put them. I don't advise putting anything but peppercorns in your pepper mill.


You say you love watermelon. Have you ever grown watermelon? Yes, I know it's a vine

Amanda:  Back to my love of watermelon.

Marco:  Here's the thing. I have to edit this episode, and you, with all the letter P's in it, is going to be a nightmare for me.

Amanda:  I didn't bring it up, okay? I really didn't bring it up. You're like, I see your watermelon and I give you papaya.

Marco:  So you are saying that you love watermelon.

Amanda:  I do. My thing with watermelon is it is a massive commitment. And we are two. We are but two people. There's a reason people bring watermelon to barbecues and cookouts and picnics, because it's a group food, because they're massive and so, and they're messy, but they're big. Two humans cannot, nor should they sit down and eat a watermelon. You know, they take up a lot of real estate in one's fridge.

Marco:  You mean in one sitting or counter? You mean in one sitting? Two people shouldn't sit down and eat a watermelon in one sitting?

Amanda:  In one sitting. And so then you have to keep, like you perfect example, you bought this watermelon, you cut your slice. I asked you, how's the watermelon? And you went, not so great. This is the story of our life every summer. And then you proceeded to leave it on the counter for a day. And I was like, hey, do you got any plans for that watermelon? Yeah, yeah. Day two. Finally, I wrap it up. I take a bunch of stuff off our shelf on the bottom shelf of the fridge, moving around. you know, I'm going to be honest, my Lacroix, or Lacroix, depending on who you are, drinks and other things I like in the bottom shelf. And now it's become, the town of watermelon in my fridge. Because it's like two huge dishes of watermelon on their side wrapped in, you know, And I don't use cellophane for barely anything. I rarely, rarely, rarely use cellophane or, the Brits call it cling wrap or film Wrap or whatever. You know what I'm talking about. Saran Wrap.

Marco:  Cling film.

Amanda:  Cling film, yeah. Anyway, the plastic stuff, I have it. I probably use a roll a decade, truthfully, but it's one of those things where that's probably your best bet. So I used it. And, sometimes I use beeswax wraps for it, but I don't like washing the watermelon off of them anyway. And then it sits there and then I make a salad. I go and I find the cheese and go, okay, we have mint. And that would be a good salad for lunch, on a day when we're both home, which doesn't happen a lot. So there you go. That's the story of me and watermelon every year till infinity.

Marco:  Fair enough. Well, listen, I just did read not to give, papaya seeds to pregnant women or children, so.

Amanda:  Pepper grinders.

Marco:  And I don't think you should put them in peppermints.

Amanda:  You told me this a long time ago. And I even saved the seeds, thinking, great, we can use them as peppercorns. And then I looked it up and did my research and we did not use them. I threw them out.

Marco:  Okay, well, you can use them for food.

Amanda:  Good luck.

Marco:  Okay. And I don't mind swallowing up.

Amanda:  I can't wait to eat your. Your papaya seed, lasagna or whatever.

Marco:  A watermelon seed now and then.

Amanda:  Nothing wrong with watermelon. Tree grows in your stomach. That's what they used to tell you when you're little.

Marco:  Okay, first of all, they don't grow on trees. Have you ever grown watermelon?

Amanda:  Yes, I know it's a vine. It's a squash.

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda:  No, I haven't. Have you?

Marco:  I have, I have. But they've.

Amanda:  Were they good or did they also disappoint you?

Marco:  I think they disappointed me because here in the part of Canada we are, your growing season is only so long. So it only grew the size of a cannon. A large cannonball.

Amanda:  That's kind of what you want in a watermelon. These massive watermelons. I mean, that's an apartment sized watermelon. That's kind of what you want.

Marco:  How do you feel about muskmelons?

Amanda:  They're great, aren't they? They're very sweet.

Marco:  Yeah. They're like cant.

Amanda:  I love a cantaloupe. And let me tell you, cantaloupe is the unsung hero. I'm just going to go for it. Do you know what I'm going to say? I know what you're going to say, can I?

Marco:  Yeah, you can say it.

Amanda:  Let me tell you, this is for all the ladies. Cantaloupe is the unsung hero for UTI infections. I'm telling you, I. Everyone knows about cranberry. Yes.


My bag milk claims and my controversial UTI recos

You feel one coming on, you go for the pure cranberry juice. You'd say to me, cantaloupe, it's so sugary. Really? Yes. But the sugar in cantaloupe attaches to the bacteria, one of the bacterias that

Marco:  cause UTIs, which stands for urinary tract infection.

Amanda:  Yeah. For those who don't know. and they're a big and ongoing problem for many women. I would argue most m. Women at some point in their lives.

Marco:  Men can get them, too.

Amanda:  Men can get them too. You're absolutely right. And so, when we were in the Middle east, for reasons we don't have to go into, I was sort of constantly fighting one and cantaloupe, say, having tons of cantaloupe every morning kind of saved the day for me.

Marco:  So I just want to say at this point, we are not doctors, nor are we nutritionists, so please consult your nutritionist.

Amanda:  This is also coming from the people that tell you to grind papaya seeds in your pepper grinder and from the people that tell, you that Canada is the only bagged milk country there is. When meanwhile, the majority of the world is drinking their milk out of bags. Who knew? Things you learned.

Marco:  If it's the majority of the world, but there's certainly other places.

Amanda:  Well, it's not the majority of the world because the majority of the world isn't drinking milk, but majority of the dairy drinking world.

Marco:  I don't even know if that's true. I don't want to make these false claims. You seem like someone who likes to just step on the gas and make the false claim.

Amanda:  I'm sorry. This is why I can never run for politics. My bag milk claims and my controversial UTI recos.

Marco:  Well, there you go. yeah, so we. We have a lovely drive in front of us.

Amanda:  Yeah, we do.

Marco:  In the middle of the day, which is nice to do.

Amanda:  Confluence of a few reasons, but we both happen to have the day off that never happens. So we were like, oh, let's. Let's record this podcast. But, And you're still on the mend here?

Marco:  I'm still on the mend. I bought Manuka. Honey. I feel like today is just a food that's fine. And Amanda told me this. And listeners, I don't know if this is true. Or not. Because my British. My British sensibility. P.S. i'm not British. I just know that your soul. My soul is British. My British sensibility tells me that Amanda's wrong in this case. Oh. but I made coffee today for Amanda and I put some.

Amanda:  Thank you.

Marco:  I put some manuka honey in it because Manuka honey is this honey from Australia. That comes from the Manuka.

Amanda:  New Zealand.

Marco:  Probably New Zealand as well.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  And the bees get the. Get the pollen from manuka flowers from the manuka tree, I believe. Don't quote me on that.

Amanda:  Yeah, I don't know anything about that.

Marco:  They only bloom for two to three, maybe five weeks. So there's a very short span. And then the honey is made from this. It supposedly has a lot of beneficial properties to it.

Amanda:  Yeah, it's one of those like, superfood honeys, which I don't always. Really expensive.

Marco:  I don't always believe. But I've had success with manuka honey.

Amanda:  I believe in the power of honey. And since I'm giving ah, unsolicited non medical advice today, I just want to do a shout out to my friend Propolis, which is not a wrapper from the 90s, but an amazing throat spray made of, Propolis.

Marco:  Made of propolis made from propolis with alcohol blended. So you can spray it.

Amanda:  Yeah. Which is what bees use make naturally to seal their hives. To keep their hives free of, fungal and infection and bacteria. And I spray it in my throat regularly. I love the taste of it. Not everyone does.

Marco:  It has an earthy taste. I think we mentioned this on the.

Amanda:  Earthy honey taste.

Marco:  Yeah, earthy taste. Earthy honey taste. I think we mentioned this on the show before and, if you feel a sore throat coming on, it's a good thing to spray.

Amanda:  Or if you're just around people that are coughing, which you know can happen. Right.

Marco:  And you've been spraying it or in

Amanda:  a crowded room or whatever. Yeah, I spray it.

Marco:  You've been using it lately. Because I've been sick. And so we usually have one in our car, one by the front mirror and one in the bedroom so that we can.

Amanda:  And one in every purse for me. Yeah.


Honey in any form remains soothing. When you put honey in hot beverages, you lose properties

Marco:  And there you go.

Amanda:  That and lip balm.

Marco:  But what I was saying about the honey before you took us to propolis town was that, I made Amanda B for three. Okay. So, Amanda, I made her a coffee this morning.

Amanda:  Thank you.

Marco:  And I put, That's the first thank you I got for the coffee.

Amanda:  it's actually the second I Said it earlier,

Marco:  made it with Manuka honey, and I brought it to Amanda. I'm like, I made this Manuka honey. I hope you enjoy it. And Amanda said, manuka honey. He doesn't. When you put it in, don't wake up people.

Amanda:  This is the part of the podcast where people are hopefully asleep.

Marco:  Okay?

Amanda:  So doing a very animated impression of me is not recommended by my doctorly advice.

Marco:  When you put honey in sounds just like me.

Amanda:  An exact likeness.

Marco:  When you put honey in copper. I'm trying to be calm, like you. Like, trying to do a conversion. When you put honey in hot water or hot beverage. When you put honey in hot beverages, you lose all the properties of a honey.

Amanda:  I said you shouldn't cook honey.

Marco:  I put it in a coffee. I didn't cook it.

Amanda:  Well, the coffee's hot, though. When you pour the coffee directly on it.

Marco:  I said to her, but wait a second, what are you talking about? Honey in tea has been a thing that people have done for years. It doesn't lose its beneficial properties.

Amanda:  It still remains soothing. Honey in any form remains soothing. However, part of the properties of Manuka honey and I could be very wrong here, but I believe are the unpasteurized form of it. Once you pasteurize anything, you're getting all the natural stuff out of it, which is a good thing in a lot of cases because it takes, you know, like in milk, for example. There's a reason we pasteurize milk, however, with honey, you want it in its raw form, do you not? Especially when you're having it for any type of help, with immunity or whatever. So any honey in any form, pasteurized or not, could be soothing. But all I'm saying is if you put scalding hot coffee on it, it could maybe reduce some of the properties. Perhaps. I'm not sure. Okay, bagged milk.

Marco:  Fair enough. Fair enough. Like I said before, don't take any medical or nutritional advice from us on this podcast.


Amanda doesn't seem to plan for any topics for the podcast

Amanda:  Propolis, musk melons, watermelons papaya seeds. What else have we covered?

Marco:  This is. This is what happens when I don't plan ahead. Our topic, because I just didn't have the mental capacity to do so today.

Amanda:  I like how you phrase that when we don't. When I don't plan ahead. Our topic. That's. Your mom would do that turn of phrase.

Marco:  And yet Amanda doesn't seem to plan for any topics for the podcast, but yet has no problems.

Amanda:  No, I like it. I like when you phrase things like that. Okay, Your mom does it. And I really like it? I don't know. You're looking at me. Not happily, but.

Marco:  Well, it didn't sound very nice, but I can listen back.

Amanda:  No, all I mean is. It's a turn of phrase. I think it comes from how you would say it. in Italian.

Marco:  No, not everything about my life comes from my Italian background. Sometimes I just like to speak the way I speak.

Amanda:  Not everything in your life comes from your Italian background because I'm in your life. But everything else beyond me, I think does.

Marco:  I don't know about that, folks.

Amanda:  I mean, you're.

Marco:  You're offending my British sensibilities.

Amanda:  That's fair.

Marco:  my friend Nima. Our friend Nima said that, he was talking with a woman who referred to her credit card as a plastic plate. Have you ever heard that?

Amanda:  Never.

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda:  What?

Marco:  Put it on the plastic plate.

Amanda:  Plastic plate, yeah. Is she British?

Marco:  No, she was just old. Not everybody who speaks weirdly is British, Amanda.

Amanda:  Well, I just try to find out where things come from.

Marco:  We're gonna get a lot of letters from that.

Amanda:  I know, because I grew up saying rut, the rubbish barrel.

Marco:  Oh, did you?

Amanda:  Yeah. Did you not know that? Have you ever heard my parents say that?

Marco:  The rubbish barrel.

Amanda:  We wouldn't say the garbage.

Marco:  Why would you have a barrel for your rubbish?

Amanda:  The garbage bin.

Marco:  Rubbish bin.

Amanda:  We don't say that. But you said rubbish barrel. Listen, I don't know.

Marco:  Did you guys have an actual barrel that you would put trash in?

Amanda:  We had a barrel, but not for that. My mom liked barrels. She was going through, like, a barrel phase.

Marco:  What did she use the barrels for?

Amanda:  We had a wishing well in front of our house. Did you know that?

Marco:  I think you don't. Yeah, okay, but what. Don't try to get away from the barrel topic.


As an American, I grew up saying my pocketbook, which in Canada translates to purse

We need to know.

Amanda:  Remember, there were barrels in our garage.

Marco:  For what?

Amanda:  I don't know. My grandfather made them, I think.

Marco:  But what was inside the barrels?

Amanda:  I don't know. I didn't ask.

Marco:  Oh, my goodness. Okay. I'm glad this isn't a true crime barrel.

Amanda:  Does she not have to?

Marco:  Because we had wine. We would wine in them. Yeah, we. We used them for the purposes that they served.

Amanda:  Yeah, I don't think we ever did that.

Marco:  Okay. My goodness, the things you learn when you do a podcast with your spouse.

Amanda:  Rubbish barrel. Anyway, I'm just saying we had different turns of phrases. Pocketbook is a great one. As an American, I grew up saying my pocketbook, which in Canada would translate to purse.

Marco:  Right?

Amanda:  Yeah. But a lot of people don't realize that. That's what a pocketbook is. Oh, another one. I was talking to somebody about this recently. Cocoa. We would say have a cup of cocoa, but here you would say hot chocolate. A lot of people are like, oh, are you saying that cocoa is the same as hot chocolate? They thought it was a type of hot chocolate with cocoa or whatever, but m. They're the same. Fair. So there you go. You're welcome for decoding these hot topics like pocketbook versus purse.


Sometimes I'll say blower for the phone because we heard Martin Short

Marco:  I told Nima that sometimes I'll say blower for the phone because we heard Martin Short talk about his agent who used to say, I'll get on the blower and call them. And it made me laugh. And now.

Amanda:  Was it Martin Short?

Marco:  It was Martin Short, I think.

Amanda:  No, no, it was David Sedaris.

Marco:  Oh, it was David Sedaris.

Amanda:  David Sedaris talking about he had a writing agent that was old and he would say things like, let me just get on the blower. And every now and then we'll hear someone say that, get on the blower.

Marco:  I try to incorporate that into my speech when I talk about the phone. Get on the blower. Because I just think it sounds so funny.


Amanda learned that things go into public domain a hundred years after creation

Amanda:  Here's something I learned this week. Speaking of old things, or are we out of time?

Marco:  No, we're getting there.

Amanda:  But you have time. I didn't know. We learned this playing. We had a board game night with our very good friends and their kids were so wonderful. Kids who are not kids anymore. They're both in. They're both in grad school, so they're both like, definitely adults. anyway, they're awesome and they made some time to play board games with us. How sweet is that to kids in grad school? Anyway, I learned that I thought, things went into public domain a hundred years after the thing was created, but it isn't. It's a hundred years after that person passes. I didn't know that.

Marco:  I think it's 50 years.

Amanda:  No, it's a hundred.

Marco:  I thought it was 70 years in Canada, 50 years in the U.S. okay.

Amanda:  I don't know any of these things.

Marco:  Well, it's something you should look up. Not you, Amanda.

Amanda:  Should I?

Marco:  No. I'm sorry.

Amanda:  Do you want me to. Sure. Look it up right now.

Marco:  If you're looking for things that are in the public domain.


I'm reading Agatha Christie books in large print and I'm enjoying it

Oh, I want to share this with our listeners. I had, I had said to everyone that I was going to start reading Agatha Christie books.

Marco:  In the order they were published. Well, I'm on book four and I'M very, very happy.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  How's it going? Well, book four. I got all the books from the library and book four is large print. It's happened, folks, and, you know, I didn't realize, but it's large print and I'm really enjoying reading large print. It's like the novel's being kind of yelled at me a little bit, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm reading it with more, intensity, but also what I like about large print. And I don't need to read large print yet, but certainly in darker places, dimmer, Dimmer lit places, dimly lit places, it's much easier to read the large print. So I'm. I'm enjoying it.

Amanda:  I'm learning a lot about public domain.


Some works never fully lapse into public domain; there's a perpetual copyright

Marco:  Okay, here we go.

Amanda:  There's a thing called perpetual copyright.

Marco:  Oh, I like that. Yeah, I want this show to be.

Amanda:  Some works never fully lapse into public domain. In the United Kingdom, for example, there's perpetual crown copyright for the King James version of the Bible. Did you know that?

Marco:  No, I did not know that.

Amanda:  like J.M. barrie's work. So Peter Pan.

Marco:  Oh, that's in perpetual.

Amanda:  were granted special exception that require world needs to be paid for commercial performances. Interesting. Oh, as long as it goes to the A hospital. Okay. So Barry granted the copyright to this hospital.

Marco:  That's wonderful. That's really lovely.

Amanda:  But you're right, most countries, it's 70

Marco:  years after the person who has passed on. Okay.

Amanda:  I think so.

Marco:  Well, that's good to know.

Amanda:  Yeah.


For the Insomnia Project, our thirst trap, we need a wind machine

Well, there. I've learned something today, and I've given out a lot of wrong information. I think if you have, if you

Marco:  have any corrections, you'd like us to make based on this episode.

Amanda:  I'm only doing it. I'm. But this is my version of, you know, thirst. What are those called? Thirst photos. What are those called? Thirst trap.

Marco:  I don't even know what that is.

Amanda:  You don't know what a thirst trap is? No, a thirst trap. And you and I both know someone who does this. A thirst trap is like they. They post like, really like, scantily hot photos of themselves for likes.

Marco:  Oh, yeah.

Amanda:  It's called a thirst trap.

Marco:  Should we do that? For the Insomnia Project,

Amanda:  our thirst trap, we need a wind machine and some bikinis.

Marco:  Oh, my goodness.

Amanda:  I can't imagine.

Marco:  I'll put one on if you put one on.

Amanda:  Nope.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:  I mean, I have. I don't know. I might have one. I don't know. It's not going to be pretty do

Marco:  you have the beehive? bikini.

Amanda:  You need to explain why you call it a beehive.

Marco:  It's not made Acropolis because it's like the top is black and the bottom is yellow or something like that.

Amanda:  And how did I get that bikini?

Marco:  You were like, I want to be a bee on the beach. And you went and you searched. I can't remember. We were somewhere.

Amanda:  We were somewhere and they didn't. They had a pool and I didn't have a bathing suit, so I went across to Walmart and got that. I actually don't remember where it was.

Marco:  It was somewhere with Daniela Velascala. Because Daniela La called you queen bee.

Amanda:  That's right. I think Ottawa then.

Marco:  Okay, There you go.

Amanda:  Yeah, because that was last time we were with, them.

Marco:  So, yeah, Best place to buy your bikinis, Ottawa. And we'll leave you with that. Thank you for listening to our podcast. I know it was a bit silly today.

Amanda:  as opposed to the hard hitting.

Marco:  Once we usually.

Amanda:  Once we usually do.

Marco:  Until next time, we hope this podcast brought a smile to your face. At the very least, I don't know if it got you to sleep, but if it did, even all the more better. Till next time.

Amanda:  You're wondering why you dreaming of papaya seeds.

Marco:  I hope you were able to listen and sleep.